Peer program boosts biz student’s college experience

April 8, 2026 — DENTON —  Katherine Garcia’s first few weeks of college was like a party. A party where she didn't know anyone and awkwardly stood in the corner. 

People kept telling her to get involved. Get involved with what, she thought. And how?

“I was a little lost at the beginning, but Owl’s Nest definitely helped me find my way,” Garcia said. 

Garcia is one of 30 mentees in the Merrilee Alexander Kick College of Business and Entrepreneurship Owl's Nest Peer Mentoring program. She heard about the program at a new student orientation in August 2025 and was comforted by the idea she could get help navigating her first year.   

“But I didn't think much of it when I signed up,” Garcia recalls. “I didn't think that it would help me much. But it was so much more.”

The Owl’s Nest connects highly engaged and high-performing MAK College students with a select group of incoming first-year business students. The program aims to guide these new students toward a successful collegiate experience.

In just a short amount of time, the Owl’s Nest has seen remarkable success. MAK College undergraduate advisors Molly Koerner and Ryann Munthe spearheaded the program in the spring of 2024 and in just two semesters they saw an increase in student persistence rates and an improvement in mentees’ grade point average. Taylor Hass was added as a program coordinator in the fall of 2024. 

And it’s not just academics that the program helps with. It’s the feeling of being included, that you are not alone on an island.  

 “You make really, really beautiful friendships out of it,” Garcia said.

Garcia was paired with Eliana Rodriguez as her mentor. Over the course of the academic year, the mentorship evolved into a hardy friendship. The two text daily.

“She's an amazing example,” Garcia said of Rodriguez. “She is involved in so many things. She secured an internship. She's very successful.” 

In their first conversation, Garcia told her about feeling lost, and Rodriguez immediately suggested a few clubs to join. The Institute of Management Accountants was the first student organization that Garcia signed up for. At Rodriguez’s urging, she ran for social media officer and the club is now one of her favorites. She’s also in the Investment Club and recently was accepted to the MAK College’s Dean’s Student Advisory Board. 

When she arrived at TWU, Garcia had already decided on majoring in management, but she enjoyed marketing as well. She asked Rodriguez if she should switch majors. Her mentor suggested that she do both. Garcia is now a double major in management and marketing.

Throughout the year, the Owl’s Nest coordinators hold a number of social events for the mentors and mentees: semester kick off ice cream night, pizza with professors, internship workshops, movie night. A repeated phrase that mentees hear at meetings is to “just go for it.” 

A good example is Garcia’s internship. Even though upper division students are more likely to  seek internships, Garcia really wanted to get one. With encouragement and support, she applied and is now interning at Safran Electrical & Power in Denton for the spring semester.

Rodriguez helped prep her for her interview, and Garcia credits her involvement with the Owl’s Nest to not only landing the internship but also getting over her fear of interviews. 

Garcia cannot imagine her life without the Owl’s Nest. 

“Lost,” Garcia said, laughing. “I don't even know what I would be doing right now.”

One of Garcia’s favorite things to do is giving people advice. So it’s no surprise that she applied and was accepted to be a mentor for next year.

“I'm super excited to be a mentor. I'm ecstatic because I've kind of already been telling people what to do, how to get involved, and now I'm going to have my own little group.”