Huskies support Huskies through the Student Academic Mentors program, founded and funded through the work of faculty members and run by students.
It doesn't matter how smart you are. Learning is hard—especially when life throws its inevitable curveballs.
But what if you had a study buddy who understood you on a peer level and also had a thorough grasp of the course material, along with a communication pipeline to the instructor? That could be a game changer. In Michigan Tech's Department of Computer Science, it is.
Nilufer Onder, one of the founders of the department's Student Academic Mentors program, known as SAM, remembers what it was like to be a student struggling to grasp concepts, expectations, and priorities while putting up a brave front that says you know exactly what's expected.
"I saw this as a huge gap missing in students' lives. So I wanted to create peer supporters who would understand most of the issues."
"I have a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, and a PhD. But there were moments I was absolutely clueless how to navigate the waters," she says. "What is expected from me? What am I learning from this? What does this slide mean? What is the role of it in the big picture?"
Onder, associate professor, associate chair of the department, and director of undergraduate studies in the College of Computing, observes her own students dealing with similar pressure to "know everything and know what I'm doing" with a game face, even in extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
"There were many occasions where a student of mine sustained a significant injury and would come to class in great pain. But they never asked for any extensions. Didn't ask for help," Onder says.
Onder, who began her work at Tech in 1999, has noticed how reluctant many students are to approach their instructors when they are facing struggles with studies or with life situations that complicate their ability to be successful in school.
"If you're not intimidated by the professor, you may be thinking about the time: 'I'm going to have to go to the office hours or ask for a meeting. And I will go and ask one question. What if it's a stupid question? And then, what if I have another question? Then I have to repeat this whole thing,'" she says. "And then students might be thinking, 'Do the professors hate me because I'm taking up their valuable time? Are others in the class in the same situation?' There's no continuity. You don't have an idea."
Reflecting on both her lived experiences and observations of her students led Onder to seek solutions. Her answer was SAM. Developed with Onder's colleagues, Teaching Professors Ruihong Zhang and Gorkem Asilioglu, the program began in 2017 with student mentors, known as SAMs, providing peer teaching support and informal peer mentoring.
What makes the program unique is that SAMs are peer mentors assigned to specific courses. SAMs work with the course instructor, so they're fully aware of topics and timelines. SAMs and participating faculty meet weekly for mentor training and discussions.
"The earliest they can start as SAMs is their second year, which is when we teach the two fundamental discrete structures and data structures courses. And then they could go until they graduate," says Onder, who hopes that they will. One of the most impressive testaments to the effectiveness of the program is when "Sammies"—a nickname for students who received mentoring through the program—become SAMs.
Armed with reliable information and their own experiences as college students, SAMs independently schedule and run sessions to offer one-on-one tutoring, homework help, and exam reviews.
In the 2024-25 academic year, there were 20 SAMs supporting four core courses across the computer science department, offering 12 weekly 90-minute sessions. Approximately 30 percent to 40 percent of students in the supported courses attended the SAM sessions. "We try to have at least four SAMs for each course," Onder says.
What Makes This Mentoring Program Different?
The SAM program doesn't replace other on-campus student support, like specialized learning centers.
"We have the College of Computing Learning Center," says Onder, explaining that the center's tutors are equipped to handle questions that students may have. The Learning Center, which is open to all students at Tech, offers open hours and also has times set aside for specific courses. In contrast, the SAM program is geared to specific second- and third-year courses.
The SAM program also doesn't replace available assistance from University communities, including residence hall communities set up to support specific majors, clubs, and study groups sororities and fraternities may offer members. It's no substitute for support from family or friends, either.
What SAM provides is a unique, additional resource from a perspective that students won't find elsewhere. It supplements other support systems and also creates what participants have called "a chill homework hangout and a socially relaxed space to learn."
A fresh vantage point can be incredibly helpful, says Onder, even if you have helpful, well-meaning people and organizations in your life already.
"One source is not sufficient. You need a rich kind of array of information and many different perspectives," she says.
"In this program, the faculty member is there. The SAM is there. And they get to know each other for the entire semester," she says. Students working with fellow students tend to be less intimidated about asking questions and more apt to share circumstances that may be affecting their studies. It's a venue where friendships can form and no one needs to pretend they are invincible.
Onder says another benefit is normalizing productive interactions with faculty. When students see their SAMs working comfortably with instructors, it can help to break down discomfort and uncertainty.
"They have an example relationship with us, the faculty. And they can transfer these things," she says.
To launch the program in 2017, the Department of Computer Science provided discretionary funding. Then Onder, Asilioglu, and Zhang wrote a National Science Foundation Broadening Participation in Computing grant proposal, for which the program was awarded $120,000 beginning in 2021. Since then, SAM faculty have received continued strong support from College and department leadership.
"To me, this is a win-win," says Dean Dennis Livesay, who selected Onder, Zhang, and Asilioglu for the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning's Deans' Teaching Showcase in spring semester 2025. "The SAMs are definitely helping the students in the courses they assist with, and I'm really impressed by their thoughtfulness and dedication. They are clearly embracing their mentoring roles."
Zhenlin Wang, chair of the CS department, said the program is providing students with much-needed experiences in a small group setting. "I am grateful to Nilufer, Ruihong, and Gorkem for dedicating many evening hours to mentoring the SAMs and listening to their feedback. They exemplify the CS faculty's commitment to putting students first," he says.
"What SAM provides is a unique, additional resource from a perspective that students won't find elsewhere."
The College and department are also grateful to the SAMs who have served over the last eight years. Program faculty describe them as "dedicated, ambitious, forward-looking, and amazing people who far exceeded expectations."
Onder, who researches student persistence in computer science and engineering, is also interested in how the program benefits the SAMs. She says that while anecdotal evidence is promising, there's still much to discover regarding effective ways to teach mentoring.
"I put together topics, which I think are a good start, but they are just that—just a start. We have very limited data that shows the mentoring program is helping. But I need to know more about why it is helping, how it is helping, how I can improve things, and where improvements are needed. So I have broad, ambitious goals. But I don't necessarily know how to achieve them. I'm just going step by step."
Those steps have already helped hundreds of SAMs and Sammies over the years. As the program continues to be shaped, it will help even more.
Michigan Technological University is an R1 public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan's flagship technological university offers more than 185 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
