PSU Magazine Winter 1997

began at Westview in fa ll 1995. G rant High School was added in 1996. "We wanted to link PSU more closely to the communi ty, as we ll as ease the transition from high school to co llege," says Les lie Rennie-Hill, a fac ulty membe r in University Studi es. A t the two high schoo ls, all seniors, not just honor students, had the choice of taking Freshman Inquiry. Although the classes in the high chools are taught with the same rigor– ous standards as those at PSU, students are rising to the challenge. A t G rant this year, all 60 of the students say they plan to continue with the program, according to Professor Charles Tracy, PSU 's liaison at Grant. "It was double the amount of time and twice as much work- but I al o learned twice as much ," says Magahay, 12 PSU MAGAZINE WINTER 1997 who called her course in tructors, three from Westview and one from PSU, "the be t teacher I've ever had. I was prepared so wel l for co llege that Sophomore Inquiry i a breeze." n talking about their experience in Uni versity tudie , tudents give top billing to the peer men tors who run small discuss ion groups as part of each course. Mentors also serve as intermediates between students and professors, effecti ve ly breaking down the trad itional hierarchy of the class– room. Students who shy away from asking ass istance from a professor have no such problem with their mentors. Faculty who might not be aware of students' special needs and concern are certain to hear about them from the mentors. Mentors are cri tical to the ucces of the program, according to Renn ie– Hill, who oversees their work. "They know better than the fac ulty how the students are doing, what's working in the classroom and what isn't," she says. " o the fac ulty have a feed back loop they can 't ignore. The mentors hold our fee t to the fire, so as fac ulty we're bei ng challenged as much as the student by the course. It's very healthy." The peer mentor program also taps into one of PSU's special ources of talent-its older studen ts. Typically, mentors are in their mid to late 20s, like Tu riya Autry, a senior with two small children, who transferred to P U in the fa ll from San Francisco State Uni versity. A utry is en thusiastic about her ro le as a men tor in the Fre hman Inqui ry clas ca lled Life's Labors, and speaks highly of its chief instructor, Scott Parker of the Theater A rt Department. "] love it. We're a prefect team," she say , adding that she now plans to attend graduate schoo l at PSU partly in order to continue working as a mentor. In a typ ica l meeting with her students, Autry asks them to deve lop and present arguments on opposite points of view. Students then critique each other's presentations, comment– ing on organization and logic, the use of humor, and attention -getting tactics. By serving to mix up the studen t population by age and experience, mentors also contribute to a sense of commun ity, according to Steve Mead, 29, a senior who is now in his third year as a mentor. Fee ling at home at PSU-part of a commun ity-is another appealing a pect of University Studies, according to students. arah James, who came to PSU this year from Grant High School, says she fee ls comfo rtable in Freshman Inquiry, where "everybody knows each other" and where she has made friends. It's a striking contrast, she says, to a trad itional lecture class she is also taking at PSU, where "the