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. 

Diversity Event

"Buy black" and "support your race" are a few statements the speaker told the audience during the "Our Black Year In America's Racially Divided Economy" presentation. I learned a few things about the speaker and how she precieves the economy.

The speaker started out by telling everyone that this topic was not racist. I felt uncomfortable during the whole presentation because the information given and her opinion seemed like reverse racism to me. I liked the idea of helping build up the African American Communities but she would bring up slavery during her presentation which had nothing to do with her topic.

The speaker and her family only bought from African American owned business for one year. She talked about the sacrifices the family had to make during that year. She also talked about how other races support their own race by shopping at a business owned by a member of the same race. I believe that the races support each other because the businesses are in their communities are usually owned by the same race that lives there. One should not shop at places due to race, just like one should not hire others due to race. The speaker also stated that races hire their own and since African Americans do not own very many business that is why so many are unemployed but she did not mention anything about Affirmative Action.

The speaker made a some valid points. I also really respect her for trying to make a difference in the world but she made the presentation uncomfortable and she lied to the audience. I would not attend a presentation by her again.        

Growth and Learning

I knew coming into college that I was going to be learning a lot of knew information but I did not really expect to learn some much out of the classroom. There is a lot of information to learn here at Iowa State! Information ranges from things learned in the classroom to social information and traditions.

My first week at Iowa State was terrifying to me, especially the first day. After my parents left, I had know idea what to do with myself. My roommate was in marching and so she was never around. I made friends with people on my floor. Destination Iowa State also helped me meet people and I learned a lot about this school.

As the weeks went on, I have made new friends and learned the ways of this college. I have also learned a thing or two in my classes. I feel that my experiences so far have really a loud me to open up more and explore my options for the future. When I returned for Thanksgiving break, I could tell that I have changed since I arrived in August. While hanging out with my friends during break that attend other colleges, I noticed how they have change and it also helped me see how I have changed too.

A semester has not yet gone by but yet I do not feel like the same person I was from a few months ago. I have learned a lot so far at this university and I have three and a half semester to grow and learn a lot more information.    

Hixson

What does Hixson award mean to me? The award gives so may opportunities that I may not have had or known about otherwise.

 The award gave me the chance to attend Iowa State. I would not have been able to afford to go to Iowa State for four years without this award. I also receive assistant if needed from this award, like a tutor. To keep me on track, I also have Kaylene and Dane (peer mentors) and Alli, Debra, or Chelsea (leaders).

I have meet so many people through the Hixson program! I have peer mentors, a section of individuals, and a large lecture class. The award helps me network with other people I may have not met otherwise. The Hixson program also hosts events so we can all have fun while getting to know each other like the Hixson retreat or painting pumpkins.

During the lectures, speakers come in and talk to the class about the university and the options for the future. The speakers have helped me understand the resources I have and how I can plan for the future.

I truly feel that the Hixson award is trying to help me become the best I can be while at Iowa State and for the future. The award means opportunities to me and so far it has helped me see just how many I actually have!    

Diversity

Diversity has a broad range of meaning. I always believed that diversity was people from different backgrounds and experiences in an area. I learned from the presentation last Tuesday that it is much more than that. Sylvester was the name of the speaker that introduced me to the real meaning of diversity. 

Sylvester explained different situations and phenotypes that contribute to diversity. I really enjoyed the way he presented the information. He is a very charismatic speaker. Before his presentation, I would not have ever thought of myself as being diverse, I always thought I was kind of just a standard, boring Caucasian. When  I am compared to someone else I have had different experiences in my life and I may have been raised in a different situation, which would make me diverse.  

Also, when I think of diversity I usually think of a place, like Iowa State, that has a lot of people from other countries. It never really occurred to me how much diversity is in the state of Iowa let alone a community in Iowa. A place does not have to people from other countries or states to considered diverse.

  I believe that it is very important to have diversity in one's community. Diversity helps people understand that there are other ways of life out there than there own. Learning in a community that is diverse helps one understand different cultures and helps educate the persons. People from different backgrounds and experiences bring different ideas and gifts to the table. I mean just look at how diversity affects Iowa State!  

Social Media

When I founded out that the week's assignment had to do with social media, I was dreading it. I have a  Twitter and a Facebook account but I do not really like to write statuses. I have always felt I should only post interesting things, which I run into maybe once a week. I decided to do the Twitter assignment because I already had a twitter account set up.

The hardest part of this assignment, for me, was figuring out what I was going to tweet about. Some of my tweets were pretty decent but the rest were lame because I ran out of things to say. The easiest part was finding businesses and people who shared similar career and major interests as me. I was surprised at how many businesses use twitter, like Mayo Clinic for example.

I like to use Facebook and Twitter solely for communicating with my family and friends. I also have been told through out the years that future employers will look at your media sites. I really do not want to use my social media pages to market myself for a job but I understand people will still look at the page. Some of the articles talked about using Twitter to broadcast yourself to future employers.

One article discussed how the people of Mexico use Twitter for safety. I personally think that this is an amazing and fast way to spread news. I can honestly say I check Facebook and Twitter at least three times a day. I only check the news stations about twice a week. I have learned a lot more than I expected to this week and the assignment actually turned out to be better too.