International Peer Mentoring Program
International Peer Mentoring Program is offered by the Office of Global Affairs.
What is the Peer Mentoring Program?
- The InternationalPeer Mentoring Program is an international mentoring community.
- Stony Brook University is one of many institutions to provide support for new undergraduate international students through mentorship.
- This program matches students with a trained alumni/current students mentor based
on common interests, background, academics, and professional aspirations.
- MENTORS
Program Information
Peer Mentors are campus leaders who have demonstrated their commitment to diversity, recognize the contributions diversity brings to the work of the team, and dedicated to helping new international students have a good college experience. Peer mentors plays are a critical role in assisting new undergraduate international student’s transition into the U.S. education system and Stony Brook University.
Eligibility Requirements
- Must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.8.
- Must complete at least 2 semesters at Stony Brook University.
- Must have a working knowledge of the services offered on campus and where to refer students for various queries.
- Must be available to attend Peer Mentor training and meetings.
- Must be enrolled as an undergraduate student and commit to the program for the entire 2024-2025 academic year.
- Abide by a confidentiality agreement, maintaining confidentiality and respect for individual students' rights at all times.
Preferred Qualifications
- Strong interpersonal skills, especially when communicating with people from different cultural background.
- Strong desire to help new international students.
- Self-motivation.
General Expectations
- Paired with at least 3 mentees, and must commit to the program for the full 2024 -2025 academic year.
- Must attend required training sessions.
- Prompt response to all office communications (e.g., emails and Google Calendar invitations).
- Active engagement in International Peer Mentor Program events, including but not limited to pre-orientation evening programs, evening social events during the semester, and social media engagements.
- Available to communicate (phone, email, and/or in-person) with assigned new student mentees over summer 2024 and winter 2025, prior to their first semester, as well as throughout the remainder of the academic year.
- If applied and selected as the Mentor Program Event Committee Member:
- Assist with preparation, face to face outreach, and facilitation of Peer Mentor Program Events (1 major event per semester).
- Attend at least 3 major meetings in the semester regarding event planning with the program supervisor.
Benefits of Being a Peer Mentor
- Hourly paid position.
- Experience and development of the following core learning objectives and skillsets:
- Cognitive Complexity: Critical thinking, reflective thinking, effective reasoning, and creativity.
- Interpersonal Competence: Develop meaningful relationships, interdependence, collaboration, and effective leadership.
- Practical Competence: Pursuing goals, communicating effectively, technical competence, managing personal affairs, demonstrating professionalism.
- Intrapersonal Development.
- Networking with University staff, mentors, and mentees.
Apply to Be a Mentor
Applications for being a mentor are currently closed. Please check back in Spring 2025 for the 2025-26 academic year.
- MENTEES
Program information
What do mentors and mentees discuss?
- How will my major impact my professional options?
- How do I balance the demands of school, sleep, and socializing?
- How can I set myself up for academic, social, and career success?
- How do I make connections with peers and professional contacts?
- How do I find jobs and internships as an international student?
What are other Mentees saying about the experience?
- "[My mentor] helped me answer the question of how to form strong relationships with my professors by giving me an actionable strategy to having strong purposeful visits to their office hours. "
- "I'm really excited to have someone there for me. It's nice knowing that I'm not completely alone and hopefully I can someone I can reach out to if I'm having a hard time in school or other activities. "
- "My mentor has been an amazing help in my life, he makes me realize and see things more clearly. Sometimes it's in front of your face but you can't see until someone puts into words for you. "
How do I apply?
- MEET THE 2024-2025 MENTORS
Sara Asher
Language: Hindi, Gujarati, Kutchi, and Marathi Major: Biology
Sara is an international student from India and a huge animal lover. She loves exploring new places and would love to travel the world. She is also a rookie singer and was a part of the Choir for 4 years. A fun fact about her is that she is the only left-handed person in her whole family. 
Yatharth Bahl
Language: Hindi, Punjabi Major: Geology & Information Systems
Yatharth is a highly motivated and inquisitive international student who loves to explore different locations. His hobbies include reading history, watching movies that are mostly from India, hiking, and listening to music. He is an avid piano listner. A fun fact about him is, he loves talking to new people for any duration they want. He is willing to help in every possible manner as it falls in line with his ideology of "growing by assisting". 
Anya Biswas
Language: Bengali, Hindi Major: Computer Science
anyatama.biswas@stonybrook.edu
Anya is an international student from India. Some of her hobbies include playing basketball, editing videos, and listening to music. In her free time she likes to watch Bollywood movies and read. At Stony Brook, she is the PR Representative on HSC (Hindu Student's Council) and a UGC Undergraduate Fellow. A fun fact about her is that her full name means 'extraordinary' in Bengali. 
Sean Chowdhury
Language: Bengali Major: Computer Science
Sean was born in Sylhet, Bangladesh and moved to Queens, New York when he was four years old. Some of his hobbies include reading, playing basketball, watching movies with friends, and lifting. As a computer science major, he spends some days just trying to code little projects and learn new things. Within, Stony brook, he also works as a Residential Assistant, so he always tries to go to events, as well as plan his own for his dorm building. A fun fact about him is that he has a really big sweet tooth, so he's always looking to try new foods, especially chocolate-related sweets. 
Lynn Chung
Language: Korean Major: Business Management
Lynn enjoys having a good time with her friends and families. She loves taking pictures and videos with her friends, turning them into cool vlogs and edits. In her spare time, she enjoys watching k-dramas and k-pop videos. She also studies Mandarin Chinese which she wants to be good at. Furthermore, she likes to explore the food scenes and finding hidden gems in New York City and recommends them to her friends. 
Ama Fernando
Language: Sinhala Major: Biochemistry
Ama is an international student from Sri Lanka, majoring in biochemistry. She is currently an undergraduate research assistant at the Stony Brook University Hospital. During her free time, she enjoys going to the movies, reading, shopping, and watching nature documentaries. She is also learning to play the piano. Fun fact: She has traveled to over 10 countries. 
Yvette Han
Language: Mandarin Chinese Major: Computer Science
Yvette enjoys playing viola, piano, video games, volleyball, tennis, badminton, ping pong, swimming, roller skating, riding bikes, ice skating, skiing, and reading. A fun fact about Yvette is she always falls in love with new places she visits and loves to explore new places with new friends. 
Baxter Shin
Language: Korean Major: Business Management
Baxter, an international student from Korea, has been studying abroad since high school, currently majoring in Business Management with a focus on Marketing and Finance. Outside of academics, he enjoys hitting the gym and indulging in K-dramas, while also harboring a keen interest in golf. In his younger years, he spent two years playing the cello during middle school and served as a leader of the breakdance club in high school. He is excited to begin a marketing internship at the career center for the 2024-2025 term. 
Katie Hsu
Language: Mandarin Chinese Major: Psychology, Biology Minor
Katie is a senior in the Honors College, a volunteer for the Stony Brook Volunteer Ambulance Corps (SBVAC), Webmaster for the Taiwanese Student Association (TSA), and has an on-campus job in the Office of Government & Community Relations. She is also a big fan of Studio Ghibli movies, has a passion for creating vlogs, and adores painting and drawing all of which she finds both therapeutic and enjoyable. She is also extremely fond of cats. Katie loves exploring the food scene in New York City so make sure you ask her for recommendations. 
Minjoo Jeong
Language: Korean Major: Business, Political Science
Minjoo is a diverse music enthusiast with a penchant for K-pop, pop, Jazz, and various other genres. She is passionate about Korean cuisine and enjoys experimenting with new recipes from around the world. She enjoys cycling, spending time outdoors, and learning new languages. She is happy to help if you need advice on making new friends, navigating academic challenges, or anything else. 
Paula Legarra
Language: Spanish, French Major: Psychology
Paula Legarra is a Psychology major at Stony Brook University. She loves hanging out with her friends and exploring new places with them, is a very social person and always loves a good adventure. She also enjoys listening to music, running, hiking, trying new foods, and traveling. As a fun fact, she has traveled to 34 different countries so far, and can't wait to explore more of the world! 
Zack Li
Language: Chinese Major: Linguistics
Jiaming likes to play games, do scrapbooking, listen to Kpop, Cpop, and regular pop. Even though he has a busy schedule, he always tries to find time for everyone! 
Sher May Hue
Language: Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Malay Major: Business Management
Sher May is from Malaysia. She loves to cycle and put together diamond puzzles. She wishes to travel around the world as she enjoys traveling with family and friends. She has played the piano since she was 6 years old. One fun fact about her is that she shares the same birthday with the United States. 
Huda Nawaz
Language: Urdu, Punjabi Major: Business Management
Huda enjoys drawing, comics, and playing video games. She adores her cat and likes to eat sweet things! In her free time, she binges on new webtoons and plays games with her friends. She used to play the guitar and would like to pick it up again sometime. In the future, she hopes to get more cats and travel all over the world. 
Heejoo Shin
Language: Korean Major: Psychology
Heejoo loves to sing and do skincare. In her free time, she likes to read webtoons, watch movies, and listen to music. She used to play the violin and tennis but stopped after coming to college, though she hopes to still play both once in a while. A fun fact about her is that she has a dog named Snow and a cat named Silver. 
Bonnie Wong
Language: Mandarin Chinese and Malay Major: Mechanical Engineering & Music
Bonnie enjoys the performing arts, such as piano, drama, and ballet. She directed a play, "A Christmas Carol," back in high school. She has traveled to 8 different countries, and Taiwan is her favorite country to travel to.
Elsie Wong
Language: Cantonese, Mandarin Major: Biology, Chemistry Minor
Elsie is a rising Senior majoring in Biology with a chemistry minor on the pre-med track. Her hobbies include crocheting, gardening (she has over 20 plants), and photography. Her interests also include gaming and anything PC-related. She built her PC a few years ago and her keyboard recently, and wants to try building another keyboard someday. She also has a plushie addiction and used to play the piano. A fun fact about her is that she knows her left from right when she is driving but anywhere else she needs her two hands to tell her left from right.