Becoming a Peer Advocate
Peer advocates must apply to participate in our training program (involving 4-5 hours of work per week over 10 weeks) and successfully complete this program the semester immediately before they serve as peer advocates. We can accept only a limited number of students to our training program.
Minimum qualifications for acceptance are listed below.
Any students interested in being a peer advocate during Spring 2013 must successfully complete training during the Fall 2012 semester. The training application will be due Thursday, September 13, 2012 by 5 pm. No late applications will be considered.
Becoming a Trainee: Minimum Qualifications
- At least one year of completed full time enrollment at SUNY Geneseo (No exceptions can be made; we need people who are familiar with our campus)
- An overall GPA at SUNY Geneseo of 3.0 or higher (No exceptions can be made; we need people who have successfully managed to balance academic and other responsibilities).
- Available to attend ongoing group supervision meetings on Friday afternoons from 3:30 to 4:30. (No exceptions can be made; supervision is essential to skill development)
- Committed to keeping Friday afternoons from 1:30 to 4:30 pm as available meeting times during the following semester.
- Available to complete readings, write reflections, and attend 3-4 hours of training sessions per week for ten weeks the semester prior to serving as a Peer Advocate. (If accepted to the program, you will be assigned to one of several groups depending on your availability)
- Successful completion of the online application including reference and transcript information (see below)
- Available to serve as a Peer Advocate the following semester (without skipping a semester to study abroad, etc.)
Becoming a Peer Advocate: Minimum Qualifications
- A demonstrated commitment to the 10 week training process (i.e., on time to supervision and training sessions, no absences, active involvement, quality contributions to sessions)
- Feeling prepared
- Sufficient time to dedicate to serving as an Advocate and a trainer (up to 6 hrs per week plus being on call) the semester immediately after the training
- Positive evaluations by current peer Advocates regarding trainees’ helping skills (assessed via simulated on call performance)
- Positive evaluations by the instructor (who has final say)
Students who successfully complete the training program and who are formally accepted as Advocates for the following semester will be enrolled for three credits of PSYC 299 by permission of the instructor.
If you have additional questions about our program, please contact Dr. Katz, Department of Psychology, katz@geneseo.edu.
Instructions for applying online to the Pathways Training Program
Step 1: Complete all questions on the online application
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/embeddedform?formkey=dHZ6amRWVzRKS3AtYkJIcTJoeklLLWc6MQ
1. Step 2: Submit an unofficial transcript and reference information via email to katz@geneseo.edu. Instructions for creaing a pdf file of your transcript are below. In addition to attaching your transcript, the email should list the names, titles, email, and phone numbers of two people who are willing to be contacted to answer a few questions about you. References are not required to write letters. At least one reference must be a current faculty or staff member at Geneseo (As the current Pathways coordinator, Dr. Katz cannot serve as a reference for any applicants).
1. In a separate window, go to KnightWeb and login
2. Click the “Student & Financial Aid Menu”
3. Click “Student Records”
4. Click “Academic Transcript” and press “Submit” to view your transcript
5. Go to File and select “Print”
6. At the top, find the “PDF Creator” icon and double click (you may have to scroll around)
7. Under the “document title” name it LASTNAMEtra.pdf. and click “Save”
8. Save it to your desktop
9. Now
that you have your transcript saved as a PDF file on your desktop, attach it to an email to submit along with your reference information