HONORS FOUNDATIONS
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HEN NEW HONORS STUDENTS enter USF for their first semester of classes, they receive a warm welcome in their IDH 2930 – Honors Foundations – course. The discussion-based class is designed to ease the transition from high school to college by providing a venue to process college experiences, ask questions, and find an identity as an Honors College scholar. The classes help connect students with networks, resources, and opportunities, and are taught by Peer Mentors, Honors upperclassmen. The Peer Mentors serve as sources of support and create an engaging community for first-year Honors students while fine-tuning their own leadership and communication skills. We asked the 2021 Peer Mentors: What was the most rewarding part of teaching Honors Foundations?
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Definitely watching my students grow throughout the semester. It has also been rewarding to watch them form friendships in my class. I know how important it is to make friends in your first semester of college and have a group of people that you can count on, and I hope that some of the friendships they made in Honors Foundations will help provide that.” – Taylor Friedman
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Watching my students succeed academically and personally. I love when they share their progress on their personal and academic goals with me.” – Corey Nelson
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Seeing my students really begin to thrive in college and being able to celebrate those successes with the group and as their Peer Mentor. The class became really invested in each other’s obstacles, challenges, and successes and that was very rewarding for me. I also had a session during mental health week when they all said that they really love USF and appreciate how happy people are here. I think that was the best thing I could have ever heard my class say. Hearing they were happy made me beyond ecstatic.” – Audra Nikolajski
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Learning valuable leadership skills that I would not have been able to experience anywhere else. As a peer mentor I not only got to experience my students’ first semester of college, but I was able to help guide them from the perspective of a teacher and a mentor and that experience is one that is rewarding and will stick with me for the rest of my life.” – Karlyn Reinhardt
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I have learned that I appreciate connections and building relationships a lot more than I previously thought I did. I particularly feel fulfilled by mentoring and advocating for others so that they can be successful.” – Grace Maszy
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Becoming a Peer Mentor really pushed me out of my comfort zone and into the spotlight of having to teach and lead a class. It has been a very rewarding experience. I learned about a new, more confident version of myself, and I would like to continue learning and developing such leadership skills.” – Teresa Pham - Allyson Cousino
14 UNIVERSITY of SOUTH FLORIDA
