By Reem Essa
DUBAI – The Peer Assistance Leader Support Center (PALs) at Zayed University in Dubai has more than 20 students with high GPAs to help other students in their studies.
“A PAL is a student who has a good academic standing, who is successful in her knowledge and awareness, and has the ability to support other students with low self-confidence,” said Fatima Raed, a volunteer in PALs.
Students who have more than two hours break can participate in PALs program as a volunteer to help other students in their academic studies.
“I saw that I’m free two to three hours a day at ZU. I told myself why don’t I spend my free time on something good. Because of that, I decided to join PALs Center as a volunteer,” said Aisha Ghanim Al Marri, a student majoring in Business.
After joining The Peer Assistance Leader Support Center, she found it to be everything she expected. “PALs is a really good experience for me. I learned how to deal with students who have different skills, knowledge and understanding,” Ms. Al Marri said.
PALs also gives the volunteers the opportunity to improve their communication, leadership and other skills that may give them more options in the future.
The volunteers from PALs can also improve their interpersonal and intrapersonal skills and eliminate some negative behaviors they may have.
Aysha Al Marri noted that she was a very shy person and had a self-confidence issue. “I felt that I couldn’t deal with students, and I asked myself ‘how can I teach them? I had no experience,” she said.
“PALs is an excellent program. Although you teach students who have different levels of knowledge in one area, you learn from them new things,” Al Marri said.
According to Maryam Youssef, a volunteer in PALs since 2011, “Being a PAL is not just taking certification. It gives you a chance to improve your communication skills and gives you more self-confidence.”
PALs helps University College, ABP and major students in their assignments, exams and projects. Students who meet with PALs appreciate the support they receive.
“I don’t know what to say, but PALs is one of the best programs. The volunteers are here to support us. They have the ability to teach students in simple and useful way,” said Maryam Mohamed, a student from PALs.
According to Roudha Abdullah, a student from the College of Business, PALs volunteers are very good in communicating and they even give you confidence in choosing your major.
This story was originally published on Sept. 25, 2014. It was re-uploaded on Dec. 23, 2020. The photo that accompanied this story was lost due to the loss of the domain name.
