Hello friends!
This week we discussed establishing and maintaining relationships with our mentees in the fall. The book talks about some very important ground rules for mentoring relationships which I found to be very important to remember. Under the “Why are we here?” section on page 60, they listed honesty, commitment, boundaries, confidentiality, and expectations as key things to keep in mind in a mentoring relationship.
Honesty is something I strive for in my day to day life with people, and it’s just as important to be honest with your students this fall. It seems so simple to be honest with your students. You can’t do everything and your students need to know that. Don’t be afraid to tell your students you don’t know what advice to give them in a certain situation and forward them to someone else who can. Remember to always keep their best interest in mind.
Being committed to your students is of course something to keep in mind, but it’s definitely not difficult to do. You’ll learn in the fall that you care more about your students and how they are adjusting to college life then you could have imagined. Committing yourself to setting a positive example for your students and following through on promises you’ve made to them is essential in order for them to respect you.
Setting boundaries with your students should be done from the moment you meet them. You have to make sure your students understand that you are in charge and in control of class and that they need to answer to you. You can be a friend to your students very easily, but remember to not let your guard down and get too comfortable with them. Be personal and thoughtful, but keep the stories of your crazy weekend in Campustown to yourself.
Your students will be coming to you with a multitude of questions and concerns. They will be trusting you to listen to some very personal information and not to tell other people. Talking to your co-leader and higher-ups in the program should be the only person you relay this information to unless you’re in some sort of emergency. Don’t break any of these confidences unless you absolutely have to.
Finally is expectations. Setting expectations for your students from the beginning is necessary to start the semester off right. You need to understand how your students work and encourage them in any way possible to make sure they can live up to their own potential. Support them and help them whenever and however you can (within reason of course). And if all else fails, don’t be afraid to go to others for advice. The number one rule is to ALWAYS keep your students best interest in mind.
Hope everyone is enjoying the warm weather this weekend. And have a lovely Valentine’s Day! :)
-Chels
Saturday, February 12
Sunday, February 6
Defining Roles
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
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
Sunday, January 30
Certified! :)
Hello Hixsons!
So I know I already blogged for this week about MBTI, but just like the test found I really like to talk, so I’m posting again about the sessions we attended for class over the weekend.
Since I was unable to attend ISLE on Saturday (sorry about that, I’ll explain why in a bit) I attended 3 sessions of the Learning Community Mini-Institute on Friday. The first one I attended was Underprepared vs. Underperforming, which talked about freshmen transitioning to college. It was a great discussion about how some freshmen are not mentally ready for the rigors of college academics, while others just aren’t living up to their potential. It was a great discussion and it definitely made me realize that some of my students from last year fell into these categories.
The second session was How Peer Mentors Can Facilitate Student-Faculty Interaction. This session was more for learning communities associated with majors or colleges than for our program, but it did make me realize that for UST 111 my freshman year we all had to interview a faculty member in our major and the freshmen did not have to this past year. I think it is really important for students to get comfortable with the faculty in their department and that maybe this assignment should be implemented again this coming fall.
The final session I went to was on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory and was actually led by Allie’s roommate! It was a pretty small group and I’ve already been to a couple sessions like this one in the past, but it was still fun and informative.
I did not attend ISLE yesterday because I recently became a member of Students 2 Students peer educating with Prevention Services. These were the students who work the Free Condom Wednesday and Thursday tables and came to speak about safer sex during UST 111 freshman year. I attended Certified Peer Educator training for this group and it was a great experience. We went over a lot of things that will be really helpful in the fall like presentation and listening skills, and also how to respond to someone who is in trouble and referring them to someone who can better help them if the problem is too large for you to solve. You all will learn as the semester goes on how important these skills are to have while peer mentoring. I’m also pretty excited that I will be certified for peer educating since I enjoy it so much. Makes me feel a bit more official :)
Hope everyone had a good weekend and I will see you all Tuesday night!
--Chels
So I know I already blogged for this week about MBTI, but just like the test found I really like to talk, so I’m posting again about the sessions we attended for class over the weekend.
Since I was unable to attend ISLE on Saturday (sorry about that, I’ll explain why in a bit) I attended 3 sessions of the Learning Community Mini-Institute on Friday. The first one I attended was Underprepared vs. Underperforming, which talked about freshmen transitioning to college. It was a great discussion about how some freshmen are not mentally ready for the rigors of college academics, while others just aren’t living up to their potential. It was a great discussion and it definitely made me realize that some of my students from last year fell into these categories.
The second session was How Peer Mentors Can Facilitate Student-Faculty Interaction. This session was more for learning communities associated with majors or colleges than for our program, but it did make me realize that for UST 111 my freshman year we all had to interview a faculty member in our major and the freshmen did not have to this past year. I think it is really important for students to get comfortable with the faculty in their department and that maybe this assignment should be implemented again this coming fall.
The final session I went to was on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory and was actually led by Allie’s roommate! It was a pretty small group and I’ve already been to a couple sessions like this one in the past, but it was still fun and informative.
I did not attend ISLE yesterday because I recently became a member of Students 2 Students peer educating with Prevention Services. These were the students who work the Free Condom Wednesday and Thursday tables and came to speak about safer sex during UST 111 freshman year. I attended Certified Peer Educator training for this group and it was a great experience. We went over a lot of things that will be really helpful in the fall like presentation and listening skills, and also how to respond to someone who is in trouble and referring them to someone who can better help them if the problem is too large for you to solve. You all will learn as the semester goes on how important these skills are to have while peer mentoring. I’m also pretty excited that I will be certified for peer educating since I enjoy it so much. Makes me feel a bit more official :)
Hope everyone had a good weekend and I will see you all Tuesday night!
--Chels
Wednesday, January 26
MBTI
Hello out there :)
So last night we had our first long class and a good one I might add. I love MBTI. Being a psych major and all I love personality tests and learning about myself and others through them. I am an ENFP and, as Debra put it, very comfortable in that classification. I was really excited to learn that we got to do the Step 2 reports which go a little further in depth. I only had a few outliers but I feel like they were pretty spot on.
Overall, it says ENFP's are typically enthusiastic innovators. They have a lot of imagination and initiative, and they are spontaneous and enjoy action. They dislike routine and become easily bored. They are concerned about people and understand others' needs and aspirations. I would say this description is VERY similar to my personality.
The outlier I feel that was most like me was the "questioning vs. accommodating". I was out of type and pretty clearly a questioner. I do ask LOTS of questions but I feel like they're necessary. I am a person who likes to know things, so when I don't know something I feel like asking someone is the obvious thing to do. I do realize that sometimes people do not appreciate the types of questions I ask or that I ask them at all, but I just feel like at the moment I need to know what I'm asking about. I feel like more often than not my tendency to be a questioner is positive, which is good since I plan on asking lots of questions in the future :)
I think my "perceiving" is probably the clearest of my preferences. The bullets for that preference are very descriptive of me. Some of my favorites were "believe a solution will emerge regardless of where you start" love being surprised and taking things as they come" and "dislike having too many plans with too many details". I have always described myself as a "fly by the seat of my pants" kinda girl, and clearly MBTI discovered that as well.
Sorry for the novel! Also discovered by MBTI was that I'm talkative (shocker). Hope everyone enjoyed MBTI as much as I did. Hope to see you all Friday at the Learning Communities Mini-Institute!
--Chels
So last night we had our first long class and a good one I might add. I love MBTI. Being a psych major and all I love personality tests and learning about myself and others through them. I am an ENFP and, as Debra put it, very comfortable in that classification. I was really excited to learn that we got to do the Step 2 reports which go a little further in depth. I only had a few outliers but I feel like they were pretty spot on.
Overall, it says ENFP's are typically enthusiastic innovators. They have a lot of imagination and initiative, and they are spontaneous and enjoy action. They dislike routine and become easily bored. They are concerned about people and understand others' needs and aspirations. I would say this description is VERY similar to my personality.
The outlier I feel that was most like me was the "questioning vs. accommodating". I was out of type and pretty clearly a questioner. I do ask LOTS of questions but I feel like they're necessary. I am a person who likes to know things, so when I don't know something I feel like asking someone is the obvious thing to do. I do realize that sometimes people do not appreciate the types of questions I ask or that I ask them at all, but I just feel like at the moment I need to know what I'm asking about. I feel like more often than not my tendency to be a questioner is positive, which is good since I plan on asking lots of questions in the future :)
I think my "perceiving" is probably the clearest of my preferences. The bullets for that preference are very descriptive of me. Some of my favorites were "believe a solution will emerge regardless of where you start" love being surprised and taking things as they come" and "dislike having too many plans with too many details". I have always described myself as a "fly by the seat of my pants" kinda girl, and clearly MBTI discovered that as well.
Sorry for the novel! Also discovered by MBTI was that I'm talkative (shocker). Hope everyone enjoyed MBTI as much as I did. Hope to see you all Friday at the Learning Communities Mini-Institute!
--Chels
Sunday, January 23
Psshhh know it all....
Hello all!
First off great job to Josh and Greg on your first time leading class! You guys did an excellent job of getting everyone engaged and keeping us all on task. Loved the Skittles too.
I enjoyed discussing our fears about college and how they have changed over the past few years. Whenever I look back to my freshman year I think of how some of the simplest assignments stressed me out, yet I had SO MUCH more free time than I ever do now. I would nap a couple times a week, spend an hour or so in the dining center at each meal catching up with friends and still put off studying for a test until the night before because that’s always how I did it in high school. Luckily, I excelled freshman year but it was a drastic change from my high school where I knew the teachers personally and I could easily get the due dates on assignments switched to fit my schedule with my wonderful negotiating skills : ) College and high school differ so greatly and it’s good to reflect on how far each of us has come over the past few years from our transition from high school to college.
The chapter discusses the important of First Year Programs at colleges. As a first year student I didn’t understand how important these were to us, but now I realize how much they impacted my first year. Of course I’m grateful for the Hixson program and everything it has done for me over the past 3 years of college, and what it will continue to do for me until I graduate, but that first semester I thought I was a know it all, and if I didn’t already know it I could figure it out on my own. I was (of course) wrong. The program to this day continues to teach me things about college but more so life in general and my growth as a student. It has even led me to what I hope is my chosen career path in Student Affairs and working with programming like this at a university in the future.
Hope everyone had a great weekend. I know I did! See you all on Tuesday for MBTI. Woo!
--Chels
First off great job to Josh and Greg on your first time leading class! You guys did an excellent job of getting everyone engaged and keeping us all on task. Loved the Skittles too.
I enjoyed discussing our fears about college and how they have changed over the past few years. Whenever I look back to my freshman year I think of how some of the simplest assignments stressed me out, yet I had SO MUCH more free time than I ever do now. I would nap a couple times a week, spend an hour or so in the dining center at each meal catching up with friends and still put off studying for a test until the night before because that’s always how I did it in high school. Luckily, I excelled freshman year but it was a drastic change from my high school where I knew the teachers personally and I could easily get the due dates on assignments switched to fit my schedule with my wonderful negotiating skills : ) College and high school differ so greatly and it’s good to reflect on how far each of us has come over the past few years from our transition from high school to college.
The chapter discusses the important of First Year Programs at colleges. As a first year student I didn’t understand how important these were to us, but now I realize how much they impacted my first year. Of course I’m grateful for the Hixson program and everything it has done for me over the past 3 years of college, and what it will continue to do for me until I graduate, but that first semester I thought I was a know it all, and if I didn’t already know it I could figure it out on my own. I was (of course) wrong. The program to this day continues to teach me things about college but more so life in general and my growth as a student. It has even led me to what I hope is my chosen career path in Student Affairs and working with programming like this at a university in the future.
Hope everyone had a great weekend. I know I did! See you all on Tuesday for MBTI. Woo!
--Chels
Saturday, January 15
Welcome back, welcome back.....
Hi all!
Well this is my first blog post in quite some time so hopefully I can get back up to speed. This will be my second time around as a peer mentor with the Hixson program and I am very excited for what the year will bring. Being a peer mentor last year was a very rewarding process and I am eager to build on my experiences from last year and also what I will learn this semester from all of you to be an even better peer mentor this coming fall.
With that being said, last year when I took UST 311 for the first time, I did not take the reading very seriously and concentrated more of my time on assignments and that activities we did during class. I always at least skimmed through the reading, but I thought the topics covered by Heath and Allie and how they were presented in class would be more beneficial. This semester I’m going to strive to get more out of the reading than I did last year.
While reading through the first chapter last week, I realized how important it is to establish early on exactly what our job description is as a peer mentor. Sometimes we all get caught up in the moment and lose sight of what we should do, or we just don’t understand from the beginning. Next fall it is so important to understand what is expected of you as a mentor and for your students to know what they can expect from you as well. The lists on pages 7 and 15 are really important to remember because they are central to the formal peer mentoring we will be doing in the fall. I encourage you all (new and old mentors) to read through them and really take in what they are saying.
I thought class was a lot of fun this week and it’s exciting to think about where the 16 of us will all be at the end of the semester and the end of the year. We all grow and change so much and build really great relationships and I can’t wait for that to happen in our group (give it time, it WILL happen). I made some really great friends last year with people I would otherwise never have met, and I know that will happen within this group as well. Can’t wait to see you all Tuesday!
Well this is my first blog post in quite some time so hopefully I can get back up to speed. This will be my second time around as a peer mentor with the Hixson program and I am very excited for what the year will bring. Being a peer mentor last year was a very rewarding process and I am eager to build on my experiences from last year and also what I will learn this semester from all of you to be an even better peer mentor this coming fall.
With that being said, last year when I took UST 311 for the first time, I did not take the reading very seriously and concentrated more of my time on assignments and that activities we did during class. I always at least skimmed through the reading, but I thought the topics covered by Heath and Allie and how they were presented in class would be more beneficial. This semester I’m going to strive to get more out of the reading than I did last year.
While reading through the first chapter last week, I realized how important it is to establish early on exactly what our job description is as a peer mentor. Sometimes we all get caught up in the moment and lose sight of what we should do, or we just don’t understand from the beginning. Next fall it is so important to understand what is expected of you as a mentor and for your students to know what they can expect from you as well. The lists on pages 7 and 15 are really important to remember because they are central to the formal peer mentoring we will be doing in the fall. I encourage you all (new and old mentors) to read through them and really take in what they are saying.
I thought class was a lot of fun this week and it’s exciting to think about where the 16 of us will all be at the end of the semester and the end of the year. We all grow and change so much and build really great relationships and I can’t wait for that to happen in our group (give it time, it WILL happen). I made some really great friends last year with people I would otherwise never have met, and I know that will happen within this group as well. Can’t wait to see you all Tuesday!
Sunday, April 25
2 Is Better Than 1
Yay for co-leader pairings!
I'm beyond stoked to be paired with Mr. Taylor Burgin and I think he's kinda excited too. I think all of our pairs turned out really well and I think all of us are going to work together wonderfully.
As for class last week, I thought the 2 hours flew by. The panel did a great job of answering questions, and I think it helps us immensely that we have Randi and Kris to go to with questions if we ever were to need help. I also loved our lil famous pairs game and I'm thinking we might need to incorporate that into our recitation in the fall.
I can't believe were already at dead week! This semester and class literally flew by. And our last 311 class is this Wednesday! Can't wait to see everyone there, and hopefully we'll all keep in touch over the summer!
Early good luck on finals! :]
I'm beyond stoked to be paired with Mr. Taylor Burgin and I think he's kinda excited too. I think all of our pairs turned out really well and I think all of us are going to work together wonderfully.
As for class last week, I thought the 2 hours flew by. The panel did a great job of answering questions, and I think it helps us immensely that we have Randi and Kris to go to with questions if we ever were to need help. I also loved our lil famous pairs game and I'm thinking we might need to incorporate that into our recitation in the fall.
I can't believe were already at dead week! This semester and class literally flew by. And our last 311 class is this Wednesday! Can't wait to see everyone there, and hopefully we'll all keep in touch over the summer!
Early good luck on finals! :]
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