First-Gen Students "Get to Know You" |
Welcome!
Hello, thank you for expressing interest in joining our first-generation students' mentorship program, known as "First in Class". We know that students who are the first in their family to attend higher education often face many barriers. Not only is it financially challenging, but the culture of higher education can seem strange or unfamiliar to someone who has no experience with it and can't ask family for help or advice. To better support first-gen students, we have decided to create a mentorship program. We are a group of faculty who were ourselves first-gen students, so we understand the experience well. To learn more about potential mentors, see our website here:
https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/firstgen/
WHAT YOU WILL GET IN THE PROGRAM
Each student will be paired up with a mentor based on their interests (e.g., from your department) and/or identity (e.g., sex/gender, race/ethnicity, etc.). That mentor will be a reference point and support who can help you make sense of the hidden rules of higher education and encourage you to pursue your goals. They can help to direct you to useful resources on campus, and if they do not know, they can help you find the right person to ask. By being in the program, you will also get to meet with other first-gen students, and together we will build a sense of community on campus.
If you join the mentorship program, you will be enrolled throughout the 2023-24 year. It is expected you will meet with your mentor at least 2 times per semester, although you may be in contact with them more frequently through email, etc. As a big group (all mentors and students) we will have at least one social event per semester, so you can experience that sense of community with others in the program. This is a two-year pilot project so if you want to continue into 2023-24, you can re-enrol. The program is open to all students at UVic - undergraduate, graduate, local, international, etc. Everyone is welcome!
Reasons why a mentor is valuable:
-a mentor can provide support, advice, and knowledge
-a mentor can provide constructive feedback
-a mentor can help you navigate the university life by pointing out to you to invaluable resources
-a mentor can help you clarify and define your goals
-a mentor can help you build a network
-a mentor can help you succeed in your studies.
In order to better serve you and make the program most useful for you, we would like to get to know a little about you. By completing this survey, we will have your contact information and be able to get in touch with you about how to connect with a mentor, as well as other events related to First-in-Class.
Thank you for your interest!