The International Student Mentor Program provides immediate support and assistance to Dartmouth College's newest international undergraduates through correspondence that begins before new students arrive on campus. This program of support and friendship continues formally throughout orientation and is ongoing during the first two terms of a student's life at Dartmouth.
This program pairs incoming international students with a mentor who provides guidance and helps with questions, concerns, and problems. Mentors contact their mentees over the summer to answer any initial questions and to facilitate our new international students' arrival in Hanover. Mentors play a large role in the International Student Pre-Orientation Program, which introduces new students to Dartmouth resources and opportunities. All incoming international students are matched with a returning student.
Ten, returning international and U.S.-based Dartmouth students are selected to be International Student Mentors. Each mentor is assigned a group of approximately eight to twelve new international undergraduates. Mentors provide guidance through pre-arrival correspondence and meet their mentees upon arrival in Hanover, remaining in close contact throughout International Student Pre-Orientation. The formal programming and informal work of advising new international students continues throughout the fall and winter terms as needed.
"Flying in from the opposite side of the world, I naturally had a lot of questions - both logistical and personal - regarding my academic career at Dartmouth. The International Student Orientation and Mentorship Program did a great job of addressing these queries for me. I continue to maintain a good relationship with my Intl. Student mentor and I'm grateful these programs were available at the beginning of my freshman year." - Arunav Jain, Class of 2020, From India
"I found my place here through the International Student Mentor Program. To this day, many of my best friends are the ones I met during International Orientation. ISM gave me the sense of community and family that is Dartmouth and was and still is an instrumental part of my love for the College." -Orkan Sezer, Class of 2020, from Turkey
"The International Mentor Program instantly made me feel like I was at home. The second I stepped off the bus and arrived at International Orientation, I was accepted into a community - a community that definitely eased my transition into freshman year. My mentor to this day remains one of the strongest points of support in my life." - Josh Renaud, Class of 2017, from Canada
"The ISM program was my first sense of community at Dartmouth, and allowed me to meet my best friends here! I can't imagine how different my entire first year would have been if not for ISM and what it did during pre-O!" - Reem Chamseddine, Class of 2017, from Lebanon