Student Success
Peer Leaders Foster Inclusion
RALEIGH, N.C. (November 19, 2024) – Wake Tech's first Peer Leaders are working to foster a sense of inclusion and belonging among students.
Members of the new leadership program that connects first-year students with experienced student mentors shared their insightful ideas during a capstone project presentation event on Southern Wake Campus.
Liz Jorgensen and Derek Gonzalez created the highest-scoring projects, and each received a $500 gift card from the college's Innovation Fund.
Jorgensen facilitated a training session for Wake Tech faculty in collaboration with Duke University on Universal Design for Learning. As a person with ADHD, she shared her experience with the model after experiencing it for the first time in one of her classes at Wake Tech. She is also working to connect learning styles of students to teaching styles of instructors.
Gonzalez created a student e-newsletter that answers questions from Wake Tech students new to college. Each month, he collects questions, collaborates with Peer Leaders and then shares the answers and resources in the newsletter, which success coaches email to first-year students.
"I'm hoping the newsletter will make the Peer Leaders program more visible and encourage more students to seek our help," Gonzalez said. "The program has also given me a chance to explore new opportunities for myself. I am not a creative person, so I never thought I would be developing and designing a newsletter. This has been a very positive experience for me, and I have enjoyed it immensely."
The capstone project is one component of the Peer Leaders program, which debuted this fall. An extension of the Care Center's Student Success program, Peer Leaders draw from their own experiences and share knowledge about the college in their effort to support students. They answer questions, help with study and time management skills and connect students to campus resources.
The program is designed to allow Peer Leaders the opportunity to a make difference in the lives of others, build meaningful relationships and ease the transition to college by connecting new students with someone who has been in their shoes.
They are Certified Peer Educators through the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. Peer Leaders are paid and spend about three hours each week mentoring students. Five new peer leaders will join the program for the Spring semester.
"This group of Peer Leaders is truly amazing," said Amanda Allen, director of Student Success. "I've seen them interact and build connections with other students, staff, faculty and even programs outside of Wake Tech. They've worked incredibly hard to provide mentoring while maintaining academic excellence. They've collaborated with each other creating a sense of belonging at Wake Tech for students, and I can't wait to see what their future holds."
Wake Tech's Peer Leaders will be on the national stage in April as a featured student success presentation at the American Association of Community Colleges annual convention in Nashville, Tenn.
