While the pandemic has changed the face of volunteering and community service, the Morgridge Center for Public Service peer advisors are here to help with all your volunteering questions.
The Morgridge Center’s peer advisors Karina Melendez and Sam Battenberg are equipped with the skills to help students find meaningful service opportunities that match their personal preferences and goals.
“Peer advising is a way for students to talk to a fellow student about their interest in engaging with the Madison community,” Battenberg says. “The advisors’ main goal is to match up a student’s interests with a need in the community.”
Due to the Morgridge Center’s COVID-19 policies, peer advising meetings are virtual. To schedule an appointment, fill out the advising form. Below is a list of the new peer advising hours:
- Monday: 1 – 5 p.m.
- Tuesday: noon – 5 p.m.
- Wednesday: 10 a.m. – noon, 2 – 5 p.m.
- Thursday: noon – 1 p.m., 3 – 5 p.m.
- Friday: noon – 2 p.m.
Despite the switch to the virtual format, our peer advisors are ready to help you find quality service opportunities that are a perfect fit for you.
“COVID-19 has changed how we approach service opportunities with individuals because we try to find virtual opportunities to keep everyone safe,” Melendez says. “This semester we have a lot of mentoring and tutoring opportunities available for our peers.”
Meet your new peer advisors!
Sam Battenberg
Sam is majoring in Spanish and biology, and she is involved in the Music Therapy Association on campus. Her favorite part about being a peer advisor is the feeling offulfillment when she finds a great match between a community partner and a prospective volunteer. She also absolutely loves seeing all the interest in community engagement on campus. Sam believes service and community involvement bring personal fulfillment and allow people to establish strong, reciprocal relationships in their community. This semester, she is looking forward to hearing all about our advisee’s volunteering experiences!
Karina Melendez
Karina is a junior majoring in biochemistry with a Chicanx/Latinx Studies certificate with hopes of applying to medical school. She is the president of the Multicultural Greek Council and the chief operating officer of PALMA, a pre-med society for Latinx students on campus. She believes service is important because students get to recognize their privilege among others while giving both the volunteer and the community a positive experience. Karina’s favorite part about being a peer advisor is that she gets to use her genuine interest to help students find what they are looking for in a service opportunity. This semester, she is excited to see all the new ways people can connect virtually. With a little creativity, she knows students will work around the challenges of COVID-19 to serve their communities!