A mentorship program for international students was introduced in Wichita State’s Student Senate on Wednesday. The program would provide an orientation event and peer mentorship to incoming international students, if the bill passes in a later meeting. 

“The goal is simple: to improve student success, retention and sense of belonging,” Senator Ashly Artiaga Sevilla, author of the bill, said. 

The orientation would include “digital platform navigation, academic expectations within the United States higher education system, local living resources in Wichita, and campus engagement and involvement opportunities,” according to the bill. 

The peer mentorship program would connect incoming international students with an upperclassman student mentor. The bill does not specify that the student mentors must be international students. 

The student mentor would have to have an onboarding meeting with the mentee as well as  regular check-ins, and provide “access to workshops and programming related to academic success, campus engagement, and student life.” 

“Some students feel like they’re figuring everything out on their own,” Artiaga said. “This program is meant to fill that gap. Throughout structured mentorship, students would have a go-to person, ongoing support and access to workshops focused on real challenges like understanding academic expectations in the U.S., communicating with professors and adjusting to life here in Wichita.” 

The bill was referred to the Diversity, Empowerment and Inclusion Committee to make alterations as needed and will be voted on in a later Student Senate meeting. 

Student Senate meetings happen every week on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Rhatigan Student Center, room 233. The meetings are also live streamed to SGA’s YouTube.