My name is Megan Maciulski and I am from Shreveport, Louisiana. I am a sophomore Marketing and Management major with a Spanish minor in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. The transition from high school to college is not an easy one and I personally looked for any opportunity to be taken care of during my first semester at the U of A. Being six hours away from home with only about twenty familiar faces in a sea of 27,000 people shocked my world from the small private schools I had attended my whole life.

The Walton Honors program has given me so many incredible opportunities to be involved and learn about the importance of leadership and mentoring. In Walton, we are put into cohorts so that we can be in classes with the same people. This is an automatic guarantee of connection with peers and I am still friends with the people in my freshman BLAW and public speaking classes to this day. We also had our peer mentor groups that met once a week to talk about classes, scheduling, academic tips, and general campus knowledge from a fellow sophomore who had just been through what we were going through. The Peer Mentor program was one that I knew right off the bat I had to be a part of. I relied on those around me to encourage me and I wanted to give that encouragement right back to my peers. I grew close to those in my peer mentor group and learned to collaborate with people of different backgrounds and personalities with every interaction in Walton Honors and beyond.

Towards the end of the fall semester, the highly competitive application and interview process begins and the Lead Peer Mentors and honors advisors choose new Peer Mentors at the beginning of the spring semester. The interview process is designed to provide students with solid interview experience and encourages students to think on their toes and outside the box. I was ecstatic to be chosen as a peer mentor for my sophomore year and never looked back. As peer mentors, we had more opportunities to bond and become closer with each other in an amicable and positive environment geared towards helping the next group of incoming freshmen. Unfortunately, when COVID-19 hit, our typical path of progress was disrupted and we were all forced to adapt in order to move forward with lesson plans and aids to assist the incoming freshmen. This was a big learning experience for everyone, but Walton Honors was resilient in giving assistance to freshmen, their parents, and current students. Even in a predominantly virtual environment, students were able to connect with each other and build relationships with their fellow peers and their designated peer mentor. My peer mentor group was all virtual and still my students were not afraid to reach out to me when they needed it, and I am so proud of each and every one of them and their progress. Our annual shark tank competition was a blast even virtually and my group advanced to the finals to compete against the University of Houston Honors Business College! One of my mentees was even chosen as a peer mentor for the upcoming semester and I am so excited to work with him as I have been chosen as a Lead Peer Mentor. In this role I have been a part of selecting the 24 newest Peer Mentors and will guide them in their journeys with the freshmen during the fall semester.

The Walton Honors program is one that gives students the opportunity to build connections with their peers, older students, and their professors and advisors, all of whom are unwavering in their efforts to help each and every student succeed. Organizations like the Peer Mentor program, the Student Executive Board, and Leadership Walton are just some of the unique ways that you can be involved here in the business school. So put yourself out there, be involved, build that network, and give it your all. You won’t regret it!