Armani Parker is a senior majoring in biology with a premedical emphasis at Old Dominion University, and she serves as a mentor for the Biology Learning Community this fall. Armani’s goal is to become an endocrinologist, and she was inspired to seek this profession because she has type 1 diabetes and wants to help others affected by the condition as her endocrinologists have helped her. The faculty, staff, and advisors with whom Armani is working believe she is an asset to the learning communities program.

“Armani is an excellent example of leadership! She is kind, hardworking, intelligent, and willing to follow others. Armani has taken the road less traveled by working two jobs, serving as a mentor and maintaining a great GPA. She is an excellent example of hard work and commitment to herself and the ODU community. She is so deserving of this moment of recognition and I hope to have her on board  again next year as a ‘Mentor’ to the new Learning Communities mentors.”
– Assistant Director of the Peer Educator Program, Taia L.C. Reid

Armani says one of the highlights of her experience as a mentor is, “meeting new people and working with each other to make a difference in our mentees’ lives.”

“Armani has been fantastic to work with. She is always prompt and on-time and has great ideas for the students. She is positive and engaged in the Learning Community. We have been trying to find ways to get the students to be equally enthusiastic about all that the Learning Communities can do for them, but Armani is a perfect ambassador for the program.”
– Keith Krepcho, College of Sciences Advisor

This is her first semester taking part in the Peer Educator Program, and she says, “ If someone is considering being at mentor, I would tell them to definitely do it.  Being a mentor is a great opportunity […] I have learned from this experience to always be open with people and understand that everyone is unique and [students] have different ways of communicating.”

“Armani takes initiative in our learning community and is always asking how she can be of service. Today […] she did an activity with the students where she and the students used a ball to answer questions and get to know others. She comes to every class and is always there to help. She has a positive attitude and tries to share her knowledge in each class.”
– Adrienne Giles, Assistant Director for Advising, College of Sciences Advising Center