The role of a peer mentor is to cultivate a warm, welcoming environment and create an exhilarating first-year experience to new members of the ACPHS family. Diana Byk, now in her fourth year at ACPHS and her second professional year in the pharmacy doctorate program, said her relationship with her own peer mentor gave her just that. She wanted to do the same.
Byk, who grew up in Ukraine and then lived in Pennsylvania before coming to ACPHS, still remembers her peer mentor hugging her when they met. Byk didn’t have a car that first year, and her mentor would always call if she were going somewhere – to run errands or have fun. Byk got familiar with campus and the community by tagging along with her mentor, whom she said became her best friend. “I felt like I had a big sister on campus,” she said.
Byk’s motivation to become a peer mentor herself was simple: “I wanted to share that same experience that I had,” she said.
And she did. Among the people whose experiences Byk herself shaped was Alivia Lamphere, who was at the Recognition Banquet because – you guessed it – she became a peer mentor after a wonderful experience with Byk. Lamphere appreciated being able to reach out to Byk with questions that seemed too small to present to a professor or advisor. And in keeping with her own resolve to pay it forward, Byk offered friendly company – a walk down New Scotland Avenue to CVS or a ride if Lamphere needed it.
“It was just nice to have somebody who constantly reached out to you,” Lamphere said.
Like Diana Byk, Ayomide Kumapayi grew up in another country, Nigeria, and then lived in the United States – in Middletown, N.Y. She was a transfer student when she entered the pharmacy doctorate program at ACPHS.
She arrived during the COVID-19 pandemic and had difficulty making friends with classmates she met only online. Her transfer peer mentor made all the difference.
Kumapayi's peer mentor would come to her dorm room (mask on) to do something that was allowed but still social – like a walk around Albany (socially distanced).
It made all the difference in Kumapayi’s experience, and convinced her to be a transfer peer mentor too.
“I wanted to be part of that, and I wanted to give back to students,” said Kumapayi. “I wanted to have the same impact that she had on me.”
Announcing her award, Peer Mentor Program Coordinator Angela Palmer referred to Kumapayi as bubbly and vivacious. “She knows how to be professional yet down to earth and relatable,” is what one of her nominators said.
Ellis Simerly has been a tutor in the writing center for four years. Other students schedule sessions with him, and he is always delighted to be surprised by the work they bring – which may be for a class or something personal or to get over a creative block.
“I’ve stayed doing it because it’s interesting,” he said. “What’s cool and unique about the Writing Center is that you never know what’s going to come through the door.”
His way of recognizing each student who seeks his help as a unique individual with a unique writing challenge is likely a key to his success as a tutor. He does not try to improve their work with his voice.
“He became a highly requested peer writing consultant because of his ability to help others find their voice and confidence,” said Dr. Anna Eyre, who became the writing program director in Fall 2022. “He is a leader that brings out the leader in others.”
Dr. Eyre praises Simerly for the input he has had this academic year in helping to reimagine the Writing Center. She credits his experience volunteering at a COVID unit at a South Carolina hospital, where he learned the importance of protocols and teamwork.
“Since returning to campus, Ellis strengthened the Writing Center and campus community by using his knowledge of teamwork,” said Eyre.
For his part, Simerly said that it was rewarding to help Dr. Eyre develop the center.
“As students we often give our input, but to see our feedback come to fruition – it makes you feel like you're being heard,” he said. About the award, he added, “It’s nice that what I’m doing is working and it’s being noticed.”
In announcing the selection of Alex Tow as the Peer Tutor of the Year, Center for Student Success Assistant Director Jarrett Lykins referred to him as “a fixture in the tutoring center.” He organizes review sessions in physics and organic chemistry for 10-15 students at time. Tow says the work is his passion.
"Because of his influence I see many P1 students helping each other to study and learn—even non-tutors,” Lykins said. “I hear frequently in my student meetings that working with him has transformed a student’s performance in a course.”
It will perhaps come as no surprise that Tow, a P1 student in his third year at ACPHS, eventually sees himself in academics.
“I have a passion for teaching,” he said. “Tutoring is something that would be difficult for me to give up, I like it so much.”
It might be a bit more surprising to know that Tow struggled as a student in high school and relied on the help of a tutor himself in his first years at college. Like the peer mentors and tutors referenced above, his tutoring is about giving back.
He also said he benefits in a concrete way from tutoring – he learns the material better himself. And also like them, Tow was noted for his kindness.
“He is a fantastic tutor,” said one nominee, “and does not make me feel inferior for not having knowledge on certain subjects.”