Hispanic - Latinx Peer Mentoring Program
For Incoming Students:
Incoming first year and transfer students can opt in to be matched with a mentor here!
The Hispanic/Latinx Peer Mentoring Program (PMP) is a program to assist in the transition of incoming students. Student mentors draw from their own experience at the University of Virginia as well as from their training to inform and guide newer students who are making the transition from their previous institution to the diverse academic, intellectual and social culture that they find here.
The Peer Mentoring Program is student-led and professionally coordinated through Multicultural Student Services. Students, with their experience, their caring and their commitment are at the heart of PMP. The program’s infrastructure, selection process, training, and oversight are managed through the Assistant Director within Multicultural Student Services.
Entering students will be contacted in June welcoming them to the University and introducing PMP. Upon the start of school, interested potential mentees are matched up to mentors after having met everyone through several events, aptly named Mentor-Mentee Weeks. The events for this two week-long bonding include sports, food, and other get-togethers and concludes with Mentor Matching in mid-September. Through these events we will match a mentee to a mentor and we will have a Big Reveal.
Altogether, there are 4 PMP familias, each lead by an exec member, with about 20-25 mentors each! Mentors are approachable, enthusiastic, knowledgeable about University resources, and genuinely interested in helping others. Initial contact over the summer is made by the executive board followed by a second contact by mentors. They offer to answer questions and remain available to interested incoming students. PMP is a great way to meet people, build community and have fun.
History of the program
The PMP was founded in 1999 as a structure of support for students of Hispanic/Latinx origin during their first year at the University. The goal: to help students make the transition to University life in academics, co-curriculars and socially, by enlisting the help of the people best equipped to help, namely, young men and women of Hispanic/Latinx origin or affinity already succeeding at the University and enjoying life here.
Program Philosophy
Research and experience show that students perform better when they feel truly part of a college community – which tends to be a challenge for most first-year students.
For Latinx/Hispanic students, the importance of connection to family and, often, to language, can be harnessed to create a “familia” away from home, a network of support fostering a higher quality of life and academic success. Having a Peer Mentor, along with other forms of support, a student doesn’t have to feel like just 1 person lost among 14,000 undergraduates.
The PMP Experience
The program thrives to create an experience that is both personal and enriching for each mentee. By creating small familias based on common interests each mentee can benefit from a personalized relationship with their mentors and fellow peers, enriching their overall experience. The program also supports the development of mentors through the use of training, peer support and a network of faculty resources
A mentee is any incoming student who identifies as Hispanic/Latinx. All first year and transfer students are invited to the program the summer before they matriculate to UVA.