Peer Mentoring Program

If you missed our webinar, you can view it here! (Recorded 4/08/25)

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 first-year engineering students and one upper-class peer 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 year as a Hokie!

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 peer 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. 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 multiple large social/professional development events, where all mentors and mentees interact during the fall semester. An example of those events is “Engineering Expo Prep,” this event takes 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 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 peer mentors. We hope you decide to join us!