Buccaneer Involvement Guides

The Buccaneer Involvement Guides (BIGs) program has been a successful peer mentorship program embedded inside of ETSU 1020, ETSU 1011, PREH 1350, BADM 1130, and RHSC 1100 first year experience courses. This program was implemented in Fall of 2016 with the primary purpose of providing first-year students with a peer mentor (or BIG) who will assist the students to get involved in campus activities and organizations, serve as a point of connection to campus resources, role model balance between academic achievement and extracurricular activity, and create a sense of community within the course section. Each year the program has succeeded in documenting a strong correlation between student interaction with their BIG and retention, academic achievement, and campus involvement.

Requirements to be a BIG:

• Must be an undergraduate student. 
• Have at least a 2.5 G.P.A.
• Meet with each student twice a semester.
• Attend the required training August 17th and 18th 2023 .
• Attend 2 meetings a month.
• Facilitate an out of class activity
• Teach designated lessons and Facilitate check-in or icebreaker activities during class.

Benefits of being  a BIG include:

• Compensation
• Relationships with ETSU Faculty
• Gaining transferable skills such as conflict resolution, decision making, and time management. 
• Making connections with first year students. 
• Learning more about ETSU's campus and campus resources.
• It is fun! 

For more information contact Katie Potter bigs@etsu.edu.