Peer Mentoring Program
One component of Rites of Passage (ROP) is our peer mentoring program that aims to connect with incoming first-year and transfer students at CSU who want to take a deeper dive into Black/African American culture and leadership theories. While you may have plenty of friends coming into CSU, chances are they know as much about the campus as you do.
Having someone who has your back and connects you to the resources you need can be extremely beneficial in both the short and long term. Through the ROP program, every mentee gets a mentor, an upperclassman who has experienced some of the obstacles you may encounter throughout your career at CSU. This will be a person you can virtually go to about anything from troubles with a class, how to deal with a professor, schedule advice, events to attend, how to get a tutor, who to talk to about financial aid, and even personal matters if you so choose.
Colorado State University’s Black/African American Cultural Center Rites of Passage program is designed to support first-year and transfer students as they transition to college. This is accomplished through retreats, outings, and workshops designed by upper-class students who serve as mentors!
Established in 1977 and revised in 1982 to incorporate the current structure, ongoing changes have occurred since.
Rites of Passage Retreat
For this first year student experience we take students to the beautiful YMCA of the Rockies at Estes Park and spend a couple days together. During this retreat we have activities, discussions, talent shows and all the food and laughs that you can handle. We don’t want to give too much away, but this retreat has been happening since 1988 and has been a positively impactful retreat for generations of Black Rams. Fill out the application below and join us for this extraordinary experience.
The Fall 2026 Retreat will take place the weekend of September 9-11, 2026.
Program Outcomes:
Leadership Development
Students will cultivate a culturally grounded leadership philosophy by engaging with African diasporic traditions, mentoring relationships, and opportunities to practice leadership in academic and community settings.
Belonging & Interconnection
Students will build meaningful relationships with peers, mentors, and community members, strengthening their sense of belonging and practicing an ethic of care that sustains both personal and collective success.
Academic Integration
Students will develop more confidence in seeing themselves as scholars by practicing help-seeking strategies, utilizing campus resources, and connecting their academic goals to long-term personal and professional aspirations.
Diasporic Exploration
Students will engage with African diasporic histories, cultural practices, and contemporary issues, learning to critically process both the joys and challenges of this heritage and apply these insights to their own development.
Identity Cultivation
Students will deepen their self-awareness by reflecting on who they are, whose they are, and the impact they want to make in the world—integrating their personal, cultural, and academic identities into a holistic vision of success.