The Story Behind the Peer Leader: Who I Am, What I’ve Faced, Who I Was, Who I’ve Become, What I’ve Been Given, and What We Can Create

Francisco Xavier Baca

University of Texas at El Paso

Abstract

Sharing my story helps me define the potential and true power of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL). This program is more than just facilitating learning. It is mentoring, coaching, relating, and shaping minds. Two years after I started serving as a Peer Leader, I am a different student and a different person than I once was. I have grown as a person, having to meet, work, and study with talented individuals. I have learned more ways to succeed. I have learned how to ask for help; and – very importantly – I’ve learned when to do so. Part of this story is to make sure the following goals are shared with my PLTL workshop students and the PLTL community: networking and finding a support system. As a Peer Leader, I want to see my students – and students everywhere – succeed, not just in chemistry but in all their classes. I want every student to have the same or better resources than I once had. PLTL makes that happen and has made me a better person. I share my experience of what this program has given me and what it could possibly give others too. PLTL can be the difference that helps students succeed. 

Keywords: Personal Experience, Peer Leaders, Networking, Support System, Succeeding, Time-Management 

Recommended Citation

Baca, F. X. (2024). The story behind the Peer Leader: Who I am, what I’ve faced, who I was, who I’ve become, what I’ve been given, and what we can create. Advances in Peer-Led Learning, 4, 122-130. Online at https://doi.org/10.54935/apll2024-01-09-122