The Global Programs mentorship program matched Jamie Simpson (CAS’27) (left) with Francesca Ross (CGS’22, CAS’24), both earth and environmental sciences majors. “Having a personal contact like Francesca to seek advice from will be the most helpful part of this program,” Simpson says.

GLOBAL PROGRAMS

Life at BU Can Be Scary for International Students. This Mentorship Program Pairs Up Peers

Since 2016, Global Programs’ peer mentorship program has seen over 1,500 mentors assist 2,000-plus mentees with their transitions to BU

It doesn’t matter where you’re from, starting college can be challenging. But when you’re coming from another country, even mundane things about a campus or a culture can seem like a mystery. And when you add in the legwork required to secure and maintain a student visa, or set up a US bank account? Things can get complicated fast.

For incoming international students enrolled in Global Programs International Peer Mentor Program, they have a reliable source to turn to: a fellow student.

The optional Boston University program matches incoming international undergraduates with a trained student mentor based on their background, studies, languages spoken, and interests. The mentors—who can be domestic or international students—serve as a go-to for everything Boston and BU, from how to meet people in college to the best places to grocery shop or study. 

Global Programs took over the peer mentorship program from Orientation in 2016. Since then, more than 1,500 mentors have assisted 2,000-plus mentees transition to life at BU. 

“The whole goal behind the program is to provide incoming international undergraduate students with their first friend, so to speak,” says Kamelia Turcotte (Wheelock’24), Global Programs assistant director of international student initiatives. “There are other programs at BU that are more focused on academics, but this is about the social transition—you know, what resources are available on campus? What’s Boston like?”

Each iteration of the mentorship program lasts a semester. Global Programs starts recruiting mentors the prior academic year. Mentors—who have to be rising sophomores, juniors, or seniors in good academic standing—receive mentorship training from Global Programs, Student Health Services, and the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Training includes a little bit of everything, according to Turcotte: like reflective listening, boundary-setting, and lessons on different cultural values, in addition to mentor expectations. 

Mentors and mentees are matched before each semester begins. This semester, around 140 mentors and 288 mentees are participating in the program, representing close to 46 countries. Almost 30 percent of mentors are domestic students, and many of them have some form of international connection, Turcotte says.

Jamie Simpson (CAS’27) is one of this semester’s mentees. Simpson, who’s Scottish, but grew up in Dubai, says she was “honestly daunted” by the size of BU’s student body, and opted to join the program for “a sense of familiarity and guidance” going into her college career. An earth and environmental sciences major, Simpson was matched with mentor Francesca Ross (CGS’22, CAS’24), a senior from Maryland majoring in earth and environmental sciences and minoring in energy and environment. 

Ross signed on as a mentor to help new students transition into college, she says, and to make friends and connections of her own. So far she and Simpson have been texting back and forth and grabbing coffee when they can. (Mentors and mentees are expected to check in biweekly; beyond that they can have as little or as much contact as they’d like.) For Simpson, having an earth sciences upperclassman in her corner is invaluable. 

“I predict having a personal contact like Francesca to seek advice from when I feel overwhelmed or stressed—academically or otherwise—will be the most helpful part of this program” going forward, Simpson says. And on top of that, meeting fellow international mentees has “really made me feel at home at BU.” 

That’s one of the biggest strengths of the program, former mentor-mentee pair Rea Pittie (CAS’23) and Rithika Roddam (CAS’25) say.

“Studying internationally can be lonely sometimes, and it’s always nice to have a familiar face while you’re settling in,” says Pittie, a former Indian international student who works as a research technician at Mass General Hospital. 

“It definitely does provide a sense of ‘home away from home,’” says economics major Roddam, who is also from India. “However many friends I become close with here, I think the level to which you can relate to another international student [from your culture] is just so much greater and immediately more comfortable than with others.”

The program’s other greatest strength? Having a person to ask any and every question of without judgment, both say.

“There are so many different departments and resources at BU that can help with ‘big’ things like academic advising and immigration issues, but the ‘small’ things—like which mobile carrier to use, or how to travel on the T—are not always obvious to international students,” Pittie says. 

“I actually went on my first T ride with Rea,” Roddam recalls, laughing. “She was like, ‘I’m gonna show you how it works so you don’t have to look stupid the first time you ride it.’ And honestly, I was so grateful for that—people expect you to automatically know how to do things like ride the T, but no one teaches you how.” Pittie was also a huge help when Roddam was applying for a visa, she says.

To Turcotte, who was once an international student herself, the peer mentorship program is among Global Programs’ best offerings.

“It’s probably one of my favorite resources that we offer,” Turcotte says. “It’s always scary to pack up your things and leave home for the first time. But there are additional layers if you’re an international student who comes from a different culture and is leaving everything familiar behind, food, language, and family included.

“I think international students are very brave,” she continues, “And I think this program is a wonderful resource for them to have, not only to have that first friend, but to have that community.”

Learn more about the International Peer Mentorship Program here.