According to two Memorial students who signed up to be a mentor and a mentee in the MUN Mentors Program with the International Student Advising (ISA) office, the arrangement is mutually beneficial.

In fact, when asked what the benefits are of being one or the other, the two students’ answers are basically one and the same.

Danchao Jiang, a first-year business student from China, and Omolade Kola-Oni, a first-year sciences student from Nigeria, both say they got involved in the program to make friends in a new land and to learn as much as they could about their new home. But they also had their own specific reasons for signing up, too.

“When Lade and I met, I already had a good grasp of what life in Newfoundland is like and had pretty much adjusted to it,” said Mr. Jiang, the mentee in the friendship. “But, I still needed a little help finding some places on campus like finding the student health centre and the wellness centre. She really helped me out. I am very grateful.”

“I enjoyed helping Danchao get answers to his questions,” said Ms. Kola-Oni. “I also learned more about myself. Knowing I had someone else to look out for, I had to train myself more so as to be a good helper and friend to Danchao.”

The main objective of pairing new, incoming students with students who already have a year or two of student life under their belts is to ease international students’ transition into their new home – culturally and academically. The mentor acts as a “buddy” who can help the mentee settle in to their new -- and sometimes confusing -- lives.

“When international students arrive at Memorial, they have many questions -- and few answers -- and tasks they need to take care of in order to complete the settlement process,” said Ms. Schaefer. “Like anyone moving to a new place, international students have a need to develop supportive relationships with people from their new environment in order to help curb feelings of loneliness, isolation and culture shock.”

The MUN Mentors Program is new to Memorial. The first group of international student mentors and mentees were paired together at the beginning of the winter 2011 semester. Participants stem from a variety of disciplines, including students of chemistry, engineering, business administration, psychology, sociology, political science and geography.

Program participants are encouraged to meet at least twice a month, once at an event co-ordinated by the ISA and once for an activity initiated by the pairs themselves. It could be as simple as meeting for a coffee or taking in a movie together. Of course, the pairs are free to meet as often as they like if they are inclined to do so.

Officially, the mentor-mentee pairs need only be involved with the MUN Mentors Program for one semester. But sometimes, students will hit it off and make a strong connection. Friendships may last the entire duration of the students’ time at Memorial. Ultimately, it is up to the individuals themselves to decide how long they’d like their relationship to continue and in what capacity.

And while the advantages of becoming a mentee through the program are most obvious, Ms. Schaefer points out there are unique benefits to becoming a mentor.

“By helping others to become more involved in campus life and the city of St. John’s, students will themselves increase in their engagement with their environment,” she said. “Mentors can also expect to increase in their knowledge of global issues, learn how people from different cultural backgrounds relate to one another and develop their ability to accept and adjust to cultural differences.”

If you are interested in learning more about the program, please visit www.mun.ca/isa/ for more details and to retrieve an application form. Mentee applications for fall 2011 are now available on the ISA’s website, as well. International students are only eligible to become a mentee during their first semester at Memorial. Mentors for fall 2011 have already been recruited and trained. Mentor applications for winter 2012 will be available in late September or early October on the ISA website. Both international and non-international students are eligible to become a mentor.