Peer Mentoring

CEED Peer Mentors standing on the steps of Burruss Hall with everyone making a V-T with their fingers

If you missed our webinar, you can view it here! (Recorded April 23, 2024)

About peer mentoring

One of the great things about being a new Hokie in engineering is the amount of support you can receive from your upper-class peers who genuinely want to do whatever they can to help you have the best first semester possible.

Through the CEED Peer Mentoring Program you will be assigned to a small group of about 10 freshmen and one upper-class mentor. You will get together and talk about typical first-year issues – finding campus resources, connecting with faculty, exploring undergraduate research, and asking any questions you have about getting connected on campus. You also have an instant group of friends and potential study partners. We also plan some large social events for all the participants so you can meet others outside your small group. This is a great way to start your first semester as a Hokie!

You may select which mentoring group you would like to join:

AHORA (Academic Hispanic OutReach Alliance)
BEST (Black Engineering Support Teams)
GUEST (General Undergraduate Engineering Support Teams)
WEST (Women in Engineering Support Teams)

If you decide this program is for you, you will find that our mentors are already on the ball even before you arrive for fall semester. You will receive a phone call from one of our mentors who will introduce him or herself and help you with any questions or concerns. ANY questions! They are available to help with advice about what to prepare for move-in, such as what supplies you should bring or what you should wait to buy after you move in. This first contact will show you what a great resource your mentor can be!

Peer mentors showing how to dress for an innterview

Peer mentors modeling appropriate business attire

The weekend before classes begin, you will be invited to attend a welcome event and the CEED "O-Show" event with your mentor and mentee group. This will be a great chance to meet the mentors and other mentees in the program and hit the ground running, making connections on campus. During the CEED "O-Show" you and your mentor/mentee group will have an opportunity to explore various student organizations, majors, and resources that are within the College of Engineering.

Your mentor/mentee group will determine when you would meet (in-person), weekly, based on your schedules for the first 10 weeks of the fall semester. The mentor/mentee weekly meetings will be on campus while others can be off campus. The off-campus meetings will be a great chance for your mentor to help you get to know the community around campus and take you and your fellow mentee group to a meal, compliments of CEED! After the first 10 weeks of the fall semester and following spring semester mentor/mentee groups are expected to meet (in-person) once a month.

In addition, CEED Peer Mentoring Program will host two large social/professional development events, where all mentors and mentees interact during the fall semester. The first event, “Engineering Expo Prep,” will take place during the first few weeks of school and will help you prepare for one of the biggest engineering career fairs in the country, the SEC Engineering Expo. Free snacks will be provided for all students that attend! The second event, “The Major Scoop,” will be held closer to the middle of the fall semester and will help you prepare for spring semester class registration, gather more information about engineering majors, and explore minors and design teams within the college of engineering while enjoying a “scoop” or two of free ice cream.

In the spring semester mentor/mentee groups are required to meet monthly. In addition to the monthly mentor/mentee group meetings, mentors and CEED staff will be sharing various opportunities for summer internships and/or co-ops and Peer Mentoring Program student leadership/mentor oportunities for the following academic year. We will end with an End of Mentoring celebration, mid to end of April, where you, fellow mentees, and mentors will come together to celebrate each others success.

At the heart of all these activities and planning are previous mentee/mentor engineering students who genuinely care about helping you have an excellent experience as a new Hokie. This program is supported by CEED staff, but it is truly run by the Peer Leaders and mentors. We hope you decide to join us!