By Andrea’ Boyd
The Honors Torch Leader Program has been a valuable mentoring experience in place for several years at St. Norbert College. The previous version of the program focused on two-person leadership teams of upperclassmen Honors students paired with a group of approximately first-year Honors students. The purpose of this program was to provide valuable information regarding the transition into college, campus life, educational expertise, and information about the Honors Program itself.
Previous Torch Leader groups, consisting of two mentors and mentees, would meet on a weekly basis throughout the first semester to discuss these transitional topics. Torch Leaders also were encouraged to attend Honors events and sessions with their mentees as well, forming strong bonds to facilitate their transition into both college and the program. The second half of the semester was a bit more flexible, leaving mentors to facilitate meeting times and conversations with their mentees as well as attendance at different events, as needed.
Although the Torch Leader Program served the Honors community well for the past several years, students and faculty alike saw the need for some change within the program. Thus, a Torch Leader “Revamp” ensued over the course of the 2021 spring semester.
I was fortunate to work alongside the 2020-21 mentors and the Torch Leader Student Coordinator. Each week, we had “check-in” forms that a member of each Torch Leader pair would fill out, letting us know how their sessions with their mentees had gone that week. Using these weekly feedback forms, the annual feedback form, as well as our own observations as the year progressed, students and staff were able to work together to develop a new format for the 2021-22 Torch Leader Program.
This new version of the Honors Torch Leader Mentorship Program will consist of 8 Honors students (sophomores, juniors and seniors) who will work as a group to mentor the incoming Honors students during the 2021-22 school year. These mentors will work together to bridge the gap between upperclassmen and incoming students as well as, again, facilitate and help in that transition into both college and the program.
New mentor responsibilities will begin this summer and continue throughout the academic school year. Throughout the summer, mentors will be responsible for engaging with students prior to their arrival on campus, possibly assisting with orientation sessions and hosting a virtual event once per month to give students a glimpse into “campus life.” Mentors will arrive on campus early to help lead first-year programming as well as attend training sessions hosted by the program. Once the incoming Honors students arrive on campus, mentors will hold community-building activities approximately twice per month, working alongside Honors staff and professors to offer engaging discussions and activities for students. As registration for the next semester approaches, this group of mentors will be asked to lead an Honors-specific session as well as be in attendance in the Honors dorm, Bergstrom Hall, during set registration times—in hopes to help ease this registration process and help where needed. Finally, Torch Leaders will be left to do a post-semester check-in after the students have completed their first semester in college and the Program itself! As the second semester begins, this group of mentors will be asked to hold events once a month in Bergstrom regarding various topics, lead an informational session when that time approaches, standing by (in person) for registration, and then host an end-of-year celebration. Among these responsibilities listed above, there are other expectations that this group of eight students will be held to, serving as support and a resource for the incoming Honors class.
Although we celebrate the successes and progression of our previous Torch Leader Mentorship Program that has helped transition hundreds of Honors students into the program in years past, we are very much looking forward to seeing how the implementation of this new program will better the incoming Honors students’ experience on campus and in the program! Be on the lookout for an introduction of our new mentorship team and the many exciting things to come!
