Podcast Points: Baylor Business Uses Peer-led Mentor Relationships to Initiate First-Year Student Success

Preparing students for leadership and holistic success is the mission of Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, and the school’s Billington Peer Leader program uses student-led mentorship relationships to reach that goal. Laura Lalani, associate director for student success initiatives, and Madeline Prescott, a senior entrepreneurship and corporate innovation/management from Dallas, join this week’s Baylor Connections podcast to talk about the development and impact of the Billington Peer Leader program on students as they navigate the transition to college. 

Podcast Points with Laura Lalani and Madeline Prescott

Creating Connections   

• Lalani discusses how mentorships fulfill first-year students’ craving for community. Not only do they get to connect with their peer leaders, who can answer questions and serve as student mentors, but they also get to know other pre-business students and form friendships.   
• “What deepens those relationships is when they connect with an older student and also with each other in that small group and get to know each other. That is really where the magic happens,” Lalani said.

Developing Translational Leadership Skills

• Lalani explains that the program is mutually beneficial by providing first-year students with mentors and allowing those mentors to develop translational skills that they can carry with them post-graduation. She believes it shows the business schools’ emphasis on success as “multidimensional” by allowing students to grow individually through service while still “prioritizing students as a whole.”
• Prescott touches on the impact that being a peer leader has had on her development of character, in and outside of the classroom. She was a mentee during the program’s pilot in the Spring of 2023 and said the guidance of her mentor has been instrumental in her college success. Now, as a mentor, Prescott leads small groups and meets one-on-one with students. 

Looking to the Future 

• Lalani discusses the foundations of the program, touching on its development over the last two years since its pilot. Their main priority has been creating the program in a way that is sustainable long-term by gaining feedback from students through qualitative surveys and touchpoints with peer leaders. 
• Now, as they look ahead, Lalani says they will expand the program to all pre-business students starting in the fall semester. She says they look forward to the continuation of a new culture within the business school, and the key to that level of success is finding peer leaders like Prescott who believe in the program’s mission. 

LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION 

Listen to the full conversation about the Billington Peer Leader program on the Baylor Connections podcast. 

ABOUT BAYLOR CONNECTIONS

Baylor Connections with host Derek Smith goes in depth each week with Baylor leaders, professors and more, discussing important topics in higher education, research and student life. Baylor Connections airs on Fridays at 11 a.m. CT on KWBU 103.3FM in Waco. The podcast also is available online or by subscribing to Baylor Connections on iTunes.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.