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Cristina

Master of Pharmacy with Honours

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I really enjoy being a Peer Mentor and knowing that my mentees value my support means a lot to me. Knowing that I am doing something right and that it has been useful for students is the most important thing for me.

Being a Peer Mentor

I really wanted to become a Peer Mentor because in the past I worked as a member of staff at another university, and whilst I had that job I really enjoyed helping and supporting students.  I know that being a new student can be a daunting experience, and sometimes you need support from a student that has gone through the same experiences as you and can give you advice if you need it.           

As a Peer Mentor, I am a first point of contact for my mentees, who are all first-year pharmacy students.  I sign-post them to the proper support that they might need if they need help with anything relating to their first-year experience.  This could anything from signing posting them to a module leader or the library’s Academic Skills Team if they are having academic issues, or to one of the student financial advisors if they are experiencing financial issues, for example. I also talk to them and give them advice from my experience during my first year of studies and recommend places where they can visit in the Newcastle and the northeast if they are not from the region.

A Peer Mentor should be somebody who is always willing to help and to provide support to first-year students.  I think that as a Peer Mentor you will develop your communication skills, as they should be there to listen, and provide information to students.

Benefits of being a Peer Mentor

As a Peer Mentor, I have developed various transferable skills. I have developed communications skills, such as active listening, and I have improved my writing skills thanks to answering queries from students via email and from using Teams.   I also developed my organisation and planning skills, as I needed to meet with my mentees regularly.  By being a Peer Mentor, you get the opportunity to use tools that you might never use, such as creating calendar invites using Outlook or using Doodle to find out other peoples’ availability.

I really enjoy being a Peer Mentor and knowing that my mentees valued my support and nominated me for Peer Mentor of the Year, means a lot to me.  Knowing that I am doing something right and that it has been useful for students is the most important thing for me.

I really think all students should consider being a Peer Mentor as it is a fantastic way to develop transferrable skills that you can later use for employment or volunteer opportunities.  It is also a good way to network and meet other students from your degree programme.  You will get the opportunity to meet students who soon will become Pharmacists like yourself, and some of these people will be working alongside you.