Whitman Peer Mentor Program

    Building community. Fostering belonging.

     

     

    Starting college is a big transition—and at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, no incoming student has to navigate it alone. The Whitman Peer Mentor Program pairs every first-year student with a mentor starting in mid-July through their entire first semester, creating a built-in support system and a friendly, familiar face in a big university.

     

    Research consistently shows that students who feel a sense of belonging are significantly more likely to persist and thrive in college. Our Peer Mentors are the human face of that research in action: current Whitman students who welcome, guide, and champion the incoming class.

     

    What Peer Mentors Do

     

    Each Peer Mentor is matched with a group of 10–15 incoming first-year students and supports them across three key phases of the transition to Whitman:

     

    • Summer outreach (July–August): Mentors reach out individually to every mentee before they ever set foot on campus—sharing a personal introduction, launching a group chat for their mentee cohort, checking in on questions and building excitement for orientation.
    • Orientation Week: Mentors are a visible, energetic presence throughout orientation, making sure every mentee leaves the week knowing their mentor’s name, having their contact information, and feeling like they already have someone in their corner at Whitman.
    • The fall semester: Mentors host weekly open meetups for the first eight weeks of the semester, send monthly check-in emails connecting mentees to campus resources and opportunities, invite their group to shared Whitman events each September and October, and proactively reach out to each mentee one-on-one at key points in the semester—not waiting for students to come to them.

     

    Who Our Mentors Are

     

    Whitman Peer Mentors are a diverse cross-section of the student body—spanning every class year and every major the school offers, from accounting and finance to marketing, business analytics, real estate, and beyond. Many are involved in Whitman clubs, Greek life, athletics, honors programs and campus employment, and a number return to the role year after year because of how meaningful they find it.

     

    For questions regarding the Whitman Peer Mentor Program please contact our Student Success Team:

    Jessica Guignard, Assistant Director of Student Success

    Talia Nixon, Student Success Coordinator