Show Me the Ropes program matches transfer students with mentors
(Austin Yu/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Amanda Wilcox
Sept. 29, 2015 8:40 a.m.
New transfer students can apply to a mentorship program that pairs incoming transfer students with student mentors with senior standing as part of a new undergraduate student government initiative.
The program, called Show Me the Ropes, connects transfer students and prospective mentors based on their academic goals, interests and personalities, said Ivelisse Porroa-Garcia, co-director of the initiative and fourth-year political science student. About 125 transfer students and 70 mentors have signed up to participate.
Applicants must complete surveys asking about their majors, postgraduate plans and favorite animals, among other things. Porroa-Garcia said the questionnaire helps program directors learn more about their applicants and match them with mentors with similar personalities and career paths.
Porroa-Garcia added she expects most mentors will be assigned to two transfer students. Most of the mentors in the program are transfer students, but all students with senior academic standing can sign up to help.
The program will also include biweekly mixers intended to help transfer students socialize with each other and their mentors, as well as events like UCLA Career Center workshops and networking nights.
“I (wish there was) a similar program when I transferred to UCLA,” Porroa-Garcia said. “It would have eased my transition if I had someone preparing for law school tell me what organizations to join and what to focus on.”
Ariel Rafalian, Undergraduate Students Association Council transfer student representative, said he was fortunate to have friends show him around when he arrived at UCLA, and wants other students to have similar experiences.
Program directors will reveal the pairs during third week, which is also Transfer Pride Week. At the end of the quarter, transfer students will evaluate the program through a survey and decide whether to stay matched with their mentors or request a different one.
Dyimah Hawkins, a third-year business economics student who transferred to UCLA, said she thinks mentors can help transfer students answer questions about class locations, study habits and campus climate. Hawkins added she already knows a fourth-year student who has helped her settle in on campus, so she will not apply to the program.
Fifth-year chemistry student Nooriel Banayan, who will serve as a mentor, said he decided to sign up because he didn’t know what resources were available for transfer students when he transferred to UCLA.
“They shouldn’t be worrying about extraneous things when they can instead focus on living the best two years of their lives,” he said.
Rafalian said he hopes future transfer student representatives will host the program annually.
