I am happy to say that this upcoming fall semester I will be a Peer Educator.
What is a Peer Educator?
This is a program held by the Counseling Services Center which Peer Educators (P2P) are SUNY Oswego students who involve, empower, and support educational campus environments related to psychological health and wellness.
What do P2P students do?
The role of the P2P Educator is to promote programs and provide information on mental health topics that can impact the academic and social success and overall well-being of SUNY Oswego students. P2P Educators are committed to teaching skills that can help fellow students reduce potential stressful life experiences (prevention) and to resolve situations more quickly should they arise.
Who are these P2P Educators?
P2P Educators are undergraduate students who represent a rich diversity of cultural and life experiences. They have a commitment to learning, teaching, assessing, role modeling, communicating in person and using social media, and effective presentation skills.
This is something I am very excited about and I can not wait to meet/help students. During my undergraduate career, I had my own experience of going to the counseling office because I felt that I needed help. At that time my friends thought I was in need of counseling because I was making decisions that they thought I could have prevented and were “affecting others”. Which made me feel like I was being attacked so I made the decision to speak with a counselor and it was the best decision I made.
While at first, I was nervous speaking about my experiences but then realized that they are there to help. These services that students take for granted are not only for people with “mental issues” but in actuality, it is for students who need someone to talk to. As a P2P I want to bring awareness to all students that these stereotypes of illness are not true which is one of the reasons I joined. The counselors on campus are all amazing people, help with different stressors in life, and are people who care about your well being.
Everyone is welcome so please stop by Mary Walker!
For more information follow this link below.