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The Piedmont Highlander

The Piedmont Highlander

Peer Advisors help lead social psych classes

Peer Advisors help lead social psych classes

As sophomores make the transformation from being freshmen and become used to the high school scene, new issues can arise that are better understood by fellow students.

Peer Advisors not only help sophomores navigate the social scene and aid them through pressures many students face, but also act as an emotional outlet for these sophomores, using their experience from similar situations.16

Peer Advisors is a group of juniors and seniors who visit sophomore social psychology classes three times per semester to talk about issues the sophomores may face in high school.

The group shares their personal experiences and gives advice to classes they teach in order to prepare them for situations they may encounter in their near future.

“It is a good opportunity for the sophomores to interact and get to know upperclassmen on a more personal level and help them feel welcome in high school,” peer advisor junior Audrey Meyersieck said. “It also gives them a resource to ask questions when they feel they can’t talk to a parent or teacher.”

The advisors are close in age to the sophomores they teach, so the program gives students more opportunities to open up about their personal lives.

“It’s much easier to talk to them about issues in high school because unlike our parents, they know what’s really happening” social psychology student sophomore Mia Arthur said.

The Peer Advisors plan activities that give students chances to talk about the realities of being a high school student.

“Students can talk about topics from a different perspective than adults,” social psychology teacher Anne Peacock said. “They can relate and talk about realities of being a teen in this community and at this time period in a very authentic way.”

The advisors touch on heavy and often personal subjects, so they rely on introductory activities to break the ice and small discussion groups to get students talking.

Each lesson is different, but they always end with an anonymous question box to give students an option to talk about questions they may have involving uncomfortable or personal topics.

The upperclassmen’s commitment to creating thoughtful activities and lesson plans makes the program successful, Peacock said.

“By and large, sophomores like to hear from other students and find it fun to participate in the variety of activities they plan,” Peacock said.

The program not only benefits the sophomores who are taught by their peers, but also helps upperclassmen learn important leadership skills like facilitating group discussions and creating beneficial agendas.

“From Peer Advisors I am more comfortable speaking with of groups of people, especially if it is about deep or personal issues that many people don’t like to talk about,” Meyersieck said.

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