Why I'm a Stanford Newcomer Guide: Mark Branom

Entering the University can be an apprehensive and anxious experience. As a Newcomer Guide, I feel it is my role and responsibility to help my students adjust to their new lives -- academically, emotionally, and socially.  My door is always open for students to come by and talk, whether it be regarding classes, problems with parents, or other stresses they may encounter.

I distinctly remember that when I was a freshman here at Stanford, I felt uncertain about whom to talk to about life on campus and where to go for information. I remember ending up getting most of it from other students, much of it inaccurate. I struggled for years trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing. In short, I had a pretty bad experience with my advisor. So, after I graduated in 1995 (A.B., Drama and Communication) and 1996 (A.M., Education), I vowed to help future Stanford students in any way I could, and offered to serve as a mentor to incoming students (and I have every year since). I try to provide to my advisees the support and information I wished had been provided to me.

I finally did figure out how to navigate Stanford. During my undergraduate career, I was involved in a number of school activities -- from refereeing intramural sports to studying overseas in Oxford, from receiving a grant to study the Holocaust to playing in the Stanford Band.  I encourage students to take advantage of all the opportunities Stanford has to offer, both inside and outside the classroom. Welcome!

Mark Branom

Continuing Studies and Summer Session Instructor

If you have a Stanford Story you would like to share, contact melissas@stanford.edu.