Academic Peer Mentoring

Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed with the demands of college life? Would you like to know how your peers are succeeding at Bowdoin? Are you interested in developing effective learning strategies to help you thrive at Bowdoin?

From Left to Right: Rania, Talia, Issie, Lionel, Marie, Madeline, & Charlie

What is academic peer mentoring?

Academic Peer Mentoring is an interactive process and working partnership between a student and a peer. Academic Peer Mentors are juniors and seniors who work with Bowdoin students committed to discovering strategies and approaches that will best help achieve their peers' personal academic goals. An Academic Peer Mentor is an experienced Bowdoin student who helps you improve your overall academic performance, and who provides advice, support and knowledge. Academic Peer Mentors also provide resources to assess students' strengths and areas for growth and to develop individually tailored time management, organizational, and study strategies.

Besides weekly individual one-on-one meetings, mentors additionally lead or co-lead Wicked Smart Groups and workshops for student groups.

An Academic Peer Mentor can meet with you just once to help you finetune your current strategies or several times to develop and implement a more comprehensive plan for academic improvement. Below are some of the areas with which peer mentors can help:

Academic adjustment to Bowdoin
Understanding and using available resources
Time management
Organizational skills
Procrastination
Study skill
Memory
Reading
Getting papers started on time
Test taking

Can't wait to get started? Want to connect with a peer mentor?

Charlie Galicich Class Year: 2024 Major/Minor: English/DCS Coordinate Major Expertise in: Schedule building/managing priorities, asking for help, and studying tips. Where do you call home? North Oaks, Minnesota What is your favorite place to study? Smith Union at night, the HL fishbowl, or Gibson music library. How have you dealt with an academic challenge in your past? During my sophomore fall, I seriously struggled with procrastination and accountability with doing my assignments, frequently getting distracted by socialization. Scheduling office hours with my professors and planning out specific times and places to study or not study added helpful structure to my academic life. What study tips do you give other students? Take short, frequent breaks, and don’t hesitate to grab a short nap or a snack if you need it! Also, doing something is better than nothing, so even spending five minutes on an assignment that isn’t due for a while can get your brain to start thinking about what you need to do to complete it in time. What additional training do you have? I started a small writing tutoring program at my high school where I lead individual conferences with students to help talk through their ideas. Also, in Professor Byrnes’s impeccable Educational Psychology course, I learned about a few simple and effective cognitive learning strategies that can be implemented into studying! What else can I help you with? I'm happy to talk with you about navigating academics with anxiety and attention issues. I also have struggled before with procrastination, asking for help, and my relationship to my phone/social media/technology. Whatever you want or need, I'm here to listen! _________________________________________________
Rania Janmohamed Class Year: 2025 Major/Minor: Government and Legal studies, and Education Expertise in: Time management, Organization and Planning Where do you call home? Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania What is your favorite place to study? The Hubbard Stacks! How have you dealt with an academic challenge in your past? I struggled with meeting academic deadlines due to under-planning and procrastination. I decided to speak with my professors and Tina at the BCLT. I developed accountability strategies and learned how to make a long-term study plan that I can actually stick with. What study tips do you give other students? · There is no ‘one-size fits all’ solution for academic growth, we are all different, and the best thing you can do to improve your study skills is to figure out your learning patterns and test out different strategies that you think might work best for you. · Ask questions and seek help whenever you need it! If you are stuck on something, there are multiple resources on campus; reach out to your professor, BCLT staff or your Dean, who will guide you to the resources you may need. · Add your assignments and deadlines to your calendar and build your study schedule around them. · Try to finish your assignments at least 4 days before they are due, this will give you enough time to get help if you need it from your Professors or the BCLT. What else can I help you with? I am an international student, and I have ADHD. You can reach out to me if you need any help locating resources on campus or would like some support in navigating accommodations and academics.
Marie-Monique Kabongo Class Year: 2024 Major/Minor: English and Education with a concentration in Creative Writing. Expertise in: Time management, organization, wellness and outlines. Where do you call home? South Portland, ME What is your favorite place to study? Pierce Art Library or Beckwith Music Library (both quiet places with great sunlight). How have you dealt with an academic challenge in your past? When I first came to Bowdoin, I was too afraid to ask my professor for help in getting what I needed. I was feeling overwhelmed and out of place, and I felt like everyone else was doing much better than I was. After taking time off I learned that the only way for me to succeed at Bowdoin is if I communicate with my professors what I need to be the best student I can be. What study tips do you give other students? Once you receive your syllabuses for the semester write down in a planner (or in calendar) all major assignments that you have. It will help you to visualize the semester and see any point in the semester where your workload increases and get ahead of it. What additional training do you have? I was an o-trip leader for the McKeen Center, and I work with kids ages 5-10 so I am trained in the art of patience. What else can I help you with? I have anxiety, and I hate speaking in class! I have learned a few tips during my time at Bowdoin on how to show engagement in a class that requires participation. Also, if you need a friend to rant to about an assignment or to talk through ideas for a paper, I can be that person too. ____________________________________________________
Madeline Lincoln Class Year: 2025 Major/Minor: English and Francophone Studies/Education Expertise in: Time management and effective study strategies Where do you call home? Arlington, VA What is your favorite place to study? Smith Union, Hubbard, or a coffee shop on Maine Street! How have you dealt with an academic challenge in your past? When I feel overwhelmed by an assignment, I usually visit the professor’s office hours to ask questions and divide the work I need to do into several more manageable tasks. What study tips do you give other students? Find what works for you—try studying in different locations across campus and at different times of day, and figure out where and when you concentrate best. Also, it is important to prioritize the items on your to-do list and to schedule time into your day to work on the most important or urgent of these tasks—but don’t forget to schedule breaks into your day as well! Lastly, I have found that assignments are much less stressful when I divide them into smaller parts and chip away at the assignment over several days leading up to the due date. What additional training do you have? Last semester, I took Educational Psychology with Professor Byrnes and learned about several strategies for effective learning. This summer, I will be working at a summer program at a school designed for students with language- and attention-based learning differences, such as dyslexia and ADHD. I will receive training about how to best support students with these learning differences. What else can I help you with? First year transition to Bowdoin, approaching a major paper, project, or exam, combatting procrastination. ___________________________________________________
Talia Traskos-Hart Class Year: 2025 Major/Minor: History Expertise in: Planning schedules, organization, and study tips! Where do you call home? Denver, Colorado What is your favorite place to study? Music Library How have you dealt with an academic challenge in your past? I like making all the to-do lists possible--for each class and assignment--and breaking big assignments down into smaller tasks. And I'm always a proponent of reaching out to friends and professors and peers for help when to-do lists feel daunting. What study tips do you give other students? Try to get out of your dorm room and go to a library or common space! What additional training do you have? I have experience in mentorship roles through teaching music and writing lessons. What else can I help you with? I transferred to Bowdoin and so can bring a unique perspective about adjusting to college two times over. ___________________________________________________
Lionel Welz Class Year: 2024 Major/Minor: Neuroscience Major (Possibly a Russian or CS Minor) Expertise in: Organizing, Scheduling, Class Advice, Neuroscience Where do you call home? Munich, Germany What is your favorite place to study? I love sitting at the large table on the second floor of Roux, mainly because of the large windows through which I can gaze through when I need to take a quick break from studying. The table is also very large, giving me enough space to spread out my computer, study notes, and books. How have you dealt with an academic challenge in your past? I like breaking down daunting workloads into smaller chunks and to schedule time for each chunk of work. For example, when writing a lab report for a science class, I like starting early enough to be able to work on only a section or two of it a day. This makes a very large assignment a lot more manageable for me. What study tips do you give other students? The best advice I could give is it to try and stay ahead. Although sometimes just not possible because of other commitments, it has helped me a lot in reducing stress. Another piece of advice that I give is to find a healthy balance between physical exercise and academic work. Whenever I notice my focus fade, I like going for a run or to the gym. When I come back, I am often even more focused than when I had originally started. What additional training do you have? I am joining peer health this semester and have started training for that role. I was also trained as a peer supporter in high school. ___________________________________________________

Sunday 7:00-9:00 PM	Charlie Galicich	Make Appointment
Monday 7:00-9:00 PM	Izzy Miller	Make Appointment
Tuesday 7:00-9:00 PM	Lionel Welz	Make Appointment
Wednesday 7:00-9:00 PM	Idaly Morales Sandoval	Make Appointment
Thursday 7:00-9:00 PM	Aadhya Ramineni	Make Appointment

Academic Peer Mentoring

What is academic peer mentoring?

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Meet the Academic Peer Mentors