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Leila Harwood is greeted by Queen's Principal Patrick Deane as she walks the stage at convocation.

Arts and Science Online (ASO) introduced the Peer Mentor Program to help guide online students to identify learning challenges and implement effective learning strategies and provide students with referrals to various personal and academic resources.

When Leila Harwood recently walked across the stage at convocation with her BA in Psychology, it was the culmination of yet another successful peer mentorship. After attending Queen’s University on campus for undergraduate studies nearly 30 years ago, she decided to return to complete her degree online while balancing, work, motherhood, and family life. Becoming a Peer Mentor and supporting other ASO students was important to her.

“It was a big adjustment returning to my studies and finding the motivation to learn remotely,” says Harwood. “I am keen to help other new students navigate the resources available and find ways to make their ASO experience as rewarding as possible. It’s often very isolating working at home so this program helps relieve some of that. I like the sense of community; you feel you are a part of something.”

Harwood says she was very apprehensive about the work involved when she returned as a mature student, so she asked for a peer mentor.

“I was paired with an individual and I found that very helpful. At the end of my first year, I elected to become a mentor. I wanted to give back after learning how overwhelming the whole process is, coming back to school as a mature student after so many years. I wanted to put other online learners’ minds at ease and offer the guidance I needed when I first started.”

When asked about her journey back to academia after nearly three decades, she explains she originally came to Queen’s right out of high school to study chemical engineering but left after two years to pursue a career in graphic design. She then worked in communications before spending the next 10 years at home raising her children.

“It always bothered me that I didn’t complete the degree,” Harwood says. “I knew I wanted to get back into the workforce and I knew I wouldn’t stay in graphic design. I connected with the ASO program about how many credits I was eligible for and realized it was doable.”

To learn more about the ASO Peer Mentor program, visit the webpage.