[Hiring] Rural Peer Advisor @Rural Peer Advisor at UW–Madison

Role Description

The Rural Peer Advisor position is a paid opportunity to support the outreach and educational efforts of the College for Rural Wisconsin Program and STARS College Network. This position is supervised by the College for Rural Wisconsin (CRW) Program Director. This is not a recruiter position. Think of this position as a combination of college admission counselor, youth career counselor, and campus student services coordinator!

Anticipated Start Date: October 12, 2026

Anticipated End Date: This position is renewable as long as you continue to be an enrolled college student, maintain good academic and conduct standing, and perform your work successfully.

Remote Work Eligibility Detail: All Remote

Anticipated Hours Per Week: Minimum: 2 Maximum: 20

Schedule:

• Advisors can create a work schedule that helps balance academics, work, and family commitments.
• Expect to work evenings and weekends.
• Most of the work is expected to be during the academic year (September through May); however, there is an opportunity for work during the summer months.
• There are no set hours for work as much of the work can be done on your own schedule; however, many events and activities happen during the day and some evenings.
• Plan for some weekends.

Salary/Wage Range: Minimum: $15.00

Number of Positions: 4-6

Qualifications

• An enrolled college or university student in the Class of 2027, 2028, 2029, or 2030 for the fall 2026 semester.
• Must be from a rural area, small town, or a farm in Wisconsin.
• Be in good academic and conduct standing for the 2026 summer, fall, and 2027 spring semesters.
• Maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.6 or higher and a semester GPA of 2.6 or higher during semesters employed.
• Most events are in-person in rural and small-town communities across the state.
• This position can be located anywhere in Wisconsin. Team meetings and most work can be done remotely.
• Travel is required for in-person programs and events.

Requirements

• Interest in changing the lives of rural high school students!
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills.
• Strong time management and organizational skills.
• Able to travel (transportation can be provided) to off-campus locations.

Benefits

• Opportunity to mentor, support, and educate rural students, families, school staff, and communities about the college-going process.
• Primarily remote work, with some travel to in-person events around Wisconsin.

Position Summary/Job Duties

The Rural Peer Advisor position has two main responsibilities:

• Peer Educator:
  • Create, teach, and support educational sessions and various college-access and career programs.
  • Assist the director with planning, logistics, and content development of these programs.
  • Lead in teaching and presenting these programs to share information and personal experiences.
• Peer Mentor:
  • Serve as peer mentors to rural, small-town, and farm middle and high school students.
  • Utilize unique strengths and backgrounds to share experiences and knowledge about college.
  • Mentor current rural college students at your campus through planning and hosting events.

Duties

• Advise, answer questions, and provide resources to middle and high school students on college-going.
• Advise, answer questions, and provide resources on career options and pathways.
• Design, develop, and teach educational sessions using personal college-going experience.
• Inform and contribute to the development of rural-focused college-going resources.
• Develop on-campus programming to support rural and small-town college students.
• Conduct research around rural and small-town students’ college-going needs.
• Assist the director with donor and media relations.
• Attend work-related trainings.
• Attend a short, weekly virtual team meeting.
• Attend 1x a semester in-person team meeting.

Physical Demands

• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds.