COMM 1180

Leading by Mentoring: Being a COMM-Unity Mentor

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2024-2025. Courses of Study 2024-2025 is scheduled to publish mid-June.

You should take this course if you have accepted an invitation to be a COMM-Unity Project (CUP) Peer Mentor, a fall semester commitment. As a peer mentor in COMM 1180, you will build your mentoring and leadership skills as you mentor first-year underrepresented minority and first-generation undergraduate COMM students. These skills include listening and responding empathetically to student concerns; helping students to identify and find resources for their needs; modeling good study and time management skills; communicating effectively; reflecting on experiences; and articulating goals. This weekly one-hour, one-unit course will give you an opportunity to learn about resources on campus and to talk with other peer mentors about successes and challenges.

When Offered Fall.

Permission Note Required for and limited to: Communication majors who have been selected as peer mentors for the COMM-Unity Project (CUP) Peer Mentorship Program.

• Students will be able to demonstrate active listening techniques and comfortably cultivate conversations with fellow students from different backgrounds, such as SES, race/ethnicity, religion, gender identities, and sexual orientation.
• Students will be able to model positive mentoring behaviors, including compassion, responsiveness, sensitivity to concerns, and confidentiality.
• Students will be able to acknowledge the importance of social belonging and the impact of imposter syndrome, and work to create an inclusive community.
• Students will be able to recognize signs of concern and confer with support leads to steer first-year students to necessary support as needed.
• Students will be able to model and help mentees identify good study habits, including how to manage time and achieve a sustainable work-life balance.
• Students will be able to identify and share academic resources such as faculty advisors, teaching assistants, study groups, and other services with mentees.
• Students will be able to identify key challenges for marginalized populations within higher education.

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