Jalen Pullings builds community as a peer mentor through DEAP

By: Katie Wiseman

Jalen Pullings valued his experience in the DEAP peer mentor program as a mentee during his freshman year, so he decided to become a mentor during his sophomore year to support fellow students. Pullings is now a junior accounting and finance major at the Kelley School of Business and dedicates his time to others as a peer mentor through the Diversity Enrichment and Achievement Program (DEAP).

Peer mentors support DEAP scholars by being a friend, advocate, and coach as they make their transition into IU Indianapolis. Pullings explains that being a peer mentor is “stressful but rewarding.”

“I started out with 13 [mentees] and ended up with about 17 by the end of the year,” Pullings said. “Some students will not talk to you, which is perfectly fine, and then some will want to talk to you all the time, and then some may need you and then some will say ‘I appreciate it, but I don’t really need you.’ while others say ‘I’m thinking about dropping out, what do you think?”

Pullings was looking for ways to get involved and meet new people on campus while many things were still closed during the height of the pandemic, so he became a mentee with DEAP during his freshman year.

I have to be able to respect everybody’s culture, everybody’s background, and be appreciative of it. So, the traits of a community contributor resonate with me very well.

“I had a great mentor, Christian Brock. I considered myself the community mentee during my freshman year because I talked to every mentor, all the staff. Having interactions with them and seeing how dedicated they were to class work and motivating everybody else, I was like ‘Oh this is cool.’

His experience with the program and the other mentors he met along the way inspired him to get involved.

“At the end of the year I applied to be a mentor, got in, and then I got to mentor this year with two of the mentors that mentored me last year which was very rewarding.”

According to the Profiles for Undergraduate Success, a community contributor builds community, respectfully engages their own and other cultures, behaves ethically, and anticipates consequences. Pullings deals with all aspects of being a community contributor through his peer mentoring with DEAP.

“I get assigned students of different ethnicities, race, and background,” Pullings said. “I have to be able to respect everybody’s culture, everybody’s background, and be appreciative of it. So, the traits of a community contributor resonate with me very well.”

Finding ways to connect with his mentees from different backgrounds and guiding them through college are what make the experience the most rewarding for Pullings.

“Being a mentor, you really can’t tell somebody what to do or how to do it,” Pullings said. “What you really do is guide them and say ‘Okay, so that’s what you are thinking about doing, what are your next steps? Do you want to do a trade? Do you just want to work? Where are you going next?’ I’m there just to help them transition to the next part of their lives.”

IU Indianapolis offers many opportunities for students to participate in learning experiences beyond the classroom, like Pullings’ experience as a peer mentor with DEAP. Internships and learning experiences like peer mentoring even have the potential for students to incorporate all four Profiles in their experience. Students can build stronger communication skills, become better at solving problems, and develop their ability to be innovative. Many of these learning experiences also provide opportunities to contribute to local, regional, and global communities.