On the afternoon of September 15th, the new term Mentor Caring Programme (MCP) held its first meeting between mentors and new mentees, i.e., year-one students, in respective classrooms. Organized by SAO, the mentees were divided into 84 groups to meet their mentors according to their majors. Each group had a mentor who came from their majors and one or two year-two students who acted as their peer mentors.
At the beginning, the mentor and the peer mentors briefly introduced their roles. Moreover, they tried to know how their mentees adapted to university life and they answered mentees questions patiently.
It is known that MCP is a significant hub between the students and the college. As a representative of the College, the mentors connect with the students and the college. They build relationships with the students, understand and help them solve their problems and doubts. Its aim is to help the new students adapt to the unique educational model and the college life of UIC quickly. They also share their professional knowledge and rich experiences to motivate the students' growth.
It's the second year for Dr. Bryan Lee from Korea to be a mentor. He said that he was very glad to do this job，because he could communicate with the students and give them some professional guidance. In addition, as a foreigner, communicating with Chinese students would also help him adapt to the culture of China.
A mentee said she never heard of MCP before she came to UIC for there was no such a programme in other mainland universities. She hoped she could build friendly relationships with her group members through this programme.
He Dongyi, a peer mentor, said, she learned a lot from MCP when she was a Year 1 student. As a result, she was willing to be a peer mentor to share her experience with her group members.
Reporter: Pan Wanhua
Editor: Richard Xu
