The Student Government Association sponsored the “Lion 2 Lion Social” to celebrate the mentors and mentees of the inaugural Lion 2 Lion Mentorship Program.

The social was held on Nov. 12 in the Pennington Student Activity Center.

Leadership Development Coordinator Allie Dyer explained the importance of hosting a social at this time of the year.

“When we do a social, the point is to bring everybody together and reward them for all the hard work they have done,” said Dyer. “Typically, you have a mixer at the beginning of the semester to get people to know each other. You have a social and bring everyone together to let them know how great they’ve done and reflect on the journey they made.”

The Lion 2 Lion Mentorship Program allows SGA members to mentor first-year and transfer students who are interested in joining SGA.

SGA Director of Leadership Development and Leader of the Lion 2 Lion Mentorship Program Sydnie McClinton, a senior biological sciences major, shared her motivation for implementing the program at the university.

“I have to implement all leadership initiatives taking place on campus for SGA,” said McClinton. “I came up with this mentorship program because I felt it was a good leadership experience.”

SGA Senator Bayli Hickson, a junior elementary education major, reflected on the social and the impact of being a mentor in the program.

“My favorite part of the program was getting to introduce my best friend to what being involved on campus is like and making connections with other people,” said Hickson. “The social helps bring the people together to celebrate their shared experience.”