As public funding for colleges and universities diminishes in a poor economy, coupled with an increasing emphasis on accountability for retention and graduation rates, academic and student affairs specialists face multiple challenges. To meet these expectations at a large metropolitan university that enrolls more than 10,000 new transfers each academic year, an innovative Peer Mentor program was developed. The successful program assists students as they prepare for transfer, helps them through their transition and guides them as they progress to graduation. Through collaboration with multiple partners, this peer program trains students to be first-level academic advisors, provides them a structure and support to develop transition programming that meets the needs of new transfer students, and creates a bridge for new students into the academic and social life of the campus community.