As this year’s Peer Leaders are wrapping up their time of guiding first-year students to their new home on Stevens’ campus, 2018 Peer Leaders continue to await payment for their work. Student Life Advisor Danielle Maxson responded in an email to The Stute confirming that the Peer Leader Program has “secured funding to pay peer leaders retroactively.”
The Peer Leader Program began in the 2018-2019 academic year, replacing the Orientation Leaders and Peer Mentor programs. The Peer Leaders themselves are undergraduate students committed to supporting new students acclimating to college culture. The leaders work with a diverse range of students, providing mentorship and guidance, while also just trying to encourage an enjoyable time.
The 2018 Peer Leaders were hired under the agreement that they would receive a small stipend for their work — approximately $100. However, as the year came and went, the mentors finished out their terms without ever seeing their promised compensation. A number of Peer Leaders ended up graduating without ever hearing about the status of their payment.
During training for Fall 2019, an anonymous Peer Leader witnessed another student ask administration about the status of the compensation for 2018 Peer Leaders. There, they saw a staff member explain that they were unaware of the status of the payment.
The anonymous leader said that they and many of the Peer Leaders are “more disgruntled at the fact that the administration was not forthcoming with the information on our payment.”
In her email response to The Stute, Maxson mentioned that “compensation for the 2018 Peer Leaders has been delayed due to unforeseen circumstances,” without directly elaborating on what these issues are.
Christopher Shemanski, Associate Director of Undergraduate Student Life, emailed 2018 Peer Leaders yesterday, where he apologized for the delay in resolving the issue and stated, “By Thursday, October 17, 2019, you will receive payment instructions and from there, we will be able to begin the payment process.”
Peer Leader Luke Langner expressed cautious excitement. He said that even though it is nice to know Peer Leaders will be getting paid, they still don’t know in what format they will be getting paid, whether in DuckBills or through direct deposit. “I was frustrated by the lack of communication and transparency until something happened that put them on the spot. It took an article from The Stute to get an update on the situation, which makes me feel disrespected as someone who represents the school in a positive light,” Langner stated.
“I do not think it is necessary to pay Peer Leaders in the future,” the anonymous student said. “The work itself is extremely fulfilling and the main reason that many students participate is to give back to the Stevens community.” They went on to explain that they thought the money could be more useful for funding activities for Peer Leaders and their ducklings.
As it stands, 2019 Peer Leaders are still in the understanding that they will be receiving compensation for their work as well.
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