International Peer Mentoring Program

Scholarship Program Description

The International Peer Mentoring Program (IPMP) is a group of undergraduate students who assist the Office of International Affairs in serving newly admitted undergraduate international students at IUPUI. IPMP mentors receive a scholarship for their service to the international student community.

IPMP Scholarship Requirements

Must be a current undergraduate student at IUPUI with at least one academic year of study remaining.
Must have successfully completed at least 12 credit hours at IUPUI prior to the start of Spring 2013.
Must have a cumulative and semester GPA of 2.800 or higher.
Must be in good standing with the university and have no record of disciplinary action.
Possess positive communication and teamwork skills.
Be reliable and have strong personal initiative.
Be able to interact effectively and patiently with people from diverse cultures with varying levels of English proficiency.
Have a strong desire to serve.
Must be present in Indianapolis during the months of August and January, as well as the entire Fall and Spring semesters.

General Responsibilities

Be approachable and available to meet the needs of new international students throughout their arrival period and their first academic year.
Mentor new international students through their adjustment to U.S. culture and education.
Be a resource person, making sure each student knows of the support services available to them on campus.
Guide new students on their road to being an involved and successful member of the IUPUI community.
Be reliable and responsible in meeting your mentoring duties, including attendance at meetings, submission of required reports, and timely arrival for assigned duties.

Specific Duties

Attend a 3-day IPMP training on May 5-7, at Bradford Woods. This is overnight.
Attend biweekly IPMP meetings on Friday afternoons, 2:30 - 3:45.
Expect to spend approximately 5 hours per week on average on IPMP related duties.
Serve on a 3-member team to provide direct peer mentoring to an assigned group of incoming students.
With other mentors, develop and present a Peer-to-Peer Workshop to the international population.
Present to students in the International Student Academic Success Conference.
Submit a Service Hours Report and a Team Report on a monthly basis.
Serve in one of five Responsibility Areas:
1. Orientation Assistants — provide assistance before and during the International Student Orientation Program. Help supervise and train volunteers, participate in workshops, and assist with logistics.
  - Must be fully available 7/19/2013 (2:30-4:30 p.m.), 8/12/2013-8/16/2013 and 1/2/2014 - 1/9/2014
2. Welcome Assistants — Communicate with students pre-arrival about transportation and housing, and answer other general questions. Lead shopping trips and assist with move-in and issues with getting settled.
  - >Must be present in Indianapolis 7/27/2013 - 8/25/2013 and 12/17/2013 - 1/13/2014 and available for approximately 10 hours/week during that time.
3. Outreach Assistants — Serve as a resource to newly admitted students who are still abroad. Ambassadors contact students by phone after admission to answer general questions, offer guidance and assistance, and encourage students to choose IUPUI. Mentors who speak Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Arabic or Hindi will be preferred.
4. International Bridge Assistants — Assist with the early arrival of freshmen participating in the International Bridge Program during August 2013. Serve as an in-class mentor during the 2-week bridge program. One Bridge Assistant will also mentor during the related First Year Seminar course during Fall 2013 and will receive an additional scholarship subsidy.
  - Must be available 7/30/2013 - 8/18/2013.
5. Engineering and Technology (ET) Assistants — Provide an additional level of mentoring for IPMP participants who are admitted to the School of Engineering and Technology. Work closely with ET staff to share knowledge, insight, and guidance to first year engineering and technology students regarding tips for success, resources, and available opportunities specific to students studying within the School of Engineering and Technology. ET Assistants should be prepared to carry out these tasks both informally and through more formal means such as seminars or workshops. Preference will be given to ET students who have been previously involved in ET student organizations and activities.
  - Required availability to be determined.
For each semester of participation, mentors must enroll in one of the following 1- credit courses (tuition-free):
- UCOL-U 201 — Introduction to Mentoring
- UCOL-U 202 — Mentoring: Collaborative Learning
- UCOL-U 203 — Mentoring: Leadership & Transition
- UCOL-U 204 — Mentoring: Independent Study
Course grade is based 60% on performance in the course, and 40% on performance in mentoring duties.

Benefits of Serving as an IPMP Mentor

Receive a scholarship of $1700 per academic year ($850/semester).
Develop friendships with students from around the world.
Improve cross-cultural communication skills.
Connect with the IUPUI campus.
Gain leadership experience and develop interpersonal communication skills.
Have a unique and impressive experience to add to your résumé.
Enjoy the satisfaction of using your skills to help others.

Applications and Interviews

The application form is online at http://international.iupui.edu/volunteer/peer-mentoring/application.docx. The deadline for applying is Friday, March 15^th. Before starting your application, please prepare the following items:

Your enrollment and GPA history (available through Onestart)
Two letters of recommendation
A listing of leadership positions held within the past two years with dates and locations
A listing of the awards and scholarships you received in high school and university
A 2-page, double spaced (12 pt font) essay answering the following question:

International students come from very diverse backgrounds, so their challenges can be very different from local students. What do you think some of those challenges are? How can your own past experiences help you in supporting international students as they adjust to those challenges?

Applicants are expected to attend a group interview and information session at one of these times:

Friday, March 22^nd, 9am - 12pm
Friday, March 29^th, 1 - 4pm

All students selected for a scholarship are expected to attend an all-day training session on May 4th, 5th, and 6th. Students not attending the training are not eligible for the scholarship program.

Questions? Please contact the Office of International Affairs at oiaprgms@iupui.edu or call 317-274-7000. Our office is located in ES 2126.