Peer Support & Networking

Kaitlyn Guilbeault, Brianna Hayward, Dayna Hookway, Karen Martin-Brown, Garrett Shows & Ariana White were all from UNH for you and presented at the CAST UDL Symposium “We Are in Charge.” Martin-Brown is the project director and introduced the students participating in the session. Hayward is also a project coordinator. Garret Shows is starting his second year and wants to be an elementary school physical education teacher. Dayna Hookway wants to become a meteorologist and is also a second-year student. Katie Guilbeault and Ariana White are studying science education. Ariana supports Dayna as an academic coach. Katie works with Garrett and helps him build connections and navigation. Hayward talked about how the matching happens and how they have become a cohort.

Students pick the activities they want to do and what works best for them. Dayna struggles with anxiety and talked about how the peer mentoring system helps. Garrett spoke about how he has enjoyed making friends through Katie. They shared about Garrett losing his wallet and how Katie’s friends helped to find the wallet. Martin-Brown described how the “bigger network” helped Dayna feel supported. Katie also spoke about how this new program helped her meet people and connect with campus resources. She spoke about how much she learned about positivity from Garrett. Ariana explained how working with Dayna helped her with motivation and her career. The conversation continued, and they all shared how these partnerships led to networks and friendships. Garrett was featured in a film about his struggles and successes. Martin-Brown shared that most campus members are supportive, and the program grows over time. Hayward recounted how they worked with a faculty member to make the lab notebook used for a course more accessible and… digital. The last question was, “how has your mentor helped you become a better student?” Martin-Brown said that Dayna has grown so much as a student.
Hayward explained that this program is funded by a grant, and several campuses across the nation are doing this. UNH is on a five-year grant, and Martin-Brown said there are 30 programs across the nation. Katie talked about going to yoga classes and games thanks to what Garrett showed her and the connections made. Dayna is a commuter student, and Garrett lives in. the dorms. They both seem to be well connected on campus, thanks to this program. Both peer mentors mentioned that Dayna and Garrett now advocate for themselves really well. What a cool program! I wonder if there is training for the mentors and programming for all. I know EMSEP at WPI, and the support I received from our group helped me integrate better on a new campus…

two women sitting down against white wall laughing
How does peer mentoring help students with accessibility and social support networks? Photo by Elle Hughes on Pexels.com
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