Below is our impact report* for the second semester of the 2020-2021 academic year for the 3rd & Goal Peer 2 Peer Sponsorship Program. Despite the challenges of Covid-19, the program was still able to make a great impact for these student veterans.
Directly impacting 707 veteran students
Peers connected veteran students with: 189 GI Bill certifications, 33 transition issues, 11 Academic Advising sessions, 4 Housing requests, 1 Student Health Center referral and 162 other requests focused on Admissions and Federal Tuition Assistance
Peer Sponsors continued their weekly connections with the 38 assigned new veteran students who self-identified at the end of last semester as still requiring transition assistance
This semester we increased the frequency of contact between our Peer Sponsors and their assigned new students, built a tailored template for weekly engagements and incorporated weekly Zoom office hours
Peers served transitioning veteran students with 271 phone calls
Peer Sponsors averaged 22.5 hours per week
Added PTSD/suicide prevention training to our Peer Sponsors
Peer Sponsor Kyle reported: “Early in the spring, a veteran student contacted me about the university’s aviation degree program and flight training. The student was clearly frustrated with all the barriers to his dream career including the VA’s limited selection of veteran approved flight schools. Over the next few days and weeks, I shared with him my personal story of using education benefits which covers the entirety of my flight program, and successfully enrolled him in a program that fit his needs."
Peer Sponsor Janie reported: “A new veteran student called needing help with a long list of things. While we went through his list, he opened-up to me about the stressors of the COVID pandemic, on-line classes and how the past year has affected his mental health in a negative way. As a freshman, it was clear he was really struggling with the transition. I offered him advice from my personal experiences on everything including his schedule, study methods, useful Apps and referred him to some of my key contacts in the Department of Psychology. At the end, the student felt much better, and so did I for being able to help.”
The 3rd & Goal Peer 2 Peer Sponsorship Program will continue for the 2021-2022 academic year.
*Impact numbers provided by The Ohio State University.