A peer mentor is an
experienced first-gen upper-class student at UB who will mentor a small group
(up to 10) new to UB first-gen freshmen. Mentors are committed to supporting
the holistic development of our first-gen students and preparing them to make a
successful transition to college. Mentors will contribute to the success of
their mentees by building community and as sense of belonging. Mentors will
also challenge the student to think more critically and have an increased level
of self- awareness and reflection. Mentors will serve as a buddy, a coach, an
advocate and a role model for their mentee.
Peer Mentor Primary Responsibilities
Participate in required mentor training sessions
(approx. 2 hours in person, there may be more training opportunities online; times
TBD)
Attend fall “Welcome (Back) Bulls Social” in September to welcome all incoming
first generation students
Reach out to your assigned mentees at the start of
classes and each month; be available to your mentee via text, email, phone, or
in person
Attend First Gen Connect monthly events with your
mentee(s)
Participate in mentor workshops offered on a variety
of leadership, wellness, and personal/professional development topics
Estimated time commitment of the program:
approximately 2 hours in mentor training (times TBD)
Additional online training modules will be required as
ongoing training
approximately 4 hours a week working with
mentee(s), which includes related activities–workshops, mentor journal,
required survey/assessments)
Peer Mentor Required Qualifications
Enrolled in Spring 2020 and will have sophomore,
junior, or senior status in Fall 2020
Must be in good academic, financial, and
disciplinary standing
First-generation college student (neither parent
received a four-year degree in the United States)
Good interpersonal and communication skills
Genuine desire to help their first-generation peers
succeed
Self-motivated with a positive attitude
Willing to learn and share information about the
University at Buffalo community, student life and campus resources
First gen students at UB come from across the globe
and represent a wide variety of ethnic, cultural, linguistic, socio-economic,
geographical, and political perspectives–prospective mentors should embrace and
celebrate this diversity
Interest in developing leadership and mentoring
experience
Benefits for Peer Mentors
Workshops and training on a wide variety of UB
resources that support student success–including career, professional, wellness,
and leadership topics
Enhance your skills in coaching and guiding others
Opportunities to connect with a wide network of
faculty and staff dedicated to the success of our first gen Bulls community
Stay up to date on new events and resources on campus
Make a difference and positively impact a first-year
student’s UB experience!
Provide free five-minute backrubs and wellness info to students at campus events, residence halls, organization meetings, libraries and other campus locations. Endless Benefits and Instant Connections:
•
Learn effective backrub and other stress reduction techniques
•
Meet and team with others committed to helping students feel better
•
Participate when and where you want
•
Get experience working on a high-profile health promotion initiative
•
Fulfill volunteer hours needed for a class, a student club, or other program
•
Have a great time, make friends, and relax!The Stressbusters Program is an incredibly fun program for undergrad and grad students. Volunteer commitment is less than 10 hours a semester. A Volunteer Training will be offered at the start of each semester for new volunteers and the outreach events will begin the weeks following.Stressbusters is a program of Health Promotion. If you are interested, please complete a Stressbusters Volunteer Application under the Forms section on UBLinked here: https://buffalo.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/wes. For more information, please contact Sharlynn Daun-Barnett at sd62@buffalo.edu
The upcoming UB Pride & Service Day event is on May 11th and we are looking for student teams to come volunteer for the morning and show their UB Pride! Event registration will begin at 8:30 am in the Student Union Lobby and the day will finish off around 1:30 PM with lunch back in the Student Union Lobby. UB volunteers will be given a t-shirt, water bottle and work gloves as well as breakfast, lunch and transportation to and from their work site!!
*If you’re interested in volunteering with us, please register here.
Explore
Buffalo is recruiting volunteers for Doors Open Buffalo, taking place
on June 15, 2019. Doors Open Buffalo is a day of free public access into
downtown Buffalo’s most architecturally
and historically significant buildings. Based
on Doors Open events in other cities like Baltimore and Pittsburgh, we
are expecting up to 15,000 people to visit the 35 buildings
on tour.
We will need hundreds of volunteers to staff this event. Volunteer duties include greeting and counting visitors, distributing event guides, and providing directions and a basic history of your assigned building.
Volunteer shifts are 3 hours long, starting no earlier than 8:30 am and ending no later than 5:30 pm so there’s plenty of time to enjoy the reset of the event before or after your shift. Volunteers are encouraged to sign up with friends and family. You do not have to be an Explore Buffalo volunteer to participate. Please register via the following link. Once signed up you’ll receive a confirmation email. Explore Buffalo will be back in touch no later than May 17 with volunteer training dates and no later than June 7 with your building and shift assignment. https://explorebuffalo.org/doors-open-buffalo/
Monkey See, Monkey Do Children’s Bookstore is looking for volunteers at the Buffalo Marathon on Sunday, May 26, 2019! They have a variety of opportunities available. Please contact Kim Krug at kim@monkeysread.comsread.com or 716-713-5472.
AAUW,
the American Association of University Women, is a national
organization advocating for equity and education for women and girls.
Locally, the Buffalo
branch – sixth oldest branch in the country—provides scholarship and
interest-free loans for women and men.
The branch will host its thirteenth anniversary
Tech Savvy conference on Saturday,
March
16, at the University at Buffalo North (Amherst) campus.
Tech Savvy inspires middle school girls to pursue careers in STEM
(science, engineering, technology, and math) areas through fun
workshops. The
on a roll program provides follow-through sessions for high
school girls. And, adult sessions feature topics for parents, teachers,
and other adults. This year’s theme is
She Inspires, I Inspire, We Inspire!
Tech Savvy Buffalo is the flagship program for the national Tech Savvy program, with dozens of sites nationwide since 2014.
Along
with support from AAUW, the conference is made possible due to support
from Praxair and UB’s School of Engineering & Applied Sciences.
The program is run by approximately
100+ volunteers. Volunteers are needed to help with set up, registration, room monitoring, ushering, and snack services. Volunteers are needed for the full conference (7AM – 5pm) or for morning (7 AM – 1pm) or afternoon (noon – 5pm) shifts.
Volunteers
will receive continental breakfast, lunch, and t-shirt. Volunteers are
also invited to the pre-Tech Savvy reception on Friday, March 15.
Recent college graduates (within last two years) who volunteer can receive a complimentary first year national AAUW membership.
Roswell Park is looking for volunteers to assist with running the Buffalo Health Care Exploration this summer. We are especially looking for males but have unfilled positions for both genders. You must currently be in college and preference will be given to applicants who participated in BHE during high school or have worked with Roswell previously.
BHE is a program for high school students who believe they
may want to go to medical school or pursue a science career. The students get
to do activities such as shadow doctors, think of medical instruments, get
college and premedical mentoring, and networking opportunities within Roswell.
It is during the month of July with extra commitments during June for the Ride
for Roswell. If you apply be sure you can commit to being present for the vast
majority of events and all program dates. The days begin at 9 and end at 4pm.
As a TA you would be acting as a mentor and a guide for a team
of students. You would be responsible for transporting them to different
locations, supervision and mentoring. You’ll act as a positive role model and
peer for the students and help them gain the most out of the program.
As a college student you have the opportunity to network
within Roswell with the many talented physicians involved. You will also gain
exposure to the ATLAS interns who work with the urology department on various
research projects. The networking and connections you make can be integral in
gaining an internship at Roswell, gaining access to medical school, or gaining
access to graduate school. You will be working alongside other motivated
students from nearby colleges.