From this week's discussion in class, I was able to get a
better understanding of what I would be doing as a peer mentor. At the very
surface, I will be the bridge between the students and the Hixson staff because
as we all know, it can be a bit intimidating to tell our issues to adults. My
main goal is to be able to help them through their issues by being there to
listen and give advice that stems from my personal experiences. However, I will
never be afraid to admit that I don't know everything and will use my knowledge to point them
in the direction of someone or a resource on campus that can help them. I am
expecting that as we progress throughout this semester in UST311 that I will be
more informed on how to deal with many more situations. This week's introductory
activity of role playing as peer mentors and students was a great way to start
exploring different, yet common, situations.
By reading the first two chapters in Students
Helping Students, I was able to see just how many different peer
mentoring opportunities were on campus and how I had already interacted with
many without ever really realizing it. From community advisers in the dorms to
supplemental instruction leaders and tutors, I have dealt with my fair share of
peer mentors and luckily for me, most of them have been great. I have reflected
back on some of them and want to use some of their techniques with my mentees.
Examples include wanting to encourage building a friendship with my mentees
like my CA did right of the bat by always taking the time to talk whenever we
saw each other or being accessible and allowing my mentees to e-mail me if they
have an urgent conflict that they want resolved. On the flip side, I have seen
some traits that I do not want to be. A former group tutor of mine would allow
people to be rude to her and she would kind of just laugh it off. I think it is
standard of the Hixson program to respect everyone and always come with as
positive of an attitude as possible. We want to make a great environment for
everyone!
Also from the chapters, I was able to get a bigger picture
of all the types of issues that are common of first year students. Although I
had some of my own, I didn't have near as many as what is described in the book
so it was good to get a more solid idea of all the different issues like
identity crises or alcoholism. I look forward to breaking down each of these
issues more in depth as we continue to read on in the book.
Finally, I would like to mention that I was fortunate enough
to attend my first Dance Marathon this past weekend. Not only was it a
life-changing experience for me, but it was also another chance for me to
interact with other peer mentors. I had great morale captains, who used leading
by example to keep our energy up all day long no matter how tired we were.
Additionally, I happened to know one of the guys who was on the executive
committee. All year long I had seen his posts on social media about stuff he was
doing for DM and I loved seeing how great his hard work paid off for a cause
that obviously means so much to him. This dedication and passion is something
that I hope to find in myself for the Hixson program as it is crucial to the
success of peer mentors across campus.
Great post, Nicole!!! I thought your comments on learning from other peer mentors were really smart. I think that I could also learn from those who have helped guide me in the past. I want to do as great of a job as they did. Also, I think that it's great that you enjoyed Dance Marathon.
ReplyDeleteNicole, at first I was unsure on how to go about this week's blog post but after reading your post I decided that the direction you went was absolutely fantastic! I too agree that it is important to still hold your "position of authority" with your section because you are still their peer mentor. It's kind of like those sayings about being a parent first and a friend second. Yes we are here to be a guide and trusted friend to our mentees but at the same time we are still a role model to them and we need to be respected. I am glad that you are using your previous experiences as a learning opportunity tool to utilize while molding into the great peer mentor you will become. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Nicole,
ReplyDeleteI have done Dance Marathon in the past and agree with you that it is a very powerful and inspirational day! Did you get the moral dance down? Every time I hear a snippet of my moral dance that I learned freshman year I have to do the dance along with the song....I usually get a lot of stares. I am also very excited about learning how to tear down and discuss the hard questions that were addressed in last weeks class. Great post and I look forward to reading your future posts.
Angie