Welcome to the Psychology 203 Peer Mentors’ Blog. Below you will find our introductions and a little bit about us!
Peer Mentor: Kat Nipcon
In side photo: First on the left.
Hi! My motivation for becoming a peer mentor for psychology 203 comes from more than one source. For one thing, I enjoy interacting with people, especially my fellow students. I really want to be able to contribute back to the student community by making myself available to the needs of first year students. Through my interaction with psychology 203 students, I also hope to gain a bit of coaching/teaching experience that will go hand-in-hand with my aspiration of becoming an instructor in the future. Another reason for me taking on a role of a peer mentor is because I simply love psychology, and thus my goal is to make this subject attractive to the first year students. I want to share my passion for studying psychology and hope that I can make the course material appear both easily accessible and interesting for students. My experience as a psychology student has been excellent. The instructors and TA’s that I have come across throughout the last 4 years have been exceptional people with regard to their dedication for their work and the amount of support they give their students. I really want to share my positive experience of being a psych student with the students in Psychology 203. I hope to contribute lots to my peers’ learning process. My goal is to provide guidance and offer mentorship to ALL students, both those who may struggle with the course and those who get straight A’s. Unlike your instructor, I am a volunteer not a paid employee. I mentor students in psych 203 as part of the curriculum for General Studies 507, a course that is centered on learning to educate and support students. As a peer mentor, my role is flexible, and I am looking forward to see how it changes as the course unfolds. This semester I hope to engage the students in various academic and social activities that will ultimately enhance their experience in psychology 203. I will hold a review sessions before the tests, so that I can assist the students in their exam preparations. I will also hold at least one non-academic event to give students an opportunity to get to know one another.
Email: kmnicpon@ucalgary.ca
Peer Mentor: Alicia Kassian
In side photo: Second from the left.
Hello I am Alicia Kassian. I am a third year psychology student with an interest in Legal Psychology. I am planning on going to law school after graduating. I am a good person to come to if you need a study buddy or if you need some study tips in perfecting your study “formula” for success! I am going to be here for you guys and gals if you have a quick question or just need a reward/therapy after an exam at The Den. Thursden has some pretty good drinks and food for good prices. Also if any of you girls are looking for some connections/friends/support throughout your entire university career I am part of a sorority on campus Alpha Gamma Delta. And . . . recruitment for both Alpha Gamma Delta and Alpha Omicron Pi is starting next week! We have exchanges with the other sororities on campus as well as the fraternities. We hold philanthropy events, low fees, and also it looks good on your resume. Come see us at clubs week this week in Macewan Hall, over by Orange Julius or stop by for our first recruitment party on Tuesday night at 6 pm . . . I will let you know the room number as soon as I can. You can come late because I realize this class conflicts! Also, the formal recruitment party for a sorority is Wednesday September 28, 2011 in Science A 124 at 5:30 pm. I hope to meet a lot of you soon. Take advantage of the fact that you have peer mentors! It would have really helped me in my first year of classes!!!
Peer Mentor: Kent Bastel
In side photo: Centre. Only man.
What’s up guys and gals? . . . My name is Kent Bastell and I am one of your new best friends…I mean mentors for the fall semester.
I’m in my fourth and final year of my Bachelor of Arts degree in Psych and lovin’ every minute of it. Let’s just say it hasn’t always been roses for me in post-secondary. My first year in university I decided to go into engineering (yes…bad choice… for me that is bless all the souls of those who have stuck through it) and long story short failed every single class. During this time I was also involved in athletics so between practice, class, homework, and workouts I got really burnt out, not to mention the several nights out with my bruthas. Hit to the confidence? Yes! Feelings of being overwhelmed? Yes! Not sure if I was cut out for university? Yes! Was I going to give up? Hell to the no! So after getting axed from the soccer team due to a low GPA I needed to find something new. I decided to give psychology a try and BAM, loved it! My intro prof was one of the most influential people in my university career and he ultimately helped me become passionate towards the field. I mean haven’t you always wondered why Lady Gaga thinks it’s cool to be born out of a floating egg in front of a live public audience? This story about my prof is why I was motivated to become a peer mentor. I thought that if he could have a huge positive impact on my life, why can’t I have a positive impact on someone else? Or at the very least make psychology interesting and engaging for them. So in saying this I want to be able to give each and everyone of you something out of this class, whether it’s a fond memory or like my prof was for me, being a positive influence for you guys to potentially pursue the field yourselves. What I hope to bring you all first and foremost is friendship. Seriously, no one can argue that having a friend in class is AWESOME! Am I going to take notes for you? No! Am I going to help you cheat? No! Am I going to give you a noogie while in the process of putting you in a formidable headlock? No! Am I going to be available for you to chat, socialize, ask questions, and chill? YES! Honestly throughout this semester I hope to meet and become friends with all of you. Secondly, I want to give each of you the best chance possible to fulfill your psychology potential. Yes maybe C’s are your goal, but I want to help push you higher than that. Maybe you are at an A and think: “I don’t need any help, I got this” Well let me tell you this…an A+ isn’t beyond you either and the beautiful thing about psych is that no matter what mark you have, there is always something more you can learn and apply it to your own life. I also want to give you all the opportunity to develop critical thinking about the world around you so that “face value” isn’t what you always take it for. One thing I want to make clear is that once again I am your friend not your teacher. I will not mark, evaluate, or judge you…good deal right? I am basically a support for you when you need it. Honestly, if you have any questions related to the course, content, or even if your boyfriend Jimmy is being a d-bag and you need someone to talk to, I would be more than happy to listen and provide constructive feedback for you. As for what I am going to do for activities this semester . . . well . . . I get the oh so wonderful task of holding the very first psych 203 peer mentoring meeting next Tuesday September 27, most likely from around class time ends to 9, or later if we’re having fun. The theme will be a meet and greet at The Den. Yes you can have a beer, yes you can order food, yes we will talk about what ever you guys want to. I think it’ll give an opportunity for those who show up not only to meet some of us mentors, but also a chance to meet other people in the class, who knows you may even find someone to sit beside for the rest of the semester. So come chill with me and have a good time.
-Kent (aka Kenttouchthis)
Email: kent_swede5@hotmail.com
Peer Mentor: Sylvia Tsang
In side photo: Second from the right.
Hi Everybody, my name is Sylvia Tsang, and I am in my third year hoping to pursue a Bachelor of Science with a major in Psychology and a minor in Health and Society.
And I know what some of you are thinking right now as you’re reading this. Especially those Engineers and Business kids. OMG. ANOTHER Psychology major? You’re in the faculty of ARTS! You don’t know anything! Stop thinking you know everything and what’s best for me. You know what. You’re right. I don’t know everything. And I am confessing that to you right now. I’m not your TA, I don’t mark your exams, I don’t give you hints on what is going to be on the exam. I don’t want you to think of me as ‘helping’ you in this class either. Because I know when someone says ‘I’m here to help you’. You think, ‘well I don’t need any help. I don’t want to be helped. I can do it on my own’. And suddenly you feel that the person who offered help is in a higher position than you, which makes you almost slight intimidated by them. And I don’t want that at all. I just want to contribute to your learning process by supporting you and interacting with you. I’ll give you advice on how to give oral presentations, review study materials with you, and most importantly, be your friend. When I saw the application form for being a peer mentor, I flashed back to exactly 2 years ago, when I first walked into a lecture theatre filled with 399 other kids. I was fresh out of high school, and scared crapless. I didn’t have a “peer mentor” to help me, and looking back, I honestly wish I did, because it would have made my university experience so much easier. I don’t get paid to do this, I don’t get a co-curricular record for this. I’m doing this because I want to do this. I want to be your friend and mentor you because I know exactly how it feels sitting in a lecture theatre full of 399 other kids. I’m a student myself, and I am still learning how to learn through my role as a peer mentor in a 500 level General Studies Course. Although I cannot guarantee that this will be an easy A option. I can guarantee you that you will learn so much more about yourself and others in this course and I hope your learning experience is as rewarding as it is for me. Because I want to become friends with all of you, my peer mentoring meetings will include very casual and social events where we can all get together and have some fun. I want you to be able to see me as a friend (if you don’t want to that’s okay). But even then, at least I hope you will become comfortable with me and won’t be intimidated to ask me questions. My peer mentoring meetings will be: The Den- November 3 . . . since class ends at 6:15. We can all go for some drinks together after wards, and have a good time. Movie Night - Nov 17 I’ll go book a classroom, grab some popcorn, and we’ll watch a movie that has some psychological aspect in it. Be it something that you talked about in class or just a Psych thriller. I hope you all have an amazing semester and I look forward in meeting each of you, seeing you in class and at my peer mentor meetings.
Email: sswtsang@ucalgary.ca
Peer Mentor: Amy Webber
In side photo: First on the right.
Hi everyone! My name is Amy Webber, and I’m finishing my final year of my Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. I first decided to go into psychology on total impulse; I had always thought I would go to art school, but at the last minute I decided I didn’t want to. So, literally two weeks before the application deadline, I applied for psychology without really knowing what it was all about. All I knew is that I was interested in people and the way our minds work, so I just went with it. Turns out, it’s really cool. I think so, anyway. You don’t have to agree, but I suggest that you convince your professor that you do. (But you can totally tell me if you hate it, I won’t judge:)). So during my degree I became interested in the area of how psychology relates to the law, and specifically, the criminal justice system. In my third year, my professor for the psych and law course showed us a video on how people get screwed over by the justice system and get convicted for crimes they didn’t commit, and how a bunch of social and psychological factors can come into play and lead to completely innocent people being put on death row and executed (for a very recent example, see the case of Troy Davis who was put to death yesterday in Georgia: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/21/troy-davis-10-reasons?newsfeed=true).
When I realized that I could do research in psychology that could potentially lead to making the criminal justice system more just and preventing wrongful convictions, I knew that was what I wanted to do. And that’s my passion in a nutshell. I decided to become a peer mentor for PSYC 203 because I know what it’s like to sit in a room with 400 other students for a class on a completely unfamiliar subject and wonder what the eff is going on, stressing over the midterm, and/or wishing I had someone to talk to so I didn’t have to sit around occupying myself with my iPhone Apps while I wait for class to start. I realized how much of a difference it makes in my university experience when I’m able to talk to people who have gone through a program or a course before me. It takes a lot of the pressure off, it takes away a bit of that fear of the unknown. Even if you’re doing perfectly fine with the course material, you never know what random insight someone else can provide that ends up coming in handy, or if a discussion about course work will go off into a super interesting tangent and you end up becoming friends. There are so many connections to be made in university and I hope to connect with you guys as your support person. Keep in mind that I’m not a teaching assistant or a paid employee or anything like that (too bad, since I could really use the money to fund my shopping addiction), and I’m certainly not marking you, so you don’t have to worry. Also keep in mind that although I’ve taken introductory psych and tons of other psych courses and I’ve been in university for nearly five years, I sure don’t know everything, not even close. But everyone brings their own perspective to things and I hope to share mine with you, and I really hope that you’ll share yours with me. I really want to get to know you guys and hear what you have to say. So, throughout the term, in addition to posting on this blog, I’ll be holding some meetings, for example, an advice session on things you should know that people don’t necessarily tell you about university. I will also be holding a study tips/final-exam-prep meeting on the last day of class before your final, so hopefully that’ll help alleviate some stress on that front. Also, as others have mentioned, we’re looking into setting up a discussion board where we can talk about various topics and you can post anonymously if you’re shy. I’ll be attending the PSYC 203 lecture pretty much every Thursday this term, and if you ever need or want to get a hold of me, I hang out quite a bit in the PSYCHS office (Admin 170), and you’re welcome to pop by any time, just to say hi and chat, or for whatever reason. (If you’re interested, you can also join the PSYCHS club and have access to our microwave and cheap food/drinks and meet new people. I look forward to getting to know you guys and seeing where the semester takes us! :) Cheers, Amy
Email: agmee.webber@gmail.com
Peer Mentor Liaison: Andrea Halwas
Hello. I am Andrea Halwas, a PhD Candidate in Psychology, Drama and Nursing combined into an Interdisciplinary Doctorate degree. I have a BA Hons in Theatre, Drama and English and a MFA in Theatre Studies. I am the Peer Mentor Liaison for Psychology 203. I have been appointed to make the peer mentoring process easier, and more streamlined. If you have any questions or concerns about the class, the peer mentors, the peer mentor blog or any of the peer mentor meetings, please feel free to contact me.
Email: arhalwas@ucalgary.ca
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