Peer Mentor Program Helps Students on the Spectrum Forge Friendships
Run by the Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services, the College Support Program matches neurodiverse students with trained undergrad and grad students
Adjusting to college life can be a difficult transition for any first-year student, especially for individuals on the spectrum.
To ease the adjustment and forge meaningful human connections, Rutgers University–New Brunswick provides specialized peer mentoring through the College Support Program (CSP). The CSP – run by the Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services, which is part of the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology – provides support for neurodiverse students so they may be successful, both academically and interpersonally.
Josh Garfinkel, a Rutgers–New Brunswick junior and a mentee in the program, said he found the experience is more about forging friendships than providing guidance.
“What I like about the program is that we get to hang out and do different activities every week,” said Garfinkel, a Somerset, N.J., resident who lives on campus and has spent time with two peer mentors and attends the School of Arts and Sciences, where he is majoring in communications with a focus in technology and minoring in sociology. “It gives you a chance to step away from your academics and gives you time to de-stress. You need to have some fun.”
CSP peer mentors are undergraduate and graduate student volunteers who are trained to engage with CSP students, staff and other peer mentors on a regular basis.
Alyssa Nielsen, a peer mentor who spends time with Garfinkel, said she initially thought she was going to be mentoring CSP students through their college experience, “which you are, but in a sense, you're growing a friendship.”
“You're meeting with them weekly, going out to lunch, dinner, even just going to the library and studying,” said Nielsen, a 21-year-old senior who attends the School of Arts and Sciences and is pursuing a major in linguistics (with a certificate in speech and hearing sciences) and a minor in psychology.
“My role, I guess you can say, is more so of a friendship than a mentor,” said Nielsen, who participated in a unified club throughout high school and wanted to keep working with students with autism. “I'm helping them as they're going through their college experience, relating it back to maybe what I went through or what I'm going through.”
The College Support Program serves full- and part-time undergraduate students attending Rutgers–New Brunswick. CSP students – who may be residents living on- or off-campus or commute to school – are encouraged to spend time at the center, a dedicated space meant to serve as a hub for students to relax, make connections and build a community.
What I like about the program is that we get to hang out and do different activities every week. It gives you a chance to step away from your academics and gives you time to de-stress. You need to have some fun.
Josh Garfinkel
Rutgers–New Brunswick junior
“We're here to support students who are primarily on the autism spectrum,” said Erin Walker, a senior coordinator of the College Support Program at the Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services. “In a nutshell, we support our students both academically and socially.”
Walker, who noted that starting this fall the College Support Program has been expanded to support students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder as well as autism, said a critical role of peer mentors is to meet regularly with their CSP students in a nonacademic setting.
As for the role of CSP coordinator, Walker said “it's checking in with the students, making sure everything's going well, making sure classes are going well, they're doing their assignments, they're going to class in the first place, checking in to make sure everything's going okay for them and that they're on their track to hopefully pass their classes.”
“For peer mentors, it's an opportunity for them to be a good role model for their student,” said Keya Pai, an assistant coordinator of the College Support Program, a former peer mentor and an executive board member. “Through their efforts and commitment, peer mentors can inspire our students to grow as a person and to believe in themselves.”
Pai said every peer mentor meets with their CSP student once a week at a time and place that is preferred by both. Additionally, peer mentors and CSP students are invited to attend monthly social events – such as an Olympic Games-themed gathering, trivia nights, even a murder mystery party – as a way to connect with one another.
“Peer mentors are undergraduate and graduate students who volunteer in our program to support and understand our community better,” said Pai. “Peer mentors are drawn to our program for a variety of reasons. Many of them support a close neurodivergent relative or friend, others aspire to pursue a career in a related field, and then you have the exceptional bunch that are both. It makes you hopeful of the kind of world that can be built for neurodivergent people.”
Pai said peer mentoring is an opportunity to “build a bond with one another – and also being that friendly face that they can go to when they're having difficulties navigating through campus life.”
For CSP students, the peer mentor program “is a way for them to open up to their mentors and become comfortable enough to be themselves as well,” Pai said. “It can be difficult to find and interact with people who will accept you the way that you are. This serves as an opportunity for our students to take that leap of faith to see that their mentor is there for them and can provide that extra support throughout college.”
Garfinkel, who is considering graduate school, said he appreciates the peer mentoring component of CSP.
"Making and maintaining friendships in college can be challenging, particularly when you feel different or stand out from the crowd,” he said. “The social dynamics are complex, and finding people who genuinely understand and appreciate your unique qualities can be difficult. It's not just about forming connections, but also about nurturing those relationships in an environment where everyone is navigating their own paths and struggles."
Garfinkel added the program “helped me with some skills and gain independence and really motivated me to make more friends.”
“People with disabilities like autism have trouble transitioning from high school life into college life,” he said. “And these peer mentors ease the transition.”
Sometimes the roles between mentor and mentee are reversed, said Nielsen.
“They help me on what I'm going through,” said Nielsen, adding that Garfinkel is “kind,” “sweet” and a big Taylor Swift fan. “So, it's really nice to just have that companionship together.”
Garfinkel said spending time with peer mentors has enriched his time at the university.
“It really has made a tremendous impact on my college experience because it was very hard to adjust to college life in the beginning,” said the 20-year-old, who plans to become a social worker and work with autistic adults. “It's helped me succeed overall here at Rutgers.”
