Bree Capel
bic001@marietta.edu
Marietta College has planned a student-staff member mentorship program that may become “a cornerstone of retention efforts,” one student said.
Legacy library staff member Linda Roesch announced last Tuesday that the college would be launching a mentorship program between students and staff.
In an email to students, Roesch acknowledged the presence and role of academic advisers and said that this program is unique in its informality. Rather than being called advisers, involved staff members were likened to “nonacademic buddies” who would carry out such activities as sending notes to the mailboxes of their mentees and being available when mentees need someone to talk to.
“I think it’s a great idea to have student and nonacademic staff interactions…(they) bring a completely different perspective to life. Their insight and advice is valuable,” junior petroleum engineer major Matthew Valverde said. He later added that he wished to have a greater mentoring relationship with the staff members related to his field.
“This gives students the opportunity to form a connection with an individual that they otherwise wouldn’t normally talk to,” sophomore English major Carmen Thorne said.
Other students, such as senior organizational communication and public relations major Keenan Hamilton, view this program as a solution to a major enrollment problem. “This program could also help with the retention issue on campus, because people are less likely to leave an institution if they think that people are there for them and rooting for their success,” he said.
Roesch mentioned that this program is in its pilot stage and that a maximum of 10 students will be involved. When asked their thoughts on the effectiveness of this number, there was a general consensus among students.
“I think that 10 students is the perfect number to pilot this program,” Hamilton said. “It would be better to have 10 quality mentorships than several that are not.”
Thorne expressed further enthusiasm for this student-staff member program in saying, “I think this program definitely has the potential to grow into something larger.”
Regarding the types of students that are chosen for this program, varying thoughts were expressed. Sophomore health science major Kaila Czigans said that she believes a group of students from different fields of study would yield a truer sample of this program’s results. Senior theatre major Amber Smrek added that she thinks students of all classes would benefit.
Campus will have to wait to see whether this program proves successful or not.
