Meet a Peer Facilitator

The Peer Facilitation Program provides a weekly break from the fast paced life of Stanford and allows members to grow both internally and in community. Most PFP gatherings begin with small talk and food as everyone finds their way to the meeting space after class. We share food every week, and the meals make the program space feel like family dinner. As soon as all members arrive, we begin with a check-in question to get a sense of everyone’s energy levels and transition to a more self-reflective headspace. It is such a powerful difference from most of our academic environments. Our activities often involve sharing deeply personal stories, asking difficult questions of each other, and interrogating previous perspectives. Members join with the knowledge that we have all been socialized differently and thus bring different knowledge from our diverse social identities, experiences, belief systems, and ideological backgrounds. We value failure as an opportunity to learn in this space, and although we all make mistakes, we also practice self-forgiveness. For the first quarter, PFP staff facilitate the activities so that peer facilitators can learn from a range of facilitation styles. In the second quarter, members of the program facilitate each week to gain practice and to discover their own unique facilitation methods.