Dear CEC Students, As you may know, the College has been investing to enhance and expand academic support systems. We have staffed up the Student Services and Student Success offices, and have added advisors. But a proven element contributing to student success is peer mentoring. There is no substitute for creating a connection between incoming students and those of you who are already “veterans” of CEC. The connection to a peer, who has just experienced what an incoming student is about to experience, is much more effective than the connection to somebody like me who is now over 35 years removed from his/her undergraduate days. I am excited to announce that the College of Engineering and Computing is launching a Peer Mentorship Program. We have staff and infrastructure to establish and support connections between incoming students and peer mentors. But we need your help! We need you to volunteer to be mentors, so that each cohort of new students can be more successful than the previous one. I know that you are all busy. But I hope you will be able to devote a few hours to this activity each semester. Your participation could mean the difference between staying in or dropping out for a future student. As a Peer Mentor, you will build your leadership skills while sharing your successes, failures, passions and experiences with first-year students who need to hear them. Please trust me that this will be a most rewarding experience for your mentees, and for you. The time commitment is modest and the rewards are great. Please sign-up today on our website: http://cec.sc.edu/mentor If you have any questions, please contact Brian McCaster, Inclusive Programs Coordinator, at 803-777-4023 or mccastbr@cec.sc.edu. Brian is located in our Student Services Office in Swearingen. I thank you in advance for your help in improving the CEC student experience. Sincerely, Hossein Haj-Hariri Dean, College of Engineering and Computing