Peer Mentor Program
Past Participants
Our participants have included students from a wide variety of backgrounds. Here are some of their stories.
Angel '07 – mentee 
First-generation, Mexican American student from East Los Angeles, California
- Favorite book: Catcher in the Rye
- Reason for participating in the peer mentor program: easier to make the transition if support was already there when it was needed, always better to have more resources rather than fewer
- Favorite part of the program: having a mentor who can relate to the social and academic challenges here and who can answer all of his questions
- Worried about before coming to Reed: whether he could handle the academic pressure of competing with better prepared students – turns out he had nothing to worry about
- Biggest surprise when he got here: that he couldn't leave his dorm without wearing a coat
Jess '06 – former mentee and current mentor 
First-generation student from Seattle, Washington
- What she loves about Reed: how much insanity is taken in stride, for example the large parade outside the library one night that everyone seemed to ignore
- Reason for becoming a mentor: knew that not everyone has an easy adjustment to Reed, wanted to help since she knew what it was like, wanted to stay involved with the program
- Silly talent: can unwrap a Starburst in her mouth just using her tongue
- Other campus involvement: helps run campus ADD discussion group, works as t-watcher (computer support)
Diego '07 – mentee 
Mexican American student from Denton, Texas
- Favorite movie: The Matrix
- Why Reed: liked the student-to-faculty ratio, the system of not knowing his grades, and the fact that grades are not stressed
- Favorite part of the peer mentor program: the retreat at the beginning of the year gave him a chance to see Oregon's natural resources and to meet people from similar backgrounds
- Misses most about home: mom's cooking
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