Peer Support coordinators selected

By Georgia Grad and Zoe Goor

Olivia Baradaran ’24, Jordan Dees ’24, Casey Reims ’24 and Stella Stringer ’24 will serve as Peer Support coordinators for the 2023-2024 school year, Head of Peer Support Tina McGraw ’01 announced in an email April 17. Peer Support trainees and the current coordinators elected the coordinators after hearing speeches from 14 candidates.

The Peer Support coordinators lead the program and oversee leaders and trainees who run individual groups. The coordinators run the trainee selection process, plan the annual retreat, create groups and respond to problems that come up during discussions.

Peer Support Coordinator Max Thompson ’23 said next year’s coordinators were chosen because of their immense dedication to the program.

“It was a particularly strong group of candidates this year, [so the trainees were] really difficult to choose,” Thompson said. “These four demonstrated a real care for the program since sophomore year.”

Baradaran said she decided to run for the position because of the positive impact Peer Support has on her life.

“[Peer Support has] really been a place I can share how I feel, which has been hard for me with my friends and family,” Baradaran said. “I feel so welcomed, loved and cared about. I feel like it shaped me to who I am as a more sharing person.”

Dees said she wants to continue fostering a hospitable environment in Peer Support.

“My vision for Peer Support [is] to continue having it be such a kind, welcoming, environment and to continue to be a place of comfort for everyone on campus,” Dees said.

Stringer said the difference between being a coordinator and a regular senior leader is the level of involvement in the program.

“You get a little bit more say in the trainees, and I just feel you feel like you’re more into the process and behind the scenes of it all,” her to ideas of gender equality.

“I was born into a Sikh family,” Mathoda said. “[The Sikh religion] came about in the 1400s, and it was the first one that declared women and men equal and gave everybody unisex names. This was the religion that sort of brought gender equality to India.”

Mathoda said she was raised to believe she would be put into an arranged marriage with a man, but after attending a high-school reunion, she found her true identity.

“I went to [a reunion] as a straight woman — I thought I was going to have an arranged marriage because I thought the way life works is passion comes and goes when you marry somebody from a good family,” Mathoda said. “That’s what my parents did, and it seemed to work for most of my family. A few months later, I was coming to the realization that I was in love with this woman.”

SASA leader Lavinia Tyagi ’23 said hearing from a South Asian person was important in bridging understanding of cultures.

“The fact that SASA, a small affinity group, was able to bring in a speaker to talk to a large audeince that may not normally be hearing from a South Asian person is a big deal,” Tyagi said. “A big part of bridging the gaps between a diverse group is simply knowledge and understanding each other’s background.”