The College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences Peer Mentor Internship Program is part of the UVM Student Government Association's university-wide peer mentoring and advising initiative.
CEMS Peer Mentors are sophomores, juniors, and seniors in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences who provide academic and social support to first-year students throughout the academic year. During the fall semester, the Peer Mentor Internship Program is connected to CEMS 1500, a first-year seminar course designed to welcome incoming students and prepare them to succeed in their respective programs. Peer Mentors support and facilitate CEMS 1500 lecture and lab activities and regularly communicate and meet with mentees outside of class. Through regular class sessions, meet-ups, and social activities, Peer Mentors help first-year students adjust to life on campus, find academic and tutoring help, connect with clubs, activities, and services, and navigate the Burlington area. In addition to regular Peer Mentors, two Student Directors are selected each year to help coordinate activities and communication with the other mentors. Student Directors are typically juniors or seniors with prior experience in the program.
CEMS Peer Mentor Bios
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| Claire Ballou Mechanical Engineering | Claire Ballou is a sophomore Mechanical Engineering major from Hollis, New Hampshire. This is her first year as a CEMS Peer Mentor. This past summer she interned for a defense contractor in Milford, New Hampshire. In her free time, she loves to hike and mountain bike and has done six triathlons. |
| Effie Carlisle Electrical Engineering | Effie is a sophomore Electrical Engineering student with a minor in Computer Science. This will be her first year as a CEMS Peer Mentor. Effie is from Austin, Texas, but now lives in a tiny town in upstate New York. On campus, Effie is on the board of IEEE and a member of SDA. In her free time she enjoys drawing, baking, and being outside! |
| Daniel Cooper Mechanical Engineering | Daniel is a junior in mechanical engineering. He is from Arlington, Virginia. This is his first time being a CEMS Peer Mentor. During his free time, he is probably working on cars/bicycles, skeet shooting, playing bass, or working in his backyard on his mini bike. He worked as an oyster farmer in Maine this past summer but is interested in working on heavy machinery/agriculture equipment, construction, or firearms manufacturing. |
| Maisie Datson Environmental Engineering | Maisie Datson is a junior Environmental Engineering major, with a pure mathematics minor. She is from Westerly, Rhode Island, and this is her first year as a CEMS Peer Mentor. On campus, she is the historian of Engineers Without Borders. When she’s not studying in a corner of the library, Maisie enjoys reading, baking cookies, playing guitar, making sure she keeps up her Duolingo streak, and taking pictures of the sunset. |
| Leah Gitzen Data Science & Statistics | Leah's is a sophomore Data Science & Statistics major from Pittsburgh, PA. This is her first year being a peer mentor. In her free time, she reads, goes out to eat, or spends time with friends or family. She likes ice cream and always finds time and money for a sweet treat. |
| Kita Guerra Environmental Engineering | Kita is a sophomore in Enivronmental Engineering. She is from Mount Arlington, New Jersey, and this is her first year as a peer mentor. On campus, Kita is involved in Pad Project and Engineers Without Borders. Kita enjoys reading, hiking, and anything related to water/snow. |
| Meghan Jagst Civil Engineering | Megan is a junior Civil Engineering major. She is from Brighton, Michigan and it is her first year as a CEMS peer mentor. She is also a member of the UVM club volleyball team and UVM MOVE. In her free time, she enjoys baking, swimming, traveling, and hanging out with friends. |
| Sedona Jelinek Mechanical Engineering | Sedona is a sophomore in mechanical engineering, from Brooklyn, New York. In her free time, she loves to be outside, hangout with friends, and play water polo. She spent her summer reading, baking chocolate chip cookies, and working as a lifeguard. She’s excited for her first year as a peer mentor. |
| Riley Johnson Data Science | Riley is a sophomore data science major from Cincinnati, Ohio. She is excited for her first year as a peer mentor. For fun she likes to crochet, go camping and be outside, especially in Vermont! |
| Lauren Knopp Computer Science and Mathematics | Lauren Knopp is a junior in Computer Science and Mathematics. She is from Nashua, New Hampshire. This will be Lauren's second year as a CEMS Peer Mentor. She has done research in social data science, mathematically modeling epistemic uncertainty, and sublinear memory algorithms. She is also the president of the Society of Women in Computer Science, Chief People Officer at the Percentage Project, and a research assistant for the DIMACS department at Rutgers (and for the Finite Mathematics unit at Charles University in Prague when time allows). In her limited free time, she enjoys practicing yoga, writing new algorithms for Project Euler, and cooking Thai food. |
| Austin Landers Statistics | Austin is a junior majoring in statistics with a minor in mathematics. He is from Dedham, Massachusetts. This will be his first year as a CEMS Peer Mentor. Austin spent his summer working at Burlington Beer Company and in his free time Austin likes to play tennis, workout, and spend time with friends and family. |
| Christian Paul Computer Science | Christian is a junior majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics. He is from Princeton, New Jersey and this will be Christian’s first year as a CEMS Peer Mentor. Some of Christian’s favorite activities are playing sports with friends, skiing, and working out. He is also part Swedish and loves visiting family on Sweden’s west coast. |
| Phoebe Richardson Civil Engineering | Phoebe is a sophomore in Civil Engineering with a minor in Mathematics. She is on the Club Tennis team, the Vice President of American Society of Civil Engineers and in the honors college. Phoebe is from Colchester, VT, so she loves to spend time outdoors fishing, camping and skiing! Phoebe is looking forward to studying abroad in Ireland next spring. |
| Sean Zuriel Rosalan Computer Science & Data Science | Sean Zuriel Rosalan is a junior in Computer Science & Data Science with a minor in Math & Statistics. He is from Worcester, MA. This will be Sean’s first year as a CEMS Peer Mentor. On campus, he is the Data Science and Statistics club president and works as an office assistant for UVM Study Abroad. Off campus, he enjoys video games, calisthenics, and learning new cooking recipes. Recently, he and a partner assembled an AI robot, “ADAM”, answering questions with any personality, on one Raspberry Pi. |
| Kian Schwartz Environmental Engineering | Kian Schwarz is a junior environmental engineering major at UVM. He was born in Middlebury, Vermont but currently lives in Baltimore, MD. This will be his first year as a CEMS Peer Mentor. Over the summer he worked on a farm on Marthas Vineyard and is looking to get into more outdoor related workplaces in the future. He enjoys doing things outside (hiking, swimming, skiing) and spending time with friends. |
| Taylor Seitz Biomedical Engineering | Taylor is a Junior studying biomedical engineering and minoring in Chemistry from Buffalo, New York. This will be Taylor’s second year as a CEMS Peer Mentor. Besides being a peer mentor, Taylor also works in an emergency medicine laboratory here at UVM and is an active member in her on campus sorority Alpha Chi Omega and Camp Kesem. In her free time, she enjoys running, skiing, baking, and trying new coffee spots. At home, she works at a boba studio and has three pugs. |
| Jack Thompson Mechanical Engineering | Jack Thompson is a junior in Mechanical Engineering from Harwich, Massachusetts. This will be his second year as a CEMS Peer Mentor. Jack enjoys fishing, building wooden boats, and planning trips out on the ocean. Jack plans on using a boat he had built a few years ago to travel from the ocean into a reclaimed cranberry bog near his house. |
| Audrey Tucker Data Science and Statistics | Audrey is a senior data science and statistics double major with a minor in computer science. This is Audrey’s first year as a peer mentor, and she’s very excited to get to know the CEMS students! At UVM, Audrey is a tour guide, part of the society of women in computer science, an incoming first year orientation leader, and she does research on recidivism in the Vermont prison system. In her free time, Audrey likes to climb, play piano, go on walks, and read! |
| McKenna Vesty Environmental Engineering | McKenna Vesty is a sophomore majoring in Environmental Engineering with a minor in Pure Mathematics. McKenna is from Groton, Massachusetts. This will be her first year as a CEMS Peer Mentor. Outside of academics, McKenna enjoys running, skiing, crocheting, and gardening. |
| Elizabeth Williams Electrical Engineering | Elizabeth Williams is a sophomore majoring in electrical engineering, with a minor in mathematics. She is from North Chittenden, Vermont. This will be her first year as a CEMS peer mentor. Elizabeth enjoys reading, playing tennis, and skiing in her free time. |