{"id":24,"date":"2023-02-09T12:56:18","date_gmt":"2023-02-09T16:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/bobcat-first\/?page_id=24"},"modified":"2026-01-21T21:39:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T01:39:36","slug":"first-gen-peer-mentors","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/bobcat-first\/first-gen-peer-mentors\/","title":{"rendered":"First-Generation Peer Mentors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Each Kessler Scholar at Bates is paired with a First-Generation Peer Mentor (FGPM), an upper-division student within the Bobcat First or Kessler Scholar Programs, who has been trained to provide outreach, mentorship, and programmatic support to first-generation students. Each Peer Mentor serves as a facilitator and mentor, providing a safe avenue for students to discuss the unique experience of first-generation students, and to provide resources to support their ongoing academic, social, and emotional wellness at Bates.

All peer mentors have a drop in hour every week where you can stop by and meet with them with no appointment necessary! All drop in hours take place in the Student Center for Belonging and Community which is located in Chase Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2024-25 First-Generation Peer Mentors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Carly Baker<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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About Carly<\/h3>
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My name is Carly (she\/her) and I am from Rumford, Maine. I plan to major in Gender and Sexuality Studies and minor in Anthropology. I enjoy activism and am on the board of directors for Maine People’s Alliance. On campus, I work at the Harward Center as a Civic Agency Fellow.  

Class year: 2027<\/strong>
Pronouns: she\/her<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drop In Hour:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Rylee Eaton<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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About Rylee<\/h3>
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My name is Rylee (she\/her) and I am a senior double majoring in biochemistry and math. Among other things, I am a member of the women\u2019s rowing team, a community advisor for the residence life office, and a co-host of Thursday trivia nights at le Ronj. In my free time, I really enjoy doing a variety of crafts from sewing to crocheting to duct tape art. I’m so excited to meet you all!

Class year: 2025<\/strong>
Pronouns: she\/her<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drop In Hour:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Elizabeth Gallegos-Rodriguez<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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About Elizabeth<\/h3>
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My name is Elizabeth (she\/her) and I am a Mexican-American student from northern Colorado. I am a sociology major and an educational studies minor. On campus I work with Purposeful Work as a Peer Advisor, work with the Harward Center as a community Outreach Fellow, participate as a LAMP Fellow, and will begin tutoring Spanish this upcoming fall! I am always down for a sweet treat and a chat, so if you need a buddy for a coffee run I am your gal!

Class year: 2026
Pronouns: she\/her<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drop In Hour:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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James Hillers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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About James<\/h3>
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My name is James Hillers and I\u2019m a junior from Syracuse, New York. I am majoring in Biology with a minor in Digital and Computational Studies. Outside of academics, I\u2019m co-president of model UN, a SASC tutor, and member of club volleyball. I love all these things for the opportunities they provide me and the communities they offer. I also love going for hikes, runs, and watching movies.

Class year: 2026
Pronouns: he\/him<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drop In Hour:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Joy Huang<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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About Joy<\/h3>
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My name is Joy Huang and I\u2019m a rising sophomore from New York planning to major in Econ with minors in Math and DCS. At Bates, I am also vice president of Tea Club, community liaison of Asian Students Association, a peer tutor in SASC, a member of Bates Civic Action Team (BCAT), and a JA! Moreover, I enjoy cooking, so you\u2019ll often find me and my friends late night cheffing in the OIE! I love watching k-dramas and c-dramas, along with reading manhwas and listening to music, so if you have any suggestions I\u2019m all for it!

Class year: 2027
Pronouns: she\/her<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drop In Hour:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Darlene Igiraneza<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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About Darlene<\/h3>
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My name is Darlene Igiraneza and I’m majoring in Biology with a concentration in The Human Body on the Pre-nursing track. I’m a Burundian American first-generation student from Phoenix, Arizona. On campus aside from being a peer mentor I also work in the Sports Department as a Sports Medicine Aide. 

Class year: 2025
Pronouns: she\/her<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drop In Hour:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Sheila Robledo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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About Sheila<\/h3>
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My name is Sheila Robledo, this will be my second year as a peer mentor!  I am planning on majoring in Biology and minoring in Chinese language. I am a Mexican American first-generation student. I was born in Texas and raised in Mexico for a few years of my childhood. Fun fact, I live 20 minutes from the Mexico-U.S. border and I actually cross the border to Mexico walking every other weekend when I’m back home in Texas!

Class year: 2026
Pronouns: she\/her<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drop In Hour:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ross Tejeda<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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About Ross<\/h3>
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My name is Ross Tejeda and I am an English and Economics double major. I enjoy playing Basketball, going on runs, playing video games, and listening to music. On campus I run Track and field\/Cross Country, I am also a member of Investment club and the Students Athletes of Color Coalition. I’m excited to meet you all so feel free to reach out for general questions, advice, or just to say hi!<\/p>\n\n\n\n



Class year: 2026
Pronouns: he\/him<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drop In Hour:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each Kessler Scholar at Bates is paired with a First-Generation Peer Mentor…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1561,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"class_list":["post-24","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","with-sidebar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/bobcat-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/bobcat-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/bobcat-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/bobcat-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1561"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/bobcat-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/bobcat-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":234,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/bobcat-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24\/revisions\/234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/bobcat-first\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}