▲ Mentor & Mentee program. (Source: pxhere)

Due to the continued spread of COVID-19, classes for the first semester of 2021 are being conducted following the government's social distancing guidelines, curriculum outlines, and keeping the density of classrooms in mind. Changwon University operates classes and extracurricular programs for students using the integrated learning management platform e-Campus and various real-time video programs. However, as gatherings of more than five people were banned due to the extension of the 1.5-stage social distancing level, various school events have not been held. This has naturally reduced interactions between classmates. To solve this problem, each department began operating a Mentor & Mentee Program in March to create opportunities for students from the same department to communicate with each other.

The Mentor & Mentee Program is designed to promote friendship and the sharing of information between seniors and juniors. It connects 3rd and 4th year students with their juniors through mentoring 1st and 2nd year students who want to receive advice from their seniors. It depends on the way each department operates, but most mentor & mentee programs are only applicable to students who have paid student fees. Teams consisting of mentors and mentees can exchange information that helps with college life online using Kakao Talk, Zoom, other online methods, or in-person meetings. Members of the mentorship program can talk with each other, and enjoy leisure activities together, such as watching movies, and going to cafes and restaurants. It is also possible to share information about classes and study together.

The program began by inviting mentors and mentees to contact each other over Kakao Talk. Each team starts with activities such as self-introductions, team name selections, and college life bucket lists. The Mentor & Mentee Program provides each team with an activity during the term, except during the exam period and vacation, so that they can continue to communicate with each other. Students are also encouraged to participate actively by offering prizes for participating in the activities. In the COVID-19 pandemic, the mentor & mentee program could become one of the school's representative programs if it greatly helps freshmen adjust to school life.

Mentor and mentee programs offer a good opportunity to students to adapt more easily to college life and become better informed college students. This is especially helpful for students who are feeling confused by the COVID-19 crisis at a time when they have to adapt to the new environment of college. In addition to studying and curriculum activities, hobbies and leisure activities can be formed outside of college life by seniors and juniors. It is expected that activities between seniors and juniors, which were briefly suspended, will be able to continue through the mentor & mentee program.

By Jung In-hee, cub-reporter  sugar3870@navercom

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