Applications for current Stevens undergraduates to join next year’s cohort of Peer Leaders have opened, The Offices of Undergraduate Student Life and Undergraduate Academics have announced. The application, which was released on January 23, will be open through Sunday, February 19.
Peer Leaders are tasked with helping freshman students to adjust to college life, more difficult classes, and other academic, personal, and social challenges of the transition. A major component of this responsibility involves guiding a group of about 30 first year students through orientation. According to Stevens, becoming a Peer Leader is an opportunity to grow and develop as a leader, as well as to give back to and share pride in the Stevens community.
New applicants were required to attend one of several information sessions, which were held from January 25 to February 2. In these sessions, prospective Peer Leaders learned more about the role and listened to presentations by former Peer Leaders about their experiences in the position.
To learn more about the application process and the Peer Leader program, The Stute spoke with sophomore Nicholas Smith, who has served as Peer Leader Coordinator since January 2023, via an email interview.
“The PL program has the goal of orienting new students and helping them become better acclimated with Stevens,” Smith said. “Peer Leaders host small group sessions with their groups and inform them about campus resources and activities.” But more importantly, he said, is their role in helping to form the first relationships among peers at Stevens. Although conveying critical information to new students is an important part of the job, most of the work of a Peer Leader goes into running the activities and events that constitute freshman orientation. “Without them, the Play Fair and so many other great orientation activities wouldn’t be possible,” Smith noted.
Selections are made from the list of applied candidates by Danielle, Shaya, and Julia of the Offices of Student Life and Undergraduate Academics. The selection process mainly consists of identifying qualities in candidates like strong communication skills, adaptability, and inclusivity.
Communicating the various resources available on campus, how to go through the process of scheduling classes for the first time, and navigating the formidable orientation schedule are all things that Peer Leaders need to be able to communicate to their groups. Additionally, adaptability is critical because the huge influx of an entire class—now about a thousand students—results in a frequent need to rework plans, and having people in charge who can think “in a more flexible and agile manner is critical to success,” according to Smith. Finally, inclusivity is necessary because as Stevens grows more diverse, Peer Leaders must be able to run their activities and conduct their groups in a way that doesn’t result in the exclusion of any new students.
Smith said that becoming a Peer Leader led to him forming many new friendships and other lasting relationships. He related a story about his friend Fay, who was his Peer Leader when Smith was an incoming freshman. Although they initially didn’t know each other well, going through Peer Leader training, which Smith called a highlight of the experience, resulting in them becoming close friends. “This is not a unique experience,” he said, explaining that by talking to Peer Leaders, one would quickly see that the program’s training is designed to forge a sense of unity and community that rubs off on the first year students. “The most rewarding [outcome] for me was seeing the peers in my group make friends, and seeing them around campus with their friends doing fun things, laughing, and more.”
According to Smith, deciding to become a Peer Leader was one of the best choices he could have made. “I was so lucky to have an incredible orientation experience and first year here at Stevens, and I want nothing more but to make that possible for everyone that drives through the 9th street gate in August. It has become one of my top priorities here at Stevens.”
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