Andrew Berggren

Peer Mentor

Dr. Carolyn Schnell

11/5/09

Reflection Paper

To begin, I would define being a peer mentor as being a student who can

relate to younger students in a way professors simply cannot. My goal as a peer

mentor has been to make a personal connection with my students. There will

always be times when a student does not understand a concept the professor was

trying to convey, but often the young, unsure student will shy away from asking a

question. That is where I can come in and really give helpful guidance. My personal

assignment is to make sure that my 189 students are well informed of what lays

ahead, and I especially wish to make my mistakes known so that they will not also

make them. Every college graduate looks back and recognizes a slightly different

path they wished they would have taken to get where they now stand. My goal is to

make sure my students know where they are headed on this long journey ahead,

and how to make the most of their time while at NDSU.

My Philosophy has been one of concern and compassion. I want the best for

my students, just as professors wish the best for theirs. That is where this job’s

reward becomes tangible, when I see a student flourishing because of some advice I

gave them. The bible says, “So in everything, do to others what you would have

them do to you” (New International Version, Mat. 7.12).

. Throughout my colligate career I did not always take the correct classes in the

most efficient order to make the most of my time, and I wished I had known from an

older student what I should have done. As a peer mentor, I now have the
opportunity to give that guiding advice that will hopefully lead to a more successful

colligate experience for my students. I firmly believe that older students will always

know and be able to relate better to the needs of new students. There is a vital

connection between someone who has just completed a course or degree, and a

young student just starting out on the same journey.

Another philosophy I have adopted this year is one that believes every

student posses different talents. It is really rewarding to see students all come up

with different ideas when given the same assignment. I will never count someone

out when working in a group because everyone has something worth contributing;

sometimes we just need to listen to what they have to say. It is very humbling when

working in a group and a member produces an idea that has more volume to it than

your own, and you realize that without the dynamic make up of your group, that

idea never would have fully blossomed into the concept it turned out to be.

Another way I have learned to communicate with the students is by setting a

daily example of how an architect and college professional should act. I am

currently enrolled in a physics class along with the freshmen I mentor. This has

created an opportunity for me to show that going to class is vital to our success in

college. Due to this coincidence, I have been in attendance, on time, the entire

year. I hope this example encourages my students. It is also nice having that

accountability on my shoulders, knowing that if I were to skip class, my students

would see that and maybe think it is acceptable to not attend.

First year students face a variety of difficulties. I have had experience helping

students who did not know the campus, or did not understanding who could help

them with a specific problem, like where to go to find scholarship information. A

major question a lot of my architecture freshmen ask is which teachers do I prefer,

or which ones do I think would suit them best. I have helped with issues of

organizing schedules, which is a very hectic ordeal due to the fact that in order to

keep up with the ‘class’ (year in school) a student is in, they must take specific

courses that are only offered once a year, and sometimes conflict with other classes

they wish to take. Other issues include struggles with roommates, and project

deadlines for architecture that they have not yet become accustomed too.

I think one situation that commonly does arise in the first year of the

architecture program is students are so worried about getting accepted into the

program that they burn themselves out. They may be physically depleted from a

lack of sleep, or emotionally burdened by the thought of competing to get into the

program and there for they avoid peer interact which can lead to depression.

Anxiety is a very common thing for first year students to experience, but I am afraid

the amount they experience only perpetuates an unhealthy life style.

A situation like this could potentially impact the campus in a variety of ways.

One impact it may have would be the creation of a hostile environment. Many of the

first year students live together in the same resident halls (even grouped together

on the same floors sometimes) which could cause students to become introverted.

As a past resident assistant, I have seen situations where many students on a floor

get along as a group, but then one roommate or guy down the hall just feels

somewhat out of place. These are the worst situations because then they do not go

out and interact as much with other students and make those vital connections that

the first year residents halls strive to offer. I would not want to see this trend of

introversion continue because it takes away from student’s ability to create

friendships and to grow as a college student. One thing that I preach to my 189
students is that college is all about meeting new people, making connections,

sharing ideas, teaching and learning. I urge them to be as open and accepting as

possible, which as I stated earlier, can be difficult due to the nature of the

architecture program. The architecture department has adopted a national ‘studio

culture’ curriculum that makes it possible for students to approach professors when

they feel their work load is untimely or overwhelming. This can be a very useful tool

for students in the future, as I just attended an AIAS meeting last night where we

talked about revising the conditions of this curriculum.

The best thing I could d to help a student through a situation where they feel

overwhelmed or alone would be to listen to them. Most of the time in architecture

when we feel our projects are no good or were upset about a fast approaching dead

line, all it takes is a kind word from another student to bring our spirits up. It is

important that I as a peer mentor and fellow student have the ability to recognize

when a student feels down or alone, and then make that effort to listen to them and

encourage them in any way possible.

If a situation arose I felt I was unqualified to handle, for example someone

with suicidal thoughts, it would be critical that I would know of and take action to

contact the counseling center. To refer a student to the counseling center would

probably make them feel inadequate as if something is severely wrong with them. It

would be critical for me to handle that situation with the utmost of care, being

completely understanding of the student’s feelings and circumstance. On a less

serious note, if a student is merely struggling with choices between classes or

choosing a professor, it would also be important for me to listen to what they want

to get out of their college experience, and then advise them as best I could, or

direct them to our architecture advisor.

 In the statement above I mentioned a serious suicide (worst case scenario) in

which I would definitely need to know my boundaries. Just as when I was a resident

assistant, I know that it is critical to contact the counseling center as soon as

possible in that situation. I know that I do not have the knowledge or training to be

of help to the student in a counseling setting but what I should and would do is help

them in any way I am capable, again which would be to contact a professional.

During my time as a peer mentor I have even learned a few things. First, I

discovered that our students (especially architects) will cease to push the

boundaries of creativity, never accepting the word “can’t”. I can see that my

program is headed in no direction other than up, as the level of talent these

student’s poses continually increases. Secondly I learned that everyone has

different situations in their lives that arise, so I should never come down on

someone for their presumed misbehavior or tardiness, because I do not know

everything that is going on in their life. Sometimes situations arise that are out of

our control, and all we can do is try to make the best of them.

My role as a peer mentor will not be a huge one in the lives of the freshmen I

assist but if I can make even a small positive change on their course through

college, I will feel as if I have done my part. I hope that NDSU’s students continue to

grow and mature, just as I have and will continue to throughout college. The

architecture program is continuing to grow and show signs of student interest from

around the country, and I am proud to say that I am a small part of that success. As

the former president of the United State John F. Kennedy once said, "Our progress

as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education" (2009).

 References

(2009). Brainy quote. Retrieved from

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnfkenn100832.html. cited

November 6 2009.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Fully rev. ed. Kenneth L. Barker, gen. ed. Grand

Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002. Print.