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Article Type

Professional Proficiency

Article Abstract

Related Issue:

Peer mentorship at colleges and universities is often thought of in the context of formal programs. This paper examines mentorship from an informal lens as the everyday advice students give their peers. This study utilized focus groups to see how students responded to questions their peers asked about their experiences. Four themes emerged that can be used to inform research and practice: academic development, psychological and identity development, interpersonal and social development, and life-skill development.

Author(s)

aderholdt-w-d--mdWm. David Aderholdt, M.Ed., is a Doctoral Candidate in the Adult and Higher Education program at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. His dissertation is a nationwide policy evaluation of the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter. David has eight years of experience in student affairs working in Residence Life, Title IX, civil rights compliance, behavioral intervention, conduct, and research. Currently, David works as a Graduate Research Assistant for Dr. Tricia Seifert. David’s research areas of interest are: law and policy of higher education, diversity and social justice, student retention, behavioral intervention, and student conduct.

oliveri-c--smChristiane N. Oliveri, Ed.D., is the Student Success Coordinator, College of STEM, Center for Academic Advising and Retention at Eastern Washington University. Her background is in the field of student affairs, working with student success and first-year transition programs. Her research interests include first-year transitions and the experiences of first-generation and low-income students around stigma and social belonging. She earned an Ed.D. from Montana State University and received her M.Ed. from The University of Maine in Higher Education and Student Development, and her B.A. in Psychology from Bradford College.

clark-j--lgJennifer I. Clark, M.Ed., is the Student Success Coordinator for the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering at Montana State University. She is a Doctoral candidate in the Adult & Higher Education program focusing her research interests on the factors that contribute to retention in engineering and computer science programs. Jen has personal experience as a first-generation, academically underprepared student which drives her research interests. She received her M.Ed. from Montana State University in 2011, and her B.S. in Family Science & Sociology from the University of Arizona.

seifert-t--smTricia A. Seifert, Ph.D., is associate professor in Adult & Higher Education at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana and maintains a faculty appointment at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. Her research examines how higher education experiences and environments promote student learning and success. Her work has been published in a host of higher education journals, and she is a co-author of the recent volume of How College Affects Students: 21st Evidence that Higher Education Works.

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