At a recent ceremony held at SETU’s Cork Road Campus, 10 years of the peer mentoring programme was celebrated by acknowledging the achievements of 167 mentors.
Peer mentors play a vital role in supporting first year students in the transition to third level education. This student-led and centered initiative builds connections among students studying the same course disciplines and helps give new students a sense of belonging in the University.
Support first year students
Peer mentors act as social support for their mentees throughout the academic year. This can involve offering advice relevant to their course, academic support, timetables or even advice regarding student life itself. Mentors volunteer their time to keep in contact with their mentees throughout the academic year, helping them to settle into university life.
Senior mentors
Mentors who return to the programme in Waterford can apply to become senior mentors, where they take on more responsibility through facilitating engaging workshops for first year students. This year, among the 167 mentors celebrated at the awards, 39 senior mentors were recognised for participating in an accredited Special Purpose Award.
Impact on community
Head of Student Life and Learning, Dr Laura Keane commented, “Our mentors’ input matters and has a positive impact on the SETU community. Without them, there would be no peer mentoring programme. First year students value their support and friendship. It is really important to us to take the opportunity to thank the mentors for giving their time to help fellow students. This celebration is extra special for us as it is the tenth anniversary of peer mentoring in SETU.”
It is really important to us to take the opportunity to thank the mentors for giving their time to help fellow students.
Dr Laura Keane Head of Student Life and Learning, SETU
Staff support
The programme would not be possible without the support of our academic staff, who play a huge role in supporting our mentors, especially those who led the Special Purpose Award. Thank you to Mairead Barry, Michael Tobin, Dr Geraldine Cleere, Erin McNamara Cullen, Mark Gaffney, Marie O’Dwyer, Fergal O’Hanlon, Emily Shillingford, Maria Cahill, Dr Nabla Kennedy and Evelyn Landers.
Peer mentoring is coordinated by the Student Life and Learning team, led by Thomas Grinsell, Bríd Ryan, Olivia Brennan, Ciara Butler and Milena Lescova.
Recruiting for new mentors
P2P are now recruiting new mentors for the 2025/26 academic year. The team will be holding recruitment stands on the Cork Road and College Street Campuses throughout semester two where students can speak to the support team about mentoring. Current mentors will also be present to chat about their experience and provide an understanding of what is involved in the role of a mentor.
The P2P programme is currently running across five faculties at SETU in Waterford on a total of 32 courses. Work is being carried out to continue this expansion onto several new courses this upcoming academic year. For students based on the Kilkenny Road Campus in Carlow, an awards ceremony will take early March with mentor recruitment following this.
For more information on the programme, please contact the peer mentoring team in Waterford via email: [email protected]
