Like most colleges, Winthrop requires incoming freshman to take a “University 101” course during their first semester to help students transition into university life. At Winthrop, this class is called ACAD and is co-taught by a professor and a peer mentor. A peer mentor is under the FYE (First Year Experience) department and is responsible for teaching the weekly ACAD class and connecting with their students via one-on-one meetings and group activities outside of the classroom. Pictured above is my class and I during “First Night Winthrop”, an event filled with games and team building activities that give students an opportunity to make friends during their first night of college, when they may be feeling homesick or afraid.

I laugh at this picture because of how shy everyone was that night. I remember my students being so quiet as most of them didn’t know anyone yet at Winthrop. By the end of the night, each of them had made a friend to watch the closing fireworks with and I remember feeling proud and excited for their future at Winthrop. For the rest of the semester the professor I worked with, Jason Hurlbert, and I helped our students navigate interim grades, changing majors, roommate conflicts and how to handle difficult classes/professors. Im proud to say that to this day, I keep in contact with my students and have gained friendships with them individually beyond our class!