Camosun College has launched a new program to help students feel supported as they transition into post-secondary life. Many students struggle with loneliness, stress, and mental-health challenges—Peer Pods is designed to address these issues and give students a sense of belonging.
Camosun students lead the Peer Pods groups, which meet each week for one hour. The meetings range from workshops to more relaxed hangouts, with occasional guest speakers. Camosun director of Student Affairs Laura Mitchell and Astronomy and Physics instructor Christopher Avis created Peer Pods after seeing the success of a similar program at another institution.
“The idea actually came from something we did at Concordia University in Montreal when I was there,” says Mitchell. “That was during pandemic times, when we heard from our students that they were feeling very disconnected, and it was really hard for new students to make friends and meet one another.”
Initially, they planned to launch the program for the fall 2025 semester, but after analyzing some surveys on how students are struggling, they’ve decided to launch it for this semester.
“There’s been a few surveys done,” says Avis. “Through counselling and through the student experience survey that speaks to the kind of mental health, loneliness and isolation… So this is kind of an initiative designed to try to address some of that.”
There are sessions at both campuses; the “pods” meet at least once a week.
“It’s led by student facilitators… and the idea was to kind of create a space of safety and authenticity,” says Avis. “We wanted it to be led by students, but the students are supported by folks in the orientation and transition staff so that they have someone to reach out to if there’s something that isn’t working well or there’s a student in crisis.”
Although experts come to talk to students in some of the sessions, Avis says that the pods do not feel like lectures.
“[We alternate between] sessions that are kind of more around skill building and sessions where the group just gets to hang out and forge those social connections,” says Avis. “Even with the skill-building sessions, we’re trying not to make it too much like a lecture… We want it to be like a dialogue. The idea is also that the Peer Pods facilitators are going to be plugged into these resources so that, hopefully, they can be like mentors for their students and guide them toward the appropriate people.”
Avis adds that the facilitators are more than capable of helping the students go through their struggles and help them succeed.
“This doesn’t work with the wrong people in it,” he says. “And they’re the kind of people that just seemingly have this gift for putting people at ease.”
Avis says that the program is taking any feedback to improve and help the students.
“I would invite students that are curious about it, that actually have some ideas about what students need, to let us know through the facilitators how we can better meet their needs,” he says.
Mitchell says that thus far the feedback they’ve received has been positive but that they’re open to suggestions wherever students see fit.
“We’ve had some really nice emails and connections so far from students saying how happy they are that this exists,” says Mitchell. “So we will be really closely evaluating it this semester so that we can make sure that we are meeting the needs of the students and their reality.”
For those unsure of joining, Avis says Peer Pods is welcoming to all.
“I think there’s probably something really validating and reassuring to hear other people talk about some of the things that you’re struggling with,” he says.
Registration for Peer Pods is open on the college’s website.