What students say about mentoring

“Pre-arrival guiding gives people a friend before they arrive at uni, because like I was talking to my peer guide the summer before I came, so when I got to uni, it’s like yeah, I know someone and like they’ll help me meet the other people. ”

Mentee - UK Student in First Year

“As an international student I was thinking to myself... am I going to make new friends, am I going to cope, am I going to settle there?”

Mentee - International Student in First Year

“I like to make the students feel as welcome as possible, it’s that initial week that really makes or breaks whether the new students like university or not.”

Mentor - UK Student, Female in Second Year

“The first thing my peer mentor helped me about was when I had to start writing essays for my coursework during the first time in the first term. I had no clue how to search for the electronic journals or books in the library. She showed me everything like how to do it electronically, how to look for different types of topics in the library where the sections are and everything, and it was so useful because after her advice I was able to actually do it myself and start preparing because otherwise I wouldn’t have done anything ”

Mentee - EU Student in First Year

“I find it really, really difficult writing, like stepping up from sixth form to university and kind of writing essays then for university. And then so just to have my peer guide there just to be able to kind of … I don’t know … kind of just help me do research on it, to improve my grades. But I don’t know, I find it really, really helpful … So I think it’s just like helpful little hints or books to look at.”

Mentee - UK Student in First Year

“For me being a peer mentor helped me become a better student. By showing my mentees how to use the library, the electronic catalogues and things I learnt more myself. When they asked me questions about studying that I didn’t know rather than lose face I went and found out. That’s benefitted me a lot. ”

Mentor - UK Student in Second Year

“Yes, I think the message needs to be reinforced, new peer mentors need to be told that they should be committed and motivated. You don’t just go into it because you’re going to get a certificate, but it’s about people, you should care about people, treat others the way you’d like to be treated. And it’s really, really rewarding, because you make an impact on these people’s lives, so they should really, really go in for it and put in the amount of time and effort to just make it a memorable experience for the new students.”

Mentor - UK Student in Third Year

Teacher helping a student in a classroom
Students helping to make furniture
An individual getting out of a car

“I have been taking part in the ASC mentoring scheme. I was matched up with a student from Matthew Arnold School and once a week I visited the student to provide one-to-one support. Much of our work together has focused on organisation, study techniques, and preparation for exams, but each session is different depending on what the student wants to discuss and it’s not all serious – we actually end up laughing a lot! The scheme has been a really good opportunity for me to develop my one-to-one communication skills which is important for my future plan of clinical psychology. Hearing someone’s struggles and coming up with advice and an action plan on the spot can be hard sometimes, but I learned you do not always need to have all the answers, you just need to listen. My mentee told me that the best part of mentoring is just having someone from outside the school to talk to about anything. For me, the best part has been knowing I am capable of making a difference. Mentee”

Mentee

“My degree included a work placement module in the second and third years. I believed that a placement would benefit my learning experience beyond the theory of film with practical hands-on experience and give me an opportunity to increase my skillset, which will help when I graduate… This experience made me realise it was a career I definitely wanted to pursue and made me eager to continue my studies in film making. The advice I would give to others, who are thinking about doing a degree in Film Studies at University, is that you need to take your learning beyond the classroom, by being proactive in looking for placement opportunities, which will give you an idea about the industry and the different areas that you can move into after graduation. This practical experience is invaluable for your career and will give you a good grounding for becoming an amazing filmmaker. ”

Final Year Student, BA Film Studies and Drama

“It was a really interesting insight into work and what I could do with my degree. ”

Final Year Student, BSc Mathematics and Computer Science