Hmm. Hey I got into "GENERIC" college!
Oh, congratulations.
(rude interrupting Oliver) WE NEED TO HAVE THE TALK
*glug glug glug* Slams ironic mug on table.
Hi, my name is Oliver Wang and I'd like to talk to you about colleges.
Every year, more and more students are headed off to college
because it's not only one of the best investments you can make
it's one of the greatest forms of social mobility that we have.
Weeelllll... *IF* you graduate. :(
Research has shown that the first (big) increase in income that you can experience only occurs AFTER you receive your bachelor's degree.
Surviving college is no small feat.
(like a true newsanchor, I do not wear dress pants)
IT'S HARD. It's really hard (Camerawoman nods in agreement).
Students from more affluent backgrounds and who have better access to public resources tend to adjust easier to college life,
because they learn how to navigate higher education. But this isn't true for all of America.
Studies have shown that students of lower socioeconomic status or other minoritized statuses
will see their middle-class counterparts and become discouraged,
because they (the middle-class counterparts) start preparing from such a young age.
Colleges around the U.S. have recognized the difficulty in transitioning to college life.
And hey (slams laptop lid closed) if you won't believe an admissions officer, maybe a peer will do?
Peer mentorship programs have been spreading like wildfire
with colleges across the U.S. implementing them for incoming first year students.
Statistics show that peer mentorship programs not only improve retention rates,
but they lead to higher academic performance.
Leveling the playing field, and ensuring graduation for all students.
This brings us to our problem.
While peer mentorship provides support and encouragement to the student,
there are numerous cases in which peer mentorship has actually increased feelings of ostracization.
This can be for numerous reasons, but it all boils down to one thing.
Does my mentor understand and reflect my experiences?
Mismatched identites servce as the foundation for misunderstandings that eventually ruin a mentor relationship.
Therefore we need research on whether matching mentors and mentees based on race, ethnicity,
gender, and economic background (as well as other identities) leads to more successful peer mentorships.
The study that I propose, will do just that.
I planned* to send a survey to college students across the country asking for information in three distinct categories.
The first category is rate the extent to which your mentor resembles you on key characteristics.
The second category is elaborate on your engagement in the peer mentorship program.
And the third category is: describe any other factors or circumstances that could have affected your engagement.
While not definitive, the results of this study would inform colleges on how to better recruit and train peer mentors.
Unfortunately, I am graduating, so... I won't be implementing this study (I guess).
But, maybe a future APUG student can! (DON'T LET THE FIRE DIE)
*quick deterioration of sanity*
Thank you for watching this video! I'd like to give a special shoutout to APUG's Inside Scoop! peer mentoring program for inspiring this study.
Also, thank you to Maggie, Tiffany, Rachel, Vivi, Dr. Melzi, and Dr. Schick for workshopping the script.
Also, special shoutout to Stacy and Aurelia for helping me film all of this (and eating all of my carrots).
Class of 2020, we made it! (What exactly did we make lol?)
For the next 30 minutes I'll be on Twitter answering any and all of your questions on the information presented today.
Thank you! I hope to see you there! (Okay, so I will be live on Twitter for like an hour after I post the link to this video on Twitter.
This was an irresponsible lie. I'd like to apologies to my friends, family, and fans for my transgressions. I am a changed man.)
