Staff and faculty connections help foster seemingly boundless academic, professional development and personal growth opportunities throughout the student experience and beyond. However, not to be overlooked, are the powerful lifetime peer-to-peer connections that bolster holistic wellness just as much.
Leading these student campus connections are the Barnes Center at The Arch peer educators, like Missy Roney ’22.
“From connecting students to the many resources that Syracuse University offers to giving presentations on health and wellness topics, I love being able to grow, learn and pass that information on to my friends,” shares Roney. “Educating with a goal of empowering an individual to make their own informed decisions has been such a great experience and I can’t imagine my time on campus without the peer education program!”
What is the Barnes Center at The Arch peer education team?
Currently hosting over 40 students, the Barnes Center peer educators are a team of students passionate about teaching their peers about Syracuse University health and wellness resources, services and more. Three different sub-teams of peer educators specialize in substance use education, sexuality and relationships, and mental health.
2021-22 peer educators
What do peer educators do?
Serving as health and wellness liaisons, role models and more, peer educators help connect fellow students to the Barnes Center at The Arch Dimensions of Wellness in a variety of ways including:
As a peer educator, students can see how their work directly impacts their friends, classmates and peers across campus. While individuals who participate will build their professional skills including but not limited to problem-solving, collaboration and time management. Additional highlights include:
How can a student join the peer education team?
All undergraduate students who are interested in sharing their unique health and wellness journey and empowering others to do the same, are invited to apply to be a peer educator.
“Whether you are passionate about advocating for mental health, harm reduction strategies with substance use or healthy relationships and sexuality, the Barnes Center at The Arch peer educators would love to see you at our recruitment,” says Panagiotis “Pete” Hatzelamprou ’23.
2022-23 peer educator applications are now open and will close Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, at 8 p.m. Additionally, students are invited to attend one of the following Virtual Peer Educator Interest sessions.
For more information, visit the peer educators webpage. To request accommodations, call the Barnes Center at The Arch at 315.443.8000 or email healthpromotion@syr.edu.
About the Supporting Student Wellness Series
Through a student focused lens of integrated health and wellness, this series explores a variety of Barnes Center at The Arch resources and services. In the pursuit of enhancing the student experience, topics empower faculty, staff, students, families and supporters, as catalysts of health and wellness within their daily interactions.
Written by Division of Enrollment and the Student Experience communications intern, Haley Mykytka ’22, College of Visual and Performing Arts.
