Superstar mentors recognised for support to students
Friday, 20 January 2017
Left to right: Dimitria and Ashley, Luiza and Debroah.
Two student mentors have been recognised for their exceptional support to their fellow students in the STaR Mentor of the Year Awards.
STaR (Student Transitions at Reading) mentors are student volunteers that have been trained to help new students studying the same subject settle in to University. Having recently been through the same experience, a STaR mentor understands how a new student may be feeling and can guide them through their start at Reading.
Congratulations to BA English Language and Literature student Dimitra Patouri, who won STaR Mentor of the Year. Dimitra was nominated by her mentee Ashley Fontaine, BA English Literature and Film & Theatre student.
Ashley said “Dimitra’s always on hand to give great advice and has motivated me to stay positive, especially at a time when I have loads of assignments. As a first year student, I greatly appreciated having such a supportive mentor.”
BsC Psychology student Luiza Walo was delighted to win the STaR International Mentor of the Year Award.
“Being a mentor has been a great experience”, Luiza said on winning the award. Luiza’s mentee, MA Diplomacy student Deborah Caruso, felt Luiza should win the award as her empathetic nature gave her more confidence with delivering presentations.
Deborah said: “She listened to me before my first presentation in English, which gave me a confidence boost as she understood what it means to move to a different country”.
All mentees had the opportunity to nominate their mentors for STaR Mentor of the Year and STaR International Mentor of the Year 2016. Winners were selected by a Student Success Panel.
In 2016, 348 STaR mentors provided transitions mentoring to 4,000 undergraduate students. 10 STaR International mentors also provided 33 Postgraduate International mentees mentoring support with moving to the UK and studying at Reading.
For further information about the STaR mentor partnership, contact Chantelle Turner, STaR Mentor Coordinator starmentors@reading.ac.uk.