ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder's Peer Mentor Program for International Students is a student-based volunteer group of more than 30 that helps new international students become more familiar with the ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder campus.
The idea of a "buddy program" for new students originated in 1995 and led to a grant from the Cooperative Grants Program of the Association of International Educators for the Peer Mentor Program for International Students.
"The mentor program helps students to better adapt to the area and make a strong network of friends," said Janet Garcia, foreign student and scholar adviser at ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder. "Since it began, the program has really taken off." Garcia describes the program as more of a service than a social program.
The mentor program, which works in conjunction with the long-standing Cosmopolitan Club on many events for international students, developed into an informal, self-motivated and self-governed program. Students meet every other week to plan events that take place throughout the year.
"The program became a lot less formal than we originally planned, but that helps keep the momentum going," Garcia said. "The program really took off on its own," she said. "There has been a strong leader who has emerged each year to help keep it going."
One such leader is Tariq Mahmoud. A senior and international affairs major, Mahmoud came to ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder from Bahrain in 1998.
"The program worked very well for me," Mahmoud said. As a student with a mentor when he first arrived at ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥, Mahmoud liked the program so much that he became a mentor himself.
"One of the things that I have gained from this experience is the ability to interact with others -- to meet new people and hit it off with them, to have the ability to connect," Mahmoud said.
The mentor program offers events from pumpkin carving with families of international graduate students to weekend retreats in Estes Park.
The mountain lodge trip, held at the Estes Park YMCA over Labor Day weekend, is a three-day, two-night event that establishes many strong bonds, Garcia said. "Some people are up until two and three in the morning talking, and many didn't even know each other before the trip."
Students have come away with strong, lasting friendships as a result of this program, Garcia said. "My best memory of this program is the opportunity I get every year to make new memories with so many different people," Mahmoud said.
The mentor program began in the fall of 1997, complementing the Cosmopolitan Club -- a long-established group that also focuses on social activities for international students. The Cosmopolitan Club has been on the ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder campus for more than 75 years.
For information on becoming a peer mentor, contact Janet Garcia at (303) 492-8057.