Senior Sofia Silva turned to greet a friendly face rushing toward her, seeing her partner from the Peer Mentors program light up with joy. Since becoming a Peer Mentor her junior year, the program has fostered belonging in Silva and the students she supports, she said.

The program forms close connections between Special Education students and student mentors, senior Lexi Clark, President of Peer Mentors, said. The semester-long class differs from most electives with its flexible structure, Silva said. Mentors attend class with Special Education students, helping them learn and have fun, Silva added.

“Peer mentoring is where you learn life skills you can apply to your life, like empathy and social cues,” Silva said.

Mentors learn leadership and patience that can be carried into college and beyond, Silva said. Silva will be studying psychology at the University of Michigan in the fall, hoping to pursue either speech pathology or occupational therapy. Mentoring has helped her grow and see new perspectives, Silva said.

“People don’t pay attention to the kids in Special Education,” Silva said. “But understanding them has taught me more than I could help them. You never know what someone is going through, so it’s best to have be willing to learn.”

Clark will also be heading to the University of Michigan, and although her path, nursing, does not directly correlate with Peer Mentoring, Clark will apply the program’s values into her future to help people as best she can, she said.

“You can always bring light to each person’s day and each person can teach you something new,” Clark said.

Veronica Marban, Instructional Assistant of Special Education, was a Peer Mentor for three years while attending South, before returning as a teacher in the department, she said. Marban admires how students prepare for their future by mentoring, she said.

“There is a lot you can learn from a one-on-one connection with students,” Marban said. “It is more valuable than direct instruction.”