This past fall semester, I participated in the INT1000 course, Internship PD and Reflection. I enrolled with my internship being a Peer Leader at the UC Learning Commons. My role as a Peer Leader is to lead a group of 16 freshman Neuroscience students with similar class schedules – a Learning Community (LC) – through their first year at college. I meet with my LC virtually and facilitate lessons twice per week, mentoring them and providing them with content to help develop their academic, college, and career skills.

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          This seminar allowed me to articulate my experiences and properly reflect how it shaped my college experience. Along the way, I was constantly having to evaluate myself and rethink how I was mentoring my students. I often asked myself: What can I improve on? What kind of lessons would my students enjoy the most? Are my students making connections with each other, and if not, how can I help out with that? These questions were all guided by this seminar, yet I found myself reflecting on these questions beyond what was required in the course.

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          I can confidently say that being a Peer Leader was one of the most rewarding things about my semester. I’ve built many relationships with my students, and it was fulfilling to see their growth as a community throughout the semester. This experience made me realize how much I enjoy mentoring students, and I hope to do so more in the future. As my future career is to become a neuroscience researcher, I look forward to the many students that come into my lab, wanting to learn about all the work I do.

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          I’ve attached a picture of me and my LC below in one of our virtual meetings. Obviously, this past year has been rough on everybody, but it’s the small bits of human connection that give students a glimpse of normalcy. Although my LC’s first-year college experience was hindered due to COVID-19, we all still enjoyed seeing each other every week, and we are all looking forward to being together next semester!