The Power of Mentorship

While attending Fresno’s Edison High School, Michelle Salazar knew she wanted to become a teacher. One of her counselors, Tina Chandler, told her, “FPU really prepares their future teachers well.” Michelle is the first person in her family to attend college and plans to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies.

But that first year at FPU was difficult. “I had so many breakdowns the first week of my freshman year,” she says, regularly asking herself, “Am I going to be able to do this?” But Michelle made it through because of the peer mentor program, which paired her with another student to walk beside her. Reflecting on that experience she says, “I learned God is my foundation and that I need to put my trust in Him.”

As a sophomore, Michelle began serving as a peer mentor. The program matches an upperclassman with a group of 20 freshmen. In this position Michelle supports freshmen by checking in with them, praying for them and trying to be there for those students during difficult times. “Being a peer mentor is my favorite thing ever,” says Michelle.

The role has enriched her life as well. “I’m learning to be vulnerable with others,” she says. Helping others and learning to be vulnerable has also helped her become a stronger Christian. “This school is where I have grown most in my faith,” she says.

Through regular College Hour events on campus and spiritual retreats to Hume Lake, Michelle says she regularly reads her Bible, has grown to love worship time and regularly prays for others.

Those were experiences she didn’t practice or enjoy regularly before coming to FPU, but now they are part of her everyday practice of faith. She says, “Because of FPU I’ve grown and am a whole different person.”