FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences Honors Mentor Program began in 2016 and has had steady student involvement throughout the years.

The honors student mentor program pairs upperclassmen honors students with a group of six to seven freshman honors students. The mentorship is incorporated into the freshman orientation class, but also includes some small group activities outside of class. Mentor groups are based upon majors.

Isabel Whitehead, the program advisor and orientation class instructor, said the program is aimed to catch honors students at an early age so retention and involvement will be strong throughout their college career.

Clay Parker is a lead mentor in the program. Parker was a student in the Honors Orientation class when the mentor program began. He said being a mentor has helped him develop and become a better communicator.

"Having someone older that I could relate with really helped me when I was young," Parker said. "I love that I can serve as personal and academic support to these students."

Rachel Schaffhauser has been a mentor since the beginning of the program. She said the program helped shape who she is today.

"It's definitely made me more confident," Schaffhauser said. "The way I build relationships with my students is really by letting it flow and being myself. Sometimes I have to sit back and let conversations flow, and sometimes there has to be the direction I provide."

Schaffhauser also said the program has impacted her by letting her share her knowledge about things she did not know as a freshman, specifically about scholarships and study abroad funding.

Ty Edwards, a freshman mentee in the program, said the program has been of great help to him.

"I live local to the school, so I know quite a few upperclassmen," Edwards said. "I figured they would be able to help me work through everything, but I realized most of them are as lost as I am. My mentor has taught me how to use blackboard, she taught me the best routes to walk to classes and even gave me tips on which classes are more difficult than others."

Edwards also said the program has been impactful in terms of other mentees in his group. He said his peers have become his friends and that they all help each other meet deadlines and figure college out.

To learn more about the Bumpers College Honors Mentor Program, visit bumpershonors.uark.edu.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.