Holmes Cultural Diversity Center offers assistance to Mississippi State University freshmen and transfer minority students through peer counseling and cultural programs.
Rasheda Forbes, assistant director of Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, said upperclassmen are assigned as mentors to groups of new minority students. She said some of the mentors’ duties include helping their students find classroom buildings, setting up a study routine and being involved on campus.
Holmes Cultural Diversity Center currently has 32 peer counselors, with about 45 students assigned to each counselor, Forbes said.
“The counselors help these new students with the transition of attending a large university,” she said. “Not only do we want the students to do well academically, we want them to excel socially as well.”
Forbes said HCDC offers several programs throughout the year to get students adjusted to university life and exposed to different cultures.
“We host a program series called ‘Live at 5,’ which provides tips for making the most of your freshman year,” she said. “And on Nov. 16 we’re hosting a parade of international culture. That will be a great opportunity for students to experience what different cultures are like without having to leave Starkville.”
She said other programs include student organization fairs, Salsa in the Streets and Rep Your State on Oct. 17 with appearances by Miss MSU and Bully to get students excited about homecoming.
Forbes said she has witnessed numerous students benefit from the peer counseling program.
“Just this semester, we had two students who were having a hard time adjusting and considering dropping out of college, but then their peer counselor took them under their wing and helped them meet new people,” she said. “As a result, those two students are doing very well at State now.”
Lonnell Andrews, peer counselor and vice president of Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, said peer counseling is the best program he has worked with on campus.
He said he was mentored through the program as a freshman before becoming a peer counselor his sophomore year.
“This program really helped me become who I am today,” he said. “I was really shy when I first got to State, but peer counseling has helped me come out of my shell and become a leader.”
D’Andrea Thomas, peer counselor and president of HCDC, said the most rewarding part of counseling is making a positive impact on the lives of new MSU students.
“When you come in as a freshman or transfer student, you’re trying to find out where you fit in and who you want to be,” she said. “So many people leave college each semester because they don’t fit in, so we’re here to help keep retention rates of minority students up by nurturing them and letting them know someone cares that they stay.”
Thomas said any minority students interested in the program can visit the HCDC in Suite 220 of the Colvard Student Union.