delgadosandovals@lopers.unk.edu
Entering college can be a daunting step for students. Loper2Loper, a mentorship program between students and faculty or staff, was designed to make that process easier.
Leaders created the project to help students during the transition from high school to college.
“We help with academic transition, emotional transition and social transition,” said Charlotte Okraska, a graduate assistant in the Office of Student and Family Transitions. “We try to make things fun and engaging while also providing information that students might need when they get to campus.”
Loper2Loper fills the gap as an academic and personal support network for students who are not affiliated with one of UNK’s many programs offering mentoring. A student is paired with either a staff or faculty member who serves as a mentor.
“The program can be anything the student might want,” Okraska said. “Maybe a student might not be sure what they want to get out of this program, which is how a faculty or staff member might know how to help from professional development to networking opportunities. I know some mentoring relationships really do turn into a bit more. They can really turn into powerful relationships that can impact you beyond the program.”
A lot of mentoring programs on campus are based on peer mentoring. Loper2Loper offers something new and different by offering students the opportunity to receive direct personal support from a staff or faculty member. Due to the limited number of faculty and staff the growing Loper2Loper program has, the Office of Student and Family Transitions has considered opening the opportunity to be a mentor for graduate students.
The Loper2Loper program started in 2016. Their main target audience is first-year students, however, one of their many missions is to remain open and welcome all interested students.
“We recognize that support and fostering mentoring relationships are important for your entire career,” Okraska said. “Having somebody with more experience, somebody who is a little older who you can look up to and go to with questions is a really important relationship to have. There are so many benefits in knowing you can go to somebody.”
Students who might have questions, concerns or might need someone to listen to their needs and personal problems can benefit from joining the Loper2Loper program. The mentoring program incentivizes the students involved to grow and participate while looking after their well-being.
The Loper2Loper program has had a lasting impact on both students and mentors.
“Loper2Loper has been a great and holistic mentorship program for the entire campus,” said Renae Zimmer, director of student engagement and a mentor for the program. “Different colleges and programs may have their own internal peer-to-peer program. This is something the entire campus can be involved in. My mentee now is living off-campus and recently got married and we still stay in touch.”
In the Loper2Loper program, students make connections with faculty and staff who care about their experience, success and well-being.
“It’s been a very rewarding experience,” Zimmer said. “Making good connections with students and becoming friends with them is good since there’s a wealth of knowledge we can pass on to them while providing some resources and connections on campus they might not know about.”
