Ready or Not!

The semester flew by! I mentioned in some of my other blogs that at the beginning of the semester, I did not feel prepared at all to be a peer mentor. Now that the semester is coming to an end, I feel a lot more prepared! I do not know why but I have always felt like my peer mentors from the past knew everything. I probably thought this because they were well prepared, organized, and older. The main thing that I got from the past and returning peer mentors was that it is ok to not know everything and you will not be prepared for every situation that comes up.

Peer mentors are meant to be liaisons for the Hixson program and the University. We are equipped to know which situations we can handle and which ones we need to ask for help with. We now know how to refer others to resources that can help them a lot more than we could. In the fall, I will use the information given to us from this semester to handle situations and to make the class fun and informative.

The past peer mentors brought to light something that I have not considered before, every class is different. The class will be made up with different individuals with an array of personalities. I am very excited to see who will be in my section in the fall and I am probably just a little bit more excited to see who I will be co-leading with!

Peer Education Programs in Higher Education

Judging by many people's input in the last class period, almost all of us have had a peer mentor that may have not been up to par. The best thing we can do is learn from the mistakes of these mentors. I'm sure that everyone may have also had a peer mentor that he or she really liked and found him or her to be very helpful.

I had a peer mentor in my learning community, WISE, that really helped me a lot. My mentor met with me individually once a month to check in on me and she helped me with any questions I had. At each meeting she had me bring a list of SMART goals to discuss with her. She was easy to get a hold of and was always willing to help. We also met in a group about twice a month. At the group meetings, she was very organized and always had fun activities for us to do. I became good friends with a lot of the people in my learning community because my peer mentor made it fun to be involved. I wrote about my experience because she possessed a lot of qualities that I believe a good peer mentor should have.

Resources are something peer mentors can utilize in order to help out themselves and their mentees. Universities are indirectly successful because of peer mentors and there are a lot of peer mentor programs here at ISU. With all of this programs, it is safe to bet that there are a lot of resources available for mentors to utilize. In fact, peer mentors serve as resources for other students.

When I was a freshman, I know that if I had a question or needed help that I would have gone to a peer mentor before I would go to a different person or resource. Mentors are students just like their mentees which makes going to them more comfortable. Mentors are also more likely to have gone through similar situations as their mentess.

I hope that my mentees next semester will feel comfortable with coming to me for help or questions. I want to make the class fun but I also want the freshmen to gain information. As a mentor, we create the classroom environment. We decide if we want to be helpful or not by the qualities we display like being organized, available, and interested.    

Ethics and Strategies for Good Practice

When I think of ethics, my mind immediately goes to the business world. I guess I do not really think about the ethics involved for being a good student or person. As a peer mentor, I will come across situations where I will need to use good ethics to get through the situation. Some times doing the right thing is not always the easiest but in the end  a person will be glad he or she did do the right thing. I believe that all the peer mentors do use good practices and have good morals. The book had great guidelines to help us use our morals to so we can practice good ethics.

The situations we came up with in class when Chelsee was leading discussion made me really think about what I would do next year if these situations came up. Some of the situations were easier to handle than others like social media. For me, the hardest situation would have to be dealing with someone I do not like. Generally, I tend to like almost every person I meet so I do not feel like this situation would come up but since I do not have a lot of experience working with people I do not like, handling the situation might be hard.  It is difficult to try hide your dislike of someone but as a peer mentor I will have to treat everyone equally and with respect. The way I would approach this situation would be to find the good qualities that person may possess and to try not to focus on the bad qualities. If I am still having difficulties, I would go talk to one of our supervisors to see what I could do to either fix the situation or to leave it.

As the semester is winding down, I feel like I am a lot more prepared to be a peer mentor than I was at the beginning of the semester.  I feel that the situations we do in class are one of the best ways to prepare ourselves for the fall semester.
  

Using Campus Resources and Referral Techniques

This week we learned about resources and how to refer students to a resource. I use resources all the time without thinking about them as a resource. I have learned to use different resource through mentors, advisers, and other students. This week we are given different situations and questions about the situations.
The situation I am choosing to blog about is the situation of Andrea and her grades.

Andrea has a couple of midterms due to an underlying factor, her friend had passed away in a car accident. I believe this situation is urgent because she needs someone to talk to and the accident is negatively affecting her academic performance. She is also probably experiencing some type of depression. Some questions I can ask to better understand could be when the accident happened and if she has talked to others about the accident. The main concern right now should not be her grades but her mental well being. A resource that I think would benefit her would be referring her to talk to Debra, Alli, or Abby. The Student Counseling Services may also benefit the student. The next concern is the midterm grades so I would give information to her about SI and tutoring services so she can get her grades up. I can explain to her that the reason I am referring her to others to talk is because I have not gone through what she is going through and others who are qualified will be able to help her better than I could. To build the students confidence about the resource I could give examples of times I had to ask for help or I could tell them about friends who have used the resource and thought it was useful. To follow-up on the students progress  I would email a time to meet the student after she met with the people from the resources and I could meet with her after class to check in on her.

I liked having a blogging prompt this week because it allowed me to think of situations I might face next semester as a peer mentor.

   

Strategies for Acedemic Success

I love Iowa State and I have never felt like I went to the wrong school. I feel at home when I am in Ames. The only time I felt a little unsure about my choose was when I decided I wanted to get a nursing degree. Iowa State does not have a nursing program and I discovered, while at college, that nursing was my calling. I worked through my feelings and did some research and found a program to get a bachelors in nursing after I graduate from Iowa State. Going to Iowa State will not be a waist of my time because the program requires a bachelors degree before being admitted into the program. Most of my friends at Iowa State felt the same way as me so, I guess I did not think people dropped out or wanted to leave as often as they do. As a peer mentor, I help the students who may feel that maybe Iowa State isn't the place for them. I realize that Iowa State is not the place for everyone and college in general is not for everyone.    

The birthday card activity made me realize the affect positive encouragement had on my ability to make the card. The encouragement made me feel like my card actually looked decent and my ideas were for the card were good. I can use positive encouragement to help my students in the Fall accomplish their goals.

I thought about the affects of external and internal motivation. I have a hard time doing homework when my roommates are sitting together talking or watching TV. I want to join them but I know that I need to get my work done. I need to work on my internal motivation for instances like this but I feel that internal motivation helps me more than external motivation because after I finish my work I feel great. External motivation is always helpful but I feel it only goes so far. I have to motivate myself in order to get something accomplished especially if the task is something I do not really like. The freshmen Hixsons will need external motivation from us, the peer mentors, and others like family and friends.

ISCORE

The Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity (ISCORE) was an event I heard about last year but I did  not really know what it was all about, even though it's in the long title, so I did not attend. This year, I went to the conference and I actually really enjoyed the experience. I believe the reason I did not attend last year was due to a fear of listening to people blame other races for things that happened to their race. The sessions I went to did not have any aspects of blame in their presentations.

The session I attended first was Addressing a Colorblind Approach in Schools. Before college, I believed that being "colorblind" was a good thing. I have learned through out the past two school years that the colorblind approach causes more harm than good. By saying that you are colorblind, you are stating that white is the normal and instead of seeing a person for who they are. Race and Ethnicity makes us who me are whether we like it or not. Other people should embrace and celebrate different races and ethnicity because it brings diversity. The speakers discussed situations between staff and students, students to students, and staff to staff interactions in the Ames Middle School that have come up over time due to race. The speakers developed a program to embrace race and to educate staff on the most beneficial ways to do embrace diversity.  

The second session I attended was Fly in the Buttermilk. I really liked this session. The speakers, one which is a friend of mine, informed the audience about the affects of integration and  discrimination on African Americans at Iowa State through out history. The speakers had people from the audience tell their stories of discrimination here on campus. The stories really affected me because I did not realize that discrimination is still a really big problem here at Iowa State and its not just students contributing to this problem. I believe that since I am a white person I do not see discrimination as often as some people from other races might and I have not felt discriminated against because of my race. People with privilege tend to not know they have it. 

The information I gained from these sessions will help me not only be a good peer mentor, but also a better person. The sessions made we realize just because we do not see the problem all the time does not mean it does not exist or that it is just a small problem.  Diversity should be embraced and not hidden or discouraged!      

The Three-in-One Activities Post

The class on Thursday was about leading groups effectively. The book gave great ideas to get a group to work together while being productive. I really liked the different table setups the book gave for different situations. I also liked the different methods one could use to approach conflict within a group. Matt and Nikki did a great job with the activity for group problem solving. I liked listening to the different situations and solutions.

Problem solving with individuals was the chapter that we went over during the retreat. The chapter discussed different ways to approach the problem and how to set up goals. Brooke and Sam also had a great activity that had us work in groups to make a positive goal and a SMART goal. I liked the activity because I usually do not write down my goals so it was a good practice.

The icebreakers during the retreat were a lot of fun! I learned a lot about the other peer mentors during these different activities. I believe activities like the icebreakers are very beneficial because we learn a lot of things that we probably would not know about each other otherwise. When you better understand a person, it is easier to work with him or her because you know where that person is coming from. I could use theses icebreakers in the Fall to get to know the incoming students. 

Diversity Event

I went to the best diversity event, in my life this far, last Friday night. The speaker's voice was very pleasant to listen to and had a type of rhythm to it. I believe the speaker was pleasant to listen to because she is in the music business. The speaker was MC Lyte, the event was called Redefining Hip Hop Culture with Respect and Dignity. The event was part of the Annual Big XII Conference on Black Student Government.

Going in to this event I was not sure what to expect. MC Lyte talk about how music inspired her to become an artist. She believe that music is an art form that has been taken for granted. Hip Hop should be used as a vice to express yourself and your feelings. She explained to use that we need to find ourselves in order to become great leaders. MC Lyte also discussed things she had to overcome in order to be successful in the music industry while being true to herself. We need to see the potential in ourselves even when others do not see our potential.

I really like the fun environment at the event. She taught me a few things about the Hip Hop Culture.She grew up in an environment completely different from my own. As a peer mentor, I will need to keep in mind that not everyone is coming from the same background or lifestyle that I have come from. Understanding others will help me evolve as a person and will also allow me to better help others. I have the power to make my goals and dreams happen and I am the only one who can stop them.

Understanding Group Process

Group projects are a hit and miss for me. At times, I feel that I have benefited from working in a group. Other times, I had to do all the work for the project or people would fight about the minute details for the project. The times that I felt group projects benefited me the most were in science labs. I believe that science labs work well for group projects because the protocol is usually very well written so, the group follows the directions and there is usually a rubric. I know that it is important to be able to work in a group because almost every job requires some sort of group work.

I really liked the Lego activity we did in class. I did not think that there were roles while working in groups. The roles will allow for a project to be done in, hopefully, an efficient, organized manner. During the group project, I was the initiator. I was not very comfortable with the role because I had to come up with the ideas while others either agreed or questioned my ideas. I would say that my role in group project is usually the coordinator because I like help with the work but I do not like to be the one who initiates the project or ideas.

The group dynamics like the role each person will play, the atmosphere of the group, and good communication are just a few things that will benefit a group. As a peer mentor, I will be working in a group with others and I will have the students in my recitation work in groups. Understanding how groups work is very important in order to be able to help in a group and to help others whose group may be struggling.

Interpersonal Communication

Communication is, in my opinion, is the most important part of a relationship. Other components to a relationship, like trust, will follow if good communication is present. When applying for a job, the requirements almost always list the person applying must have good communication skills. Interpersonal communication goes beyond simply talking to others, one must listen actively and truly understand what the other person may or may not be saying.

"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." 
-George Bernard Shaw 

The quote above illustrates what I learned from the chapter in the book and the class activities. I have been in many situations were I was trying to tell someone something and they did not understand what I was saying but I would just get frustrated with them and act like they were right. The persons I was attempting to communicate with were not paying attention to what I was saying but they thought they understood. Chelsee's class activity illustrated bad communication much like the situations I have been in.   

Different types of communication are needed for certain situations. As a peer mentor, I will have situations were I will need to give advice and situations when I will need to use interpersonal communication. I will need to assess which type to use for each situation in order to help the Hixson student. The book gives great scenarios and tips in order to help figure out which type of communication to use. The communication skills I have learned will help me build relationships and will help me effectively communicate with the incoming Hixsons. 

Enhancing Cultural Proficiency

I came from a small town where majority of the people had the same religion and ethnicity. Coming to college, I knew there was going to be a lot of diverse people. I was excited to meet people that had different backgrounds. I was accustom to a lot of people different from me in high school because I would go to Omaha, Nebraska almost every other weekend with friends when I was a junior and senior. In high school, I would just ignore the people different from me, I was not ever rude to them I just did not fully understand their lifestyles or beliefs. I was very guilty of lumping everyone that seemed different into the same category. I would treat their beliefs the same as others by pretending they were the same. 

I have grown a lot as a person the summer before college and my freshman year of college. I developed an understanding about the importance of understanding people that are not the same as me. I really did not consider that there is no person on earth the same as some other person until reading the chapter in the book. The book also states that a person does not have to completely understand different beliefs, one just has to respect and acknowledge the beliefs of another individual without grouping them with other different groups or ignoring their beliefs.

I am very guilty of believing stereotypes. I know need to work on this but it is something that will take time. After coming to college, I have gotten rid of some of the stereotypes I use to believe but after the in class activity, I recognize that I have stereotypes that I did not consciously know I had before.

I am really excited to hear what is important to the students I will be helping next year, if they want to share. I know what I need to work on to be more understanding of different cultures and beliefs. I like the diversity Iowa State has because if everyone was similar campus would be very boring!       

MBTI Part II

Wow! We were given a lot of information this time around! I was a skeptic the first time I took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test because I did not think that my personality could be just simply placed into sections. After getting my results from part 1, I realized that it was definitely true and pretty accurate especially when I added the part 2 information. My letters were ISFP the last time and changed to INFP this time around.

I'm a little surprised by my results because the strongest preference I have is in the moderate category so I am pretty much straight down the middle with all of my preferences. I feel that I fall under the mid-zone because I adjust how I act by how well I known the people I'm around and the situation I am in. INFPs tend to care deeply about people and causes that are close to them. They are tolerant and adapt to things as they happen but they strongly defend what is important to them. They like to work independently and pay attention to things that others around them care about. I feel like these characteristics of INFPs accurately explain my personality.

The different facets in the report are just crazy! I cannot believe by picking out words on a test I can get so much information about my personality back. I had four out of preference facets; gregarious, enthusiastic, practical, and experimental. The only one out of preference facet I'm not too sure about would be enthusiastic because the report states that I like the spotlight but in actuality I rather not be in it.

I really like to keep a lot of information to myself until I get to know people and I tend to keep emotions like anger to myself which leads to me being an introvert and I definitely would fall under the contained facet. I switched to intuition from sensing and I believe it is a better fit because I tend to have imaginative and abstract ways of thinking when working on problems.   

I like the tips in the report on using the facets to enhance communication, change management, and conflict management. The report is very useful to me because I can use the information to understand my personality and to better myself by working on the tips given to me in the report.            

ISLE & the Learning Community Mid-Year Institute

My weekend was filled with learning about becoming a great leader. The Learning Community Mid-Year Institute and ISLE presented information about leadership that I found to be interesting.  Various speakers defined leadership differently, although they were all similar, and gave characteristics of good leaders.

While at the Learning Community Mid-Year Institute, I attended a session on stress and how to relax and the other session I attended was on using social media to connect with the mentees. The stress session identified common characteristics of stress and gave different methods to help relieve the stress. I believe that being able to detect stress in a person would be great information for a peer mentor to have because there are many stresses as an incoming freshman and some people who may need help may not admit it.

The social media session was not as interesting because I knew most of the information already. WISE presented information on how they use Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook to connect with members. I think using social media is a great way to connect with college students because most of use check social media sites a lot more often than our emails.

The opening speaker at ISLE was great! The keynote speaker, Delatorro McNeal, was very entertaining. McNeal explained the importance of peer leaders and mentors and gave inspiring clips from movies during his presentation. The session I attend was not as interesting. The coordinator of the ROTC program gave a presentation of leadership and the characteristics of a leader. The speaker asked a lot of questions and called on people in the small audience. At the end of the presentation, He explained the reason why he choose to present that way. He presented in that manner because people tend to learn the best when they are involved in their learning. I loved the idea but not while I was being called on. I would like to use a type of interactive learning in the future with the mentees.    

Overall, I felt both conferences were helpful to me developing my leadership skills. I also enjoyed meeting mentors and leaders from different organizations around campus. A quote to some up what I learned by John Quincy Adams would be "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, and become more, you are a leader."

Undersatnding the Role of a Peer Mentor

Peer Educators are a valuable resource for Iowa State University. When I think back over the last year and I half, I cannot even count how many times a peer educator has helped me. Before we even accepted ISU, we met with cyclone aids who gave us the grand tour of the beautiful campus where we all decided to come for higher education.

In class, we discussed concerns the incoming freshmen may have, many that were on the board were questions I had when I came to college. I feel that through this activity and the activity of acting as a peer mentor/student to answer questions we may be asked by the incoming students helped me remember what it was like to be an incoming student. The mentor/student activity also got me thinking about how to answer the questions the students will be asking next fall. Experience is great knowledge that can be utilized to help new students and to help ourselves. I also love that we, the current peer mentors, have such a diverse mix of majors. I believe that we can give better insight to students going into similar majors because we know our own course requirements for our majors and colleges. 

The first couple chapters in the book laid out the importance of peer educators. The first chapter explained that peer mentors are role models and the author gave tips on how to better yourself and tips for being a peer mentor. The second chapter hit on the topics of maturation and changes in personal development. From personal experience, I feel like a completely different person than what I was as a senior in high school, I even feel like a different person from last year. I think that college makes you grow as a person, whether good or bad and as a peer mentor, I am there to positively impact others' lives.

It was easy for me to forget all of the questions and experiences I had my first year of college because I no longer worry about the things I did coming in freshman year but the class activities and the readings helped me remember how I felt. Information and experiences are powerful and if they are used right, one can make a huge difference in others' lives and that is what I plan to do as a peer mentor.           

A Little About Me

I am from Earling, which is a small town located in the southwest region of Iowa. I went to a small parochial school from preschool until eighth grade and then I went to Harlan High School. I have always loved my science classes and I am currently majoring in biology. I am also interested in history. What I enjoy doing the most is being outdoors and working on projects like building book cases. My favorite hobby would be camping.

I felt that I was at my best when I was working at a nursing home as a certified nurses' assistant. I love to help others and at my job I always felt that I was helping my residents feel comfortable and happy. I made a difference in their lives and they defiantly impacted mine.

As a peer mentor, I would like to help the incoming Hixson Scholars adjust to college life and I want them to feel welcome to Iowa State. I also have a goal to become more comfortable talking in front of groups. My role as a peer mentor is to be a liaison between the Hixson program and Iowa State University. I would like the freshmen to feel that they can ask me anything and I will be there to help them. We have already been through the emotions and situations the incoming freshmen will be experiencing therefore, I feel that peer mentors have the insight to help the freshmen get through their first semester.