This past year I decided to continue my role as Peer Leader and was fortunate enough to be selected by the year end to not only take on one Learning Community, but two! My experience the first year serving as a Peer Leader will never be matched. Those students have a special place in my heart. But, this year I noticed I had a different role to fill than the year before. I noticed myself serving more a mentor to my fellow Peer Leaders than my students. I was being asked to come into my fellow PLs’ Learning Communities to observe them to give them pointers and have other PLs come into my Learning Community as well to observe me with my students.

 

I was asked to serve on the “Learn to Lead” campaign where a select group of Peer Leaders were asked to help in the recruitment of qualified Peer Leaders. I worked closely with my Peer Leader Captain, Eliza Wilder, to feed ideas about how the Learning Community structure can change. My time as a Peer Leader has been life changing. These students have had more of an impact on me than I think I could ever have on them. I think that the Center for First Year experience has some work to do. They aren’t a perfect organization, yet. I think that they have the potential to truly do great things and have a chance to have a remarkable impact on students’ lives and their college careers. I continue to stay in contact with many of my students and they will forever have a place in my heart. But, as we grow ourselves as Peer Leaders and students, our roles and goals tend to change. I will no longer continue to be a Peer Leader into my final year at UC but I think every student has an obligation to give back to our younger Bearcats. They are the future of our communities and we need to make sure that we mentor them and nurture them to become the leaders and students they want to be. It is our responsibility to support them and create a community that supports that.