Peer mentoring has shown to increase transfer student success and foster an immediate sense of belonging in their academic setting. We have created a Peer Mentoring program to build connections between our majors and new transfer students joining our program. The goal of this program is for students to (1) interact and socialize, (2) provide a sense of belonging for new students within the department and university, (3) offer accessibility and knowledge to navigate RU-campus resources, and (4) increase retention & graduation rates. The peer mentor outcomes is to (1) build and apply mentoring skills, (2) improve leadership skills, and (3) increase a sense of belonging in their major. For our presentations, we would like to share our experience in recruiting students to the program, the process of matching mentors with mentees, meeting expectations and goals, guidance throughout the semester and overall design of the peer mentoring course that students take.
