Hello everyone!
As someone who has peer mentored with the Hixson program before I thought I would relate each of the defining roles from the chapter to my experiences from mentoring this past fall. The book determines the 5 roles of peer mentoring as trusted friend, connecting link, learning coach, student advocate, and peer leader.
Trusted friend: Of course we all want to be friends with our mentees, and in fact you will become fairly good friends with all your students. I still see almost all of my students randomly on campus and all of them at least say hi and ask how each other is doing. It is good to keep boundaries up between being a trusted friend and a best friend. Your students need to respect you and in order to do that it is essential to maintain some sort of boundary and not get too comfortable with each other.
Connecting link: You will soon learn that your students are pretty clueless about how Iowa State and college in general works. It is important for you to help them become acclimated with our campus and everything it has to offer. Encouraging your students to attend WelcomeFest, ClubFest, the study abroad fair, their major’s learning community or major specific club, as well as introducing them to tutoring, SI, financial aid, the multicultural center among many other things is essential to their experience here.
Learning coach: My fellow peer mentor and I learned quickly that our class was loud and group oriented. We tried many times to break them into small groups or pairs, but they always seemed to find their way back to a large group discussion with the entire class. We eventually embraced this and made our lesson plans to accommodate them. By constructing your lesson plans to meet your students needs, they will learn on an even higher level than they may have originally.
Student advocate: I had a student last fall that was in need of assistance that neither I nor my co-leader could provide. We had been there in the trusted friend roles, trying to be the connecting link to other resources that might give her the help she needed, but eventually we had to go to Silas, Allie, and Debra to do what we knew we couldn’t. I cannot stress enough that THIS IS OK TO DO. As the book says we are not magician and we cannot make our mentees problems just go away. Be respectful and responsible to your students who are in need and get them the help they deserve.
Peer Leader: I don’t have to tell you that we are all leaders in our respective communities and this is just as true within the Hixson community. Your students, as well as other students in the program, will be looking to you as a leader and an example of what they should strive to be. It is in your best interest to lead by example and take this role as a peer mentor seriously. It will build your leadership skills and helps those who may be looking to you for some guidance as they transition into adulthood as a college student.
Hope everyone had a good week and enjoyed their snow half day/the Superbowl! See you all Tuesday :)
-Chels
I agree with your views on the 5 different roles of a peer mentor. I imagine that having been a peer mentor before gives you a better insight on what representations you should present. Your opinions and insights give me a little extra advice on what I can look for in my various roles I will play as a mentor this upcoming fall.
ReplyDeleteIt's so great to read your posts! Seeing your insight from being a past peer mentor is really helpful and I appreciate how much you care about the students and the program.I imagine you were probably a rocking awesome peer mentor and I'm stoked to see you in action this fall. Keep up the great work!
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