FREE SPRING 2026 PILOT
Mental Health Support for University of Miami Students
A free 6-week confidential peer mentoring program.
Sessions starting the week of February 16, 2026.
- 1:1 Zoom peer mentoring for UM students
- Early support for stress, anxiety, or daily overwhelm
- Focused on building resilience and personal strengths
- Completely free, confidential, and stigma-free
Choose the mentor you resonate with, book your first session with them, and they will follow up with you over email with next steps!
A Proactive Path to Student Wellness
College presents opportunities for immense growth, but it also can provide students with intense levels of stress. We support you before it reaches a clinical crisis level.
Our strengths-based Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) model focuses on building resilience through six weeks of confidential peer-led mentoring over Zoom.
Backed by years of clinical research, we bridge the gap between daily overwhelm and professional clinical counseling services.
Julia Mauro
Founder & Peer Mentor
Julia Mauro is a second year Mental Health Counseling graduate student and the founder of Peer Connections. She has experience supporting adolescents and young adults through stress, emotional overwhelm, and major life transitions, and is especially interested in early, preventative support that helps students feel grounded, understood, and supported.
Meet the Peer Mentors
Trained graduate students dedicated to providing stigma-free support.
Stephanie Billings
Peer Mentor
Stephanie is a second year mental health counseling student at UM. She has experience working in a community agency, providing services to children, adolescents, and adults from diverse backgrounds. She especially enjoys working with students to help them navigate life transitions and stress.
Gatran (G) Gatnoor
Peer Mentor
Gatran (G) Gatnoor is a Mental Health Counseling graduate student with experience in peer mentoring and community-based support roles. He enjoys connecting with students and supporting them through personal, academic, and life transitions, with interests in identity development, mental wellness, and culturally responsive mentorship.
Raina Nanavaty
Peer Mentor
Raina is a Mental Health Counseling graduate student who enjoys connecting with students and supporting them through stress, life transitions, and challenging circumstances using strength-based and compassionate approaches. Her interests include the mind-body connection, stress management, culturally inclusive mentorship, and guiding peers in goal-setting, confidence, and personal growth.
Sofia Bailey
Peer Mentor
Sofia is a first year graduate student studying Mental Health Counseling with experience working 1:1 as a Behavioral Interventionist, supporting children and adolescents from diverse backgrounds with emotional regulation, communication, and coping skills. She is especially interested in working with people from many different populations and offering support in a way that helps them feel safe, understood, and genuinely supported.
What Is Peer Mentoring?
Peer mentoring is a supportive, non-clinical space for college students to talk through stress, transitions, and challenges, while building real resilience and coping skills to help them thrive. All sessions are over Zoom and led by trained graduate-level mental health counseling students.
What You Can Expect
- A confidential, non-judgmental space
- Support with stress, anxiety, or burnout
- Help adjusting to college or major transitions
- Practical coping tools
- Feeling grounded and supported
What Peer Mentoring Is Not
Peer mentoring is not therapy and does not replace professional mental health care.
- Mentors do not diagnose mental health conditions
- Mentors do not provide clinical treatment
- Mentors do not manage crises or suicidal thoughts
Why Peer Mentoring?
Many students benefit from support before things get out of control. Peer mentoring offers early, stigma-free support and can serve as a bridge to professional care if needed.