Lachlan Chambers and Camille Broullire have been selected to be next year’s Peer Mentors, a role which involves helping seniors with the college application process.

The College Counseling Peer Mentor Program is led by Ms. Becky Bain, the college counselor, and it allows her to have extra time to work with students. Peer Mentors answer questions about the college application process, navigating Naviance, transcript sending, letter of recommendation requests and completing the Common Application.

“The Peer Mentors were selected in late April based on their initiative, high academic achievement, excellent leadership skills, well-developed time management skills, approachability, reliability, integrity and professionalism,” explained Bain.

Peer Mentors must also practice confidentiality, as they have access to GPA’s, test scores and financial information.

All seniors have access to their Peer Mentors, whether they are applying to a two or four-year college. Both Chambers and Broullire are currently undergoing training to be effective mentors to their classmates.

“I wanted to participate in this program to help alleviate the stress and confusion that comes with the college application process. As a junior, I started the process myself, and I fully understand how intimidating the numerous aspects can be. This program will allow me to do my part in making my peers’ experience less complicated and more enjoyable,” said Broullire.

Broullire also commented that she hopes to be a reliable source of help and an effective communicator to her peers.

“I started exploring the application process early this school year, and I am now comfortable with Naviance, the Common App, letters of recommendation and more. My knowledge will allow me to answer questions accurately and to the best of my ability,” continued Broullire.

Barbara Inciarte was one of the Peer Mentors this year that was selected by Bain and Katie Greene, who was one of last year’s Peer Mentors.

While the Peer Mentors must put a lot of time into helping their peers, Inciarte noted that it was not too time consuming.

“It was not as time consuming as people would think. I was able to find a good balance on when to work. During the months of college applications, it was a busier time, but I was available to meet with my peers and work through their applications.”

Inciarte would talk to her peers in person if they had a quick question, and she would hold Zoom meetings to help walk people through the Common App.

While being a Peer Mentor is about helping others, Inciarte said she learned a lot as well.

“There were many scholarship opportunities that I found through navigating Naviance. I also learned great communication skills, and I reached a great appreciation for the work Ms. Bain does for us.”

Bain started the Peer Mentor Program in the 2020-2021 school year with Rachel Van Hefty. Van Hefty wanted to help with the college application process, and Bain needed assistance serving all the students applying to college.

“The two of us developed the Peer Mentor Program together, but it was Van Hefty who really took the reins and implemented it. Van Hefty then trained Greene, who took over in 2021-2022,” said the counselor.

This was the first year of having two Peer Mentors, and because the model worked out well, Bain decided to continue doing it going forward.