OADI Peer Mentor Program Background

Launched in Fall 2021, the OADI Peer Mentor Program embodies Cornell’s values of learning, discovery, and engagement by fostering purposeful connections among scholars through structured community building and mentoring. Our peer mentor program recruits scholars from OADI’s signature programs (Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), McNair Scholars Program, OADI Research Scholars Program (ORSP), and Pre-Professional Programs (P3)) to serve as peer mentors to 15 first year and/or transfer students seeking opportunity, support and empowerment. Our peer mentor program enables peers to serve as role models and caters to students who are first in their families to attend college and/or are from lower-income backgrounds. The program will support the transition of mentees into and through the university, teach and reinforce skills for success through individual and group-based programming, and cultivate leadership skills for both mentors and mentees.

Required Skills and Strengths for Mentors

• Have been an active member of at least one OADI signature program for at least one year
• Must be a full-time enrolled OADI signature program student
• Must be actively engaged in OADI
• Passionate about empowering themselves, empowering others and OADI community
• Possess a love for OADI community and be deeply invested in the program’s strength and success
• Strong organizational, interpersonal, written and oral communication skills are essential
• Commitment to meeting with mentee at least twice a month between September 2025 and December 2025
• Excited about encouraging and celebrating small wins of mentees and ripple effects of mentorship
• Commitment to Fall semester required

Required Skills and Strengths for Mentees

• Must be full-time and enrolled in first year and/or transfer student
• Passionate about empowering themselves and actively engaging in the OADI community
• Possess a love for the OADI community and be deeply invested in the program’s strength and success
• Commitment to meeting with mentor for the fall semester, at least twice a month between September 2025 – December 2025
• Excited about sharing and celebrating small wins with mentors

Important Application Details

Peer Mentee Applications will open on July 18th and close on September 6th.  Please click this link to go to the application.

The OADI peer mentor program begins in September 2025. 

For more information, please contact Gabbie Smith, Assistant Director, Student Success Programs and OADI, Program Innovation, gcs24@cornell.edu.

If you would like to see a feature of the program, check out this 2022 Cornell Chronicle Article.