The UNC Pembroke Center for Student Success’ GenONE program took 10 first-generation peer mentors on an alternative break training retreat to Atlanta during spring break.
GenONE is a student success program that supports first-generation students through resources, programs and success coaching. The first portion of the training was facilitated by Charbel Aoun, founder and executive director of the Georgia First Generation Foundation.
Aoun taught our peer mentors different conflict management styles, such as competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating. The students took a 30-question survey that revealed which conflict management styles they gravitate toward. With Aoun’s insight into first-generation populations, the training will immediately impact mentors and their mentees in the fall semester.
Armani Jones-Elliot, a senior and lead peer mentor, has been with the program for two years. She credits Aoun’s training, specifically the 30-question survey, for providing her revelations into her conflict management style.
“Your professions can also influence how you handle conflict. For example, I am a business administration major with a concentration in economics, and I also work within the educational system where I mentor first-generation students. I was more accommodating, but I also learned that it depends on the situation,” Jones-Elliot said.
In addition to training with the Georgia First Generation Foundation, the UNCP Peer Mentors held a training session with first-generation high school students at Lanier High School. The primary focus was impostor syndrome, including identifying the signs of impostor syndrome and practical measures for combatting it.
This type of training is crucial for high schoolers heading to college and identifying as first-generation. According to educationdata.org, “First-generation students have a 92.2% higher dropout rate than students whose parents had bachelor’s degrees or a higher level of educational attainment.” Most of that stems from the impostor syndrome and first-generation students feeling they do not belong on a college campus.
Katie Aguilar Manueles, a junior and lead peer mentor, facilitated the imposter syndrome workshop. Manueles called the experience “amazing” because the training helped the students recognize their feelings and where those feelings derive.
“No matter what they do and where they go, they’ll always feel the impact of what we talked about and remember it’s okay to feel the way they do, and solutions do exist,” Manueles said.
The mentors wrapped up the training with a Q&A session to give the younger students a better understanding of college life. Joab Dennard, a freshman at UNCP new to the peer mentor program, said the training at Lanier High School was a great experience.
“The questions they asked and the look on their faces made the drive worth it. We were able to inspire and spark a flame in those kids, and it was truly amazing,” Dennard said.
