APSU’s Peer Leader Program recognized with top international certification

By: Ethan Steinquest July 17, 2026

Students from Austin Peay State University’s Peer Leader Program during a Fall 2025 reception. Peer leaders assist with freshman seminar courses and provide support for incoming students. | Photo by Kaos Armstrong

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s Peer Leader Program supports thousands of new students every year, and it earned international recognition from the College Reading & Learning Association (CRLA) in June.

The program’s International Peer Educator Training Program Certification (IPTPC) was renewed at the maximum level through Dec. 31, 2030, demonstrating Austin Peay’s ongoing commitment to student success.

“This really validates the work that we’re doing to support our first-year students at the highest level,” said Dr. Ryan Combs, APSU’s executive director of first-year experience and retention. “It’s very much a holistic program, because we’re investing in our freshmen to support retention while developing students as leaders as they move toward graduation.”

The Peer Leader Program is designed to help new students transition into APSU and connect with campus resources. Mentors assist with freshman seminar courses and provide an immediate support network for incoming students.

“I genuinely love the bonds I’ve made with my students,” said Xavier Wesley, a junior accounting major and peer leader. “We’re all in a GroupMe together, and when you see them around campus, it’s a reminder that you’re making a difference for people. Being able to do this is such a blessing.”

Wesley realized he wanted to be a peer leader because the program helped him overcome the stress he felt as a freshman.

“I was always a good student, but when I started college I learned that the responsibility is really all on you,” he said. “That transition was rough, and I also overloaded on classes my freshman year. Having my peer leader there as someone I could talk to was a great resource, and I wanted to get involved myself.”

APSU provides an in-depth training program for peer leaders to earn three levels of lifetime CRLA certification while furthering their professional development.

“We want them to feel confident leading, build relationships with faculty and staff, and strengthen soft skills like public speaking and emotional intelligence,” Combs said. “When you’re working with students from Austin Peay in a freshman setting, that can involve anyone from those who just finished high school to adult learners, including veterans. It’s important to be able to think on your feet and connect with people from all walks of life.”

Poppy Ryder, a junior history major and peer leader, credits the program with giving her the confidence to start group conversations—something she never thought she could do before college.

“When I was a freshman, I was extremely shy and reserved, and I feel like I wasn’t very involved on campus,” she said. “Peer leading was a way for me to branch out and hopefully encourage others to be more involved as well. I’ve seen a lot of my students at events around campus, and several of them have also become peer leaders.”

Like many students certified through the program, Ryder uses icebreakers as a major part of her peer leadership approach.

“It’s easy to connect with someone by trying to find what’s similar, but sometimes I find that learning what makes us different helps,” she said. “At the beginning of the semester, we’ll do basic introductions, but toward the end, I’ll do more fun [icebreakers] like a game of Telephone or Hangman. I like to switch them up to keep it from being repetitive, and it’s a great way to get to know everyone better.”

To further strengthen those relationships, the university is adding a dedicated peer leader hub to the Memorial Health Building this fall, where peer leaders can meet with each other and their first-year students outside of class.

“Peer leading is really a community,” Wesley said. “One of the best parts of the program is having those bonds with each other, and we all work together as much as the professors do.”

With the program’s IPTPC certification renewed, APSU aims to continue training effective peer leaders and provide lasting benefits for its student body.

“We’re making sure that we’re doing this at the highest level nationally and internationally,” Combs said. “That’s helping our first-year students come back to Austin Peay, and it’s providing our peer leaders with an opportunity to excel in their careers as well. No matter what their degree is in, peer leading helps them get their next job and keep it.”