By Lauren Seynhaeve
Adjusting to college is difficult for everyone. And it can be especially demanding when students are particularly far away from their families or when they feel set apart because of ethnic background.
UP Connections is a peer-mentorship program that helps primarily multicultural students make the steps into college life with peer friendship and advice. All first-year undergraduate students are welcome into this program, though.
"At a predominantly white school, some students of color are going to face adjustment issues," said Bethany Sills, assistant director of student activities and multicultural programs coordinator. "UP Connections tries to bridge the gap so the multicultural students feel an extra gift of friendship."
Affiliated with the OHANA program on campus, UP Connections assigns first-year undergraduate students to a mentor. These mentors have usually been a part of the program before, and the mentor's job is to help the underclassman feel welcome in addition to giving help whenever necessary.
Oscar Villicana, a senior, is the OHANA/UP Connections Coordinator. As a freshman, he joined the OHANA program, and he liked it so much that he wanted to be a mentor himself in his sophomore year.
"It was really interesting," he said. "I met a ton of friends through it, and I wanted to be more involved by helping people to have as good of a time as I did."
UP Connections began as a continuation of OHANA in 2007. It has become a yearly cycle, beginning with OHANA in August, UP Connection mentorship in the fall, and hiring and training new mentors in the spring.
"It's like Big Brothers Big Sisters at the college level," Sills said.
Sophomore Yaneira Romero became a mentor this year because she had such a great experience in the program last year.
"I love connecting with students and making them feel welcome," she said. "I love waving at all the students who are in it when I'm walking around."
The mentors often think of themselves more as friends than mentors. Although there are socials for the entire UP Connections group at least once a month, the mentors meet with their groups of four to five about once a week to keep up with each other and have fun.
"I'm especially glad to help students make connections," Romero said. "There's a sense of community as not only a mentor but as a friend."
Many mentors share meals throughout the week with their mentees, and most try to work around the busy schedules of their group to get everyone together for a movie night or other fun event in addition to the regularly scheduled events throughout the semester.
Junior Lilian Ongelungel was a part of UP Connections as a freshman, and became a mentor as a sophomore to continue the UP Connections cycle and to give back to new students who feel out of their element.
"I think it's also really important for retention rates," she said. "It really helps them. I personally would like to see it spread to more students on campus, international students included, because it's a nice resource for people to have."
One special event that the mentors try to host is a Thanksgiving meal for students who need to stay on campus over the break.
"We try to have a place for people to go over Thanksgiving so they're not alone," Villicana said. "It would make me very sad to know one of the UP Connections family had to eat alone."
Making friends is one of the most important aspects of OHANA and UP Connections.
"Seeing them make friends, some of them even making their best friends and eventually living together on campus is great," Villicana said.
