The Grove, Quinnipiac University’s new Mount Carmel Campus dorm building, will have 100 volunteer residence hall mentors to guide and support first-year students through their transition into college.
The volunteer residence hall mentors are all upperclassmen and will be assigned three to four peer mentees before beginning their new positions on Aug. 20. Mentors will then have various mentees throughout the semester.
Mentors will also help with the move-in process for first-year students. Unlike the residential assistants — who will still be present in the building — they are not required to be on duty, handle crisis issues or mediate roommate conflicts.
“The Volunteer Residence Hall Mentors are positive role models and engaged members of the community who will lead projects, attend and motivate residents to participate in programs, and help build a sense of belonging around the theme for their area,” wrote Thomas Rouse, director of residential life in an email to The Chronicle.
On Feb. 18, Rouse emailed first-years, sophomores and juniors a mentorship application. The Office of Residential Life received 113 applications before the window closed on Feb. 22, Rouse said.
Mentors will not receive financial compensation, and students will still be required to pay for room and board.
But many students who applied for the mentorship program said the financial aspect did not matter to them — they applied, they said, because they wanted to serve as role models for new students.
Yasmine Amezzane, a first-year biomedical science major, said she was interested in the mentorship program because she wanted to help the university community and get to know the incoming first-year students.
“I was really excited,” Amezzane said. “I was in the room with my friends when the email came through, and we were all on our phones and I shook them and I was like, ‘Wait, you need to check your email right now to see if we got it.’”
Amezzane said she is especially looking forward to her role as both an academic and experiential mentor.
“I think what really interested me was being able to work with incoming students, but in a more academically oriented setting,” Amezzane said.
Marjae Beasley, a sophomore double majoring in behavioral neuroscience and film, television and media arts, applied to be both a residential assistant and a mentor. She was only accepted to the latter position, but she said she is happy either way because her goal is to work with first-year students.
“I’m really passionate about community building and making sure that we build an inclusive environment and I feel like this mentorship position is really the perfect outlet to do that,” Beasley said.
Jayden Benichak, a first-year psychology and Hispanic studies double major, noted that incoming students — many of whom will come to Quinnipiac not knowing anyone — will be able to rely on their mentors during the initial transition to college. As a mentor, she plans to write letters to her first-year mentees during the semester.
“I think that the mentor position offers a great accessibility for engaging with the younger class of freshmen, but also fostering that community in a different sense from the RAs,” Benichak said.
Benichak wants first-years to see their mentors as someone they can look to for both friendship and advice. She said mentors are on a more equal playing field compared to RA’s because they don’t have the same responsibilities and duties that the latter position has.
Damon Adams, a sophomore health science major, also aims to make the first-years feel comfortable adjusting to the college atmosphere.
“I think the most important thing is just showing (what) college is all about, it’s not all fake toxic people,” Adams said. “It’s not all about parties and stuff. It’s a matter of forming a strong connection with people and the organizations you’re a part of, the people you live with, so it’s just making a more positive working environment and living community for everyone.”
Amalia Barroso, a junior psychology major, said not being paid is not a deterrent for her because of how much she wants the position. She said this will also be something she is doing alongside her academics, rather than her main focus.
“The compensation part would definitely be helpful considering tuition here isn’t the cheapest, but I enjoy doing this type of work and helping others,” Barroso said. “That’s one of my biggest things, I like bringing others up and so I honestly didn’t mind not getting compensated for it.”
Amezzane was uncertain about how she felt about not having any financial benefits, but said she was happy about getting guaranteed housing in The Grove because it is an ideal location around other residence halls and classes.
“It would be nice to have the financial compensation in any form,” Amezzane said. “I also think you are benefiting from it personally, you’re getting to have the experience of it and you’re getting to live in the newer building.”
