Samantha Wagner began her time at ODU as a ROPES participant. ROPES, an acronym for Readiness Opportunities for Personal and Educational Success, is a bridge program that occurs in the summer, connecting incoming students (mostly freshman) to collaborative group experiences led by ODU peer mentors, peer academic coaches, and other Learning Center staff.
Through small group activities, panel discussions, detailed campus tours, and/or guest speakers, incoming students get an insider’s view of campus life and college expectations. Sam Wagner was a ROPES participant in the summer of 2019. “I was able to get an idea on the success of other students with the direct student panel, and the most impactful part of that experience, looking back, was the vision board that we made and to see how much I have accomplished since then!” Today, Sam works as a F1RST Peer Mentor for the Learning Center.
As a peer mentor she meets one-on-one with first-generation college students offering advice, feedback, and strategies for a successful semester. “I noticed that many students struggled with time management as we were partially online with the pandemic. To combat this, I worked with them individually on different methods of managing their time better,” she says. Taia Reid, Assistant Director for Academic Readiness, works as the supervisor for the F1RST Peer Mentors. “Sam is a very committed mentor. It makes my heart full to know our ROPES program
impacted her, and she now works with our first-generation pre-college and college students. Sam has a great relationship with her mentees and her students at Oscar Smith Middle School, I am very excited to see what the future holds for Sam,” says Reid. Sam notes,”The best part about being a mentor is being able to motivate students and to watch them succeed with the skills that you gave them! It makes an impact in my life just as much as it does theirs, and that is so rewarding.”
