Student Government Association (SGA) is working with the Oxford Continuation Association (OCA) to create the Oxford Continuee Peer Advisory Program, a mentoring system for Oxford students continuing to Emory their junior year.
Oxford College is a branch campus of Emory about 40 minutes away where students attend classes for their first two years of undergraduate study before transferring to Emory.
The peer advisory program is slated to launch in spring 2013.
The Oxford Continuee Peer Advisory Program was spearheaded by Nursing school senior and SGA Vice President Danielle Zamarelli and other members of the student government.
Zamarelli explained that she first noticed a disconnect between Oxford and Emory students when she campaigned on Oxford's campus last spring.
"There were no opportunities to learn about the Emory community," Zamarelli said.
She identifies the cause of the disconnect problem as a lack of events involving current Emory students.
The OCA normally brings Oxford continuees on campus for a day prior to transferring to give them a basic introduction to campus life including a tour and introductions to Emory's campus facilities.
However, as Zamarelli pointed out, there isn't a specific time allotted to getting familiar with academic buildings, teachers in their major and other non-academic aspects of Emory life.
Zamarelli explained that questions such as the best study location are "things that only Emory students will know."
The current transition process focuses heavily on the academic transition.
For College senior Hannah Reid, focusing on the academic transition made her move from Oxford to Emory a lot easier.
"A lot of the ease of your transfer has to do with the major that you are planning on pursuing and whether the classes you need were available at Oxford," she explained.
Prior to transferring to Emory, Reid had only completed two of the classes required for her major because she had spent her two years fulfilling general education requirements.
While Reid believes the academic transition is more or less seamless, the social aspect is a little different. Oxford's student body is significantly smaller than Emory's, at about 900 undergraduate students.
Oxford freshman Surina Odhav was originally attracted to Oxford because of its tight-knit community.
"I really like the way the community was ... I'm going to miss the relationship I have with my teachers. My teachers here are always available to talk with me and are so helpful," Odhav said.
In addition to adjusting to a different social dynamic, Oxford students have to integrate into extra-curricular activities on main campus.
"There's a perception that Oxford students hang out with Oxford people, and that's sort of natural at the beginning ... the more time you spend on main campus, the more you interact with Emory students," said Reid.
A lot of these interactions occur through non-academic activities. Reid had been involved on the Honor Council at Oxford and was able to be heavily involved in it at Emory as well.
A common thread among Reid's and Odhav's reflections is having people already on campus to turn to for help.
"I think getting to know people on main will help the transition the most. For me, being on a dance team will make a huge difference because it gives me a place before I even get there," said Odhav, referring to her participation on the Indian fusion team Sitara.
This is exactly the kind of system Zamarelli wants to implement but on a more organized scale.
"There will be one organized day when Oxford students are introduced to their peer mentors. Then, hopefully, there will be more organic interactions," Zamarelli expressed in hopes that the mentor-mentee relationship will become more like a friendship.
Applications to be an Oxford Continuee Peer Advisor are available on the Office of Student Leadership and Service's website. For Zamarelli, the goal for the program's debut year is to generate as much awareness and interest as possible.
For the first year, it will be voluntary for both Oxford and Emory student and open to all students, but Zamarelli said she hopes that those who apply will be "passionate about Emory and wanting to teach students about it."
She thinks this will appeal to orientation leaders and tour guides.
In its inaugural year, Zamarelli does not have any goals in terms of number of students but just wants to get the ball rolling and for it to be enjoyable for the students involved.
In the future, the logistics of pairing students could cause problems.
There are about 500 Oxford Continuees, and the goal for the program is to have one member from Emory paired with every continuee.
Zamarelli, however, is optimistic about the outlook of this program.
After she graduates, she wants this project to be fully adopted by the Oxford Continuation Association. She added that it is always a good opportunity to expand Oxford's role on campus.
"I think the mentor program sounds like a fantastic idea and will really benefit future Oxford continuees," Reid said.
By Rupsha Basu
