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Contact: Andrew Gonzalez, 277-5020 |
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July 11, 2002 The Amistades Peer Mentoring Program was established eight years ago
through El Centro de la Raza, a Student Affairs Department at the University
of New Mexico, as a channel to retain and mentor primarily incoming Hispanic
students to the University. Currently, there are 125 students in the program. Andrew Gonzalez, Amistades coordinator and advisor, said the program
introduces upperclassmen who serve as a mentor to an incoming student.
The mentor has a one-on-one relationship with the student. Gonzalez said the mentor provides three key components that are beneficial
to the student's college experience: academic advisement, cultural awareness
and personal support. "It is our goal to make the student feel welcome, comfortable and
feel like they are apart of the University," he said. "We do
that by providing the student a home away from home environment and a
place where they can receive support academically and culturally." The program is geared primarily towards freshmen, but Gonzalez said
the service is open to all students. Gonzalez said the program's retention rate is between 80 to 85 percent
each year. He said they keep track of the students who enroll in the program
and find that most students who are no longer at UNM are at other public
universities. "It's very rewarding to see these students who may have believed
that college was not in their future and then to see them graduate-nothing
is more satisfying," he said. Last year, Amistades offered a scholarship to 10 eligible students who
were in financial need. Holding raffles, car washes, bake sales and the
first annual Amistades Haunted House, raised $3,000. ### |
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Please let us know what you thought of this article. Comments to: paaffair@unm.edu |
The University
of New Mexico
Public Affairs Department
Hodgin Hall, 2nd floor
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0011
Telephone: (505) 277-5813
Fax: (505) 277-1981