Darby Holman
University of Cincinnati
PEER LEADER
This academic year I was honored to be chosen as a Learning Community Peer Leader through the University's Learning Commons. This experience has meant so much to me and has completely changed the way I view the University and the way I view myself. I am excited to say that I will be continuing on in the Learning Commons for the upcoming academic year as both a Peer Leader & an SI Leader.
Hours Breakdown
Learning Community Hours: These are the times where I am in the classroom, facilitating my lessons
PLC Meetings: This is where me & a group of other Peer Leaders get together & discuss the week- we do teambuilding & help lesson plan
Office Hour: A time where I am available for students; also used to get my planning done
Planning Hours: Umbrella term for planning lessons, sending emails, completing the lesson plan record or attendance record, creating content review, etc.
WHAT?
First year students are arranged into a Learning Community based on their incoming major. This learning community, or LC, is a package of classes that students enroll in together so that they can have familiar faces in their large lecture halls or laboratories. Twice a week, the students also meet in a Learning Community specific class in which a Peer Leader facilitates lesson plans about university engagement, how to be successful in college, how to find clubs & activities, etc. The program is designed to not only make the college transition easier, but to establish friendships & a sense of community amongst new Bearcats. As the peer leader, I am responsible for creating & facilitating lessons, connecting with faculty, advisors & other resources on campus, as well as just being a mentor figure to my students and helping them answer any questions they may have. In my LC we also hold a Content Review lesson each week in which we go through the biology material that they are currently learning. This is another method of ensuring first year success and giving students another resource for academic help. For these lessons, I create worksheets and review games to facilitate learning.
SO WHAT?
As a Peer Leader, I have learned so much about myself and others and I have grown immensely. I suffered from major imposter syndrome when I first got the position- especially when leading the classroom for the first time. However, I now realize that I was chosen for a reason and I am much more confident in myself and my abilities. With that also comes my fear of public speaking, which I have been able to combat and overcome! Although I still get nervous speaking to crowds, once it is happening I feel confident in myself and I am able to carry on. In high school, I never would have thought that I could get up in front of a group of people multiple times a week; let alone lead them, and now here I am! I also have learned the importance of communication, time management and collaboration with others. Being responsible for setting up days and times where faculty and organizations can come in is stressful, but it has shown me the importance of being professional, timely and respectful with everyone I come in contact with. With this has also been the deadlines for submitting materials, which has shown me how to effectively manage my time & stay self-motivated. I have also learned how to effectively collaborate in my weekly PLC meetings & I feel as if the Peer Leader position has its community as well. Lastly, this position has taught me how to overcome setbacks and deal with disaster. An example is when students do not want to participate or when the classroom computer does not work & the lesson cannot be facilitated. In these situations I have learned how to stay calm & collected while also figuring out how to handle the situation and how to make adjustments so that the time is not wasted. Overall this has been the most impactful experience of my college career, & probably of my life as well, in terms of learning about myself & developing essential skills.
NOW WHAT?
As mentioned earlier, this experience has taught me so much about myself & others and has given me the confidence to pursue other experiences! From this position, I have also been accepted as an Arts & Sciences Ambassador where I can start my outreach even sooner- this time to high school students visiting the UC community. With my newfound confidence, I have applied to multiple summer positions in hopes of expanding my leadership skills.I have also decided to continue on with my Peer Leader position and I hope to apply to be a Peer Leader Coordinator in the upcoming years. I am really grateful for this opportunity and everything it has given me!