UB staff and domestic students are being recruited to serve as mentors for newly arrived international students during the spring 2014 semester. Participants need not know about other cultures, speak other languages or have traveled overseas.

Each mentor will be paired with two newly arrived international students; the commitment is for one semester. Mentors must be available to meet with their mentees for one hour every two weeks. The activity can be as simple as having lunch together, going for coffee or taking a walk, or as elaborate as visiting a local tourist attraction, going to a sports event or having a family dinner in one’s home.

Separate half-day training sessions will take place for both mentors and mentees. Mentors will learn about the mentees’ culture or cultures, receive valuable information about campus resources available to mentees and learn tips on how to best interact with someone from another country. An end-of-semester dinner will be held to celebrate participants’ mentoring accomplishments.

The mentoring program is being sponsored by the offices of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS). Applications can be found on the ISSS website.

Questions about the program may be directed to Jessica Ereiz at 645-2258 or jlkumro@buffalo.edu.