Our Peer Support provisions are something we’re very proud of here in SALC. The Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) scheme is a huge part of this. Our second and third-year PASS leaders run workshops and activities for first-years, guiding their younger coursemates through what can be a difficult shift into university life. They’re led and supported by our Student Coordinators, who organise these events. Peer Support are currently recruiting new Student Coordinators, PASS Leaders, and Peer Mentors. If you’re keen to help new students, improve your organisational skills and boost your CV, or just want to try something new, we’d definitely recommend you give it a go! Lena, a PASS Leader for Liberal Arts, and Nina, a Student Coordinator for French, very kindly told us how they’d found taking part in the scheme:

Lena:

As the first intake of Liberal Arts, we were also the first PASS scheme in the degree. I’ve found it an extremely rewarding experience, benefiting both me by improving transferable employability skills, and benefitting the first years by giving them a reassuring point of contact and advice. 

Giving weekly presentations has allowed me to develop genuine confidence and ability in presenting and public speaking, which is great for both personal confidence and employability. The weekly nature of the programme allows you to continually reflect and improve on leadership and presentation, generating a real sense of accomplishment. This is further supported by the PASS structure, where networking sessions, fortnightly newsletters and lead interns provide a great support system and continue to be sources of further inspiration and improvement. 

Taking on the responsibility of coordinating session content and leading PASS leaders has also been challenging but rewarding in terms of organisational skills gained and connections made. Through the organisation of social and careers events, myself and Liberal Arts have been able to connect to different PASS schemes, members of staff and internal university departments, maximising all the services such a large university has to offer. The PASS scheme has augmented the sense of community that myself, leaders, and students have felt within liberal arts, the wider university community and the local community. 

In terms of helping me directly, the PASS scheme has also allowed me to reflect on the skills I have learnt and grown in over my time in university; teaching skills and creating resources on topics such as essay writing, referencing and presentations has helped me consolidate my own knowledge and expertise.

Nina:

I’m the Student Coordinator of the French Studies Peer Mentor scheme. This year the peer mentor team and I have organised various events for French studies students, especially first-year students. Our events range from academic-related sessions like Study Abroad Q&A to more relaxing sessions like film nights. This semester, we started with an interactive language café event that is open to all students who are interested in practicing French-speaking or meeting new friends with shared interests in French studies. As the student coordinator, I helped brainstorm ideas for potential events and to further develop them in discussions with peer mentors. Although it takes some time for an idea to finally come to fruition, it is a rewarding and insightful process as I learn more about teamwork and organisation.

During this process, teamwork is crucial to help facilitate the events and scheme. I work with the peer mentor team, the staff coordinator, and staff from SALC and Peer Support for various tasks, including booking rooms, catering, supporting the event, advertising, and so on. In doing so, I learned how to plan better the timing of events and how to connect with different departments at school to work towards our visions. Although there were challenges, teamwork and the school network helped me to resolve many problems and the events were all successful.

Indeed, the role can be challenging because of many uncertainties and challenges. For example, arranging the first debrief meeting to suit everyone’s schedule, and there will be more occasions where timings become complicated. However, this process has also been exciting because I explored my potential and my interests. This is a great opportunity that introduces students to leadership roles because they are supported by their peers, teachers, and staff who help them share their responsibilities and guide them through challenges.

If you’re interested, there‘s still time to get involved! Reach out to your peer mentor or PASS leader today, or contact us at salc.iag@manchester.ac.uk.

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