Peer Mentoring
The Project for New Mexico Graduates of Color (PNMGC) is a student-led program that aims to build social, cultural, and academic communities of support among underrepresented students at UNM. The foundation of PNMGC is our Peer Mentoring Program, which partners students—from across disciplines and levels—based upon their preferences (language, academic interests, gender, cultural/ethnic identities, etc.). All participants attend a mentoring orientation each semester, which provides them with best practices, peer mentoring resources, and tools to develop a plan for meeting and communicating with their mentor or mentee throughout their mentoring experience. PNMGC hosts a variety of events throughout the semester to encourage student engagement, trust building among peer mentors, and a greater sense of community for UNM students. Peer Mentoring partners are eligible for Peer Mentoring Scholarships, awarded at the end of the semester.
Our mentoring philosophy reflects the diversity of our organization and the broad spectrum of students we serve:
PNMGC believes in the power of peer support relationships to help students of all backgrounds succeed academically, professionally, and personally. Through peer mentorship we positively engage students’ identities, strengths, and interests to create leaders on campus, in classrooms, and in the community. PNMGC’s mentoring philosophy borrows from the abundance model of teaching and learning, which asserts that all students have the capability to succeed, and particular stigmatized backgrounds or cultures are not viewed as deficits, but as powerful assets for these students and their academic institutions.
Peer Mentoring Program Requirements
- Be a degree-seeking registered student at UNM
- Submit the Mentor/Mentee Application by the deadline
- Attend a mandatory student orientation by the deadline
- Attend 4 PNMGC workshops throughout the semester
- Meet with your mentor/mentee for a minimum of one hour for 4 mentoring sessions
- Submit 4 separate Mentoring Session Tracking forms per pair
- Submit the Scholarship Application by the deadline
- Submit 500-word minimum reflection with the Scholarship Application by the deadline
Fall 2024 Deadlines
- Mentor/Mentee Application | August 23rd
- Orientation | September 3rd and 6th
- Mentor Tracking Sheets | November 30th
- Scholarship Application | Opens November 22nd Closes November 30th