Gateway Peer Advisors help their fellow students with resumes, cover letters and forming their LinkedIn profiles. (Photos courtesy of the Gateway Career Center)

While the prospect of life beyond college may be daunting, the new Gateway Peer Advisors are tackling it head-on and helping others do the same.

Located on the second floor of Hogg Hall, the group provides a litany of services to help students achieve their career goals.

There are four Gateway Peer Advisors: Ashley King ’24, Max Skinner ’25, Alexis Martinez ’26 and Denisse Villegas ‘25. Their primary work consists of drop-in hours Tuesdays through Fridays, which allow students to come in without an appointment to revise their resumes and cover letters. 

“Part of our job is to take what [the student] wrote and improve it,” Martinez said. “Just so it sounds more professional, so it sounds like them in a way that is appealing to the employer looking at the resume.”

A common misconception, according to Martinez, is that students must have a finished resume or cover letter to seek out advising. Peer advisors are willing to help no matter how far along someone is in the process and can offer guidance for those just getting started.

“I have had students who are just like, ‘I have no idea what I’m doing; please help me,’” Martinez said. “It’s useful for us to use our time to do that with them.”

The guidance of Gateway Peer Advisors can extend beyond resumes and cover letters, dealing with LinkedIn profiles, general career advice or anything else a student may need.

Villegas added that for students who are hesitant to go to a Gateway Career Counselor, going to a peer advisor can be less intimidating and more convenient due to the drop-in hours.  

“Gateway Peer Advisors are at that point where we’re in the same age range,” Villegas said. “I’m looking at your resume in a way that I would be looking at my own resume.”

When Gateway Peer Advisors aren’t helping students directly, their work also involves acting as a liaison between the Gateway Career Center and the student body. 

This includes presentations delivered to first-year students, which touch on topics such as navigating the Gateway Career Center and using Handshake, a career-oriented social application.

They have also recently ventured into social media, posting outfit inspiration and “get ready with me“ videos on Instagram in preparation for Lafayette’s Spring Career Fair. 

While Villegas and Martinez enjoy many aspects of their jobs, they both find helping others particularly rewarding.

“I really like seeing when students are editing what I just told them to edit and they’re like, ‘Oh, that makes sense,’” Villegas said. “They get excited about how their resume is filling up more.”

“I just like seeing that energy,” she continued.

Although Villegas mentioned that Gateway Peer Advisors are underutilized, the peer advisors ultimately hope to change that. 

“[We want to] reduce the image that Gateway is a scary place,” Villegas said. “I don’t want people to have that misconception about Gateway … Everyone’s so nice and they’re all welcoming of any stage that students are in.”