The End is Nigh

So we have reached the end of our training as peer mentors. Well, not technically the end of our training because we can consider next fall training as well. Yes, despite everything we have learned this semester, we can always improve upon our skills. We have learned enough to handle ourselves next semester, but our recitation will find us learning new skills and reacting to situations that we did not think we would encounter. It will be a learning experience for both us and for the freshmen and freshwomen.

In class this week, Brooke and I went over our co-leader agreement. After doing this last semester, I see the importance in agreeing to meet at certain times and establishing the goals that the co-leaders want to accomplish. Picking a time to meet and discuss lesson plans is important. Email can work for discussing lesson plans, but I have found that meeting in person allows for a better exchange of ideas. Also, making a co-leader mission statement is very important. Having two people teach a recitation means that two different minds are coming together. This means that they are bringing different ideas as well as different goals. It is important for these two people to talk about what they want to do with the recitation. As has been noted in this class before, leaders can come from a variety of different backgrounds and have different mindsets. This would usually indicate that peer mentors might come into conflict with other mentors regarding their ideas for the recitation. However, Debra, Allie, and Chelsee overcome this problem by having us paired with someone who matches our mindset to some degree. There will still be a bit of a difference, but we should not come into conflict regarding how we want to run things.

Other than this, not much else has happened. We are preparing for the retreat next fall and getting the freshmen and freshwomen ready for next fall. Dead week has come and gone and now finals have arrived. It’s been a fantastic and crazy semester. The crazy thing is that I only have two more semesters before I graduate. The end of my (undergraduate) college experience is arriving, and I’m glad I get to spend part of it with you peoples.

Let's Hope She Isn't Really a Serial Killer

This past week has been incredibly busy. We finished up our digital story telling project, found out who our co-leaders would be, I had job orientation for move out crew, and I’m starting to prepare for final exams. It’s been crazy, and the next few weeks are going to get crazier. But I believe I can pull through.

Last week, we finished our digital story telling project. Overall, it was a great experience. It was the fourth DST experience I had if I count the music video I helped with for Afterdark. I enjoyed this because it was a great bonding experience and allowed me to learn more about my fellow peer mentors. Comparing this experience to last year, I realize that not only are the two videos and experiences completely different, but the styles are different as well. This reinforces the idea that the peer mentor group this year is different from the one last year. We have different personalities and different backgrounds. Next fall is going to bring surprises. I may have done this before, but that does not mean that I am totally prepared for what is about to go down.

After watching the video, I have to thank Megan and the production team for making the video so fantastic. It was funny but also informative, and I’m sure that the Hixsons next fall will love it.

Last week, I also found out who my co-leader was going to be. I had several guesses as to who it might have been, but, like last year, I was wrong. As it turns out, my co-leader is the fantabulous Brooke Kindlesperger. I do not know too much about her, but I know that she’s a psych student like me, and she has a great attitude about life. It should be a joy to work with her. I am interested in seeing how our learning styles mesh as well as seeing what ideas she brings to our lesson planning sessions. Still, the fact that I was wrong about who I thought my co-leader would be indicates an aspect of groups that was present last year as well. We can think that we have similar learning styles with someone, but until we work with that person, we will not know for sure. Only through interaction can we truly understand a person. I look forward to learning more about Brooke and all my other fellow peer mentors next fall. This has been a great semester, and I’m sure next semester will be just as interesting and entertaining. 

Am I Socially Intelligent?

This week Tanner and Brooke led a great discussion on peer education programs on campus. One part of the discussion involved listing programs at Iowa State. We did this in January, and it was interesting to see how much the class had learned since then. We did this last year as well, but this semester it really got me thinking. The Hixson Opportunity Awards program is not the only program on campus that utilizes peer mentors and peer educators. This is a good thing because not everyone who comes to ISU receives this scholarship. Other programs like this mean that students have a chance to receive help during college that could improve their college experience. In addition, this means that the students have a chance to help others by joining these mentoring programs as well.

Chelsee also gave a fantastic presentation regarding social intelligence. Personally, I believe that leadership is a situational thing. Anyone can be a leader in the proper circumstances. One is not necessarily born a leader in my opinion. Still, reading this research caused me to think a little more about leadership being an inherent trait. In the reading, there were many traits of a leader. One of the traits that I feel I have developed well is teamwork. I had a great chance to work on this trait last semester when I worked with the other peer mentors as well as my co-leader. In addition, I displayed this trait very well when I went to South Dakota over spring break. I could always improve on this trait, but I feel that I have developed it well. Another trait that I have developed well is developing others. It is my goal to see others succeed. This is one reason why I want to be a counselor. I utilized this trait last fall when I pushed for the students to do well in their other classes, and when I pushed for the students to actually attend the Hixson class. I wanted my students to succeed, so I made it so that was a possibility for them.

Still, there are a few traits that I need to improve upon. One trait that I need to improve is my empathy. This is also a trait that is necessary for counselors. I always make an attempt to try to understand what others are thinking and what life is like for them. However, there are some instances when I find this to be really hard. For example, I maintained a certain level of empathy when hearing about life on the reservation, but I will never fully understand what that life is like so it’s hard to be fully empathetic. Still, I should always maintain some level of empathy, so that I can do my best to understand the needs of others. Ultimately, knowing what I need to improve upon will allow me to become a better peer mentor and a better leader. 

Falling in Love With Your Mentees (Is Cleary Unethical)

This week Haley and Cole gave a fantastic presentation on ethics and such. Ethics, as many people know, are what separate us from the animals. Ethics make the world go round. They are particularly helpful for peer mentors because they allow us to have a healthy, professional relationship with the students. If we display ethical behavior, then we can serve as role models to the students as well.

The book notes many ethical principles that mentors should follow, but some of the principles are more important than others. For example, understanding your own personal bias and avoiding imposing this bias on others is a great principle. Every single one of us has different beliefs, creeds, ideologies, and prejudices. It is important that we understand these beliefs and prejudices, so that we may not only help ourselves to eliminate these prejudices, but so that we can also avoid displaying them in front of the students. We shouldn't force the students to believe something, and we should not give the students the chance to adopt a negative belief. I always say that you should keep politics and religion out of your professional relationships. Another important principle is maintaining confidentiality. My career goal is to become a counselor, and this is an important part of the counseling process. If someone shares a secret or personal thought with you, and you tell others, they will be offended and will be less likely to share in the future. The students deserve our respect, and we should not go around telling others of any issues that they may have. However, we should know that if the students have issues that are life-threatening to them or another person, we have to reconsider confidentiality. A final important principle regards feelings of attraction. If we have romantic feelings towards the students, we should not act on them due to our professional relationship with them. Personally, I feel it is a sketchy, gray area because you cannot really control who you fall for romantically. Still, keeping it professional is important.

It is important to remember all of the ethical principles. Of course, real life isn't as clear cut as the book makes it out to be, and we will encounter some conundrums that require long periods of thought. Luckily, we are not alone. There are 16 other peer mentors to help us if we are confused. In addition, we have Chelsee, Debra, and Allie to assist us if we encounter big problems. We may not encounter most of these ethical situations, but knowing what to do during them allows us to be prepared any possible outcome. 

Cite your Resources

Resources! They are quite valuable, aren't they? All across campus there are a wide variety of resources just waiting for Iowa State students to utilize them. The financial aid office, the browsing chapel library, advisers  the Hixson computer lab, or even the student counseling center. All of these resources are available and can make our lives easier. I, myself, have used many of the resources available on campus, and I am constantly discovering other resources available to Iowa State students. The possibilities are endless.

 As peer mentors, our job is to let the incoming freshmen know that these resources are available and to refer them to the proper resource when necessary. Last semester, my co-leader, and I did a great deal of referring when the students in our section came to us. One thing that I learned was you are going to have to use previously learned skills, such as active listening and knowing the difference between interpersonal communication and advice giving, to understand a student’s needs and to be able to help them. I do not remember a student saying “I’m in need of a resource on campus where I can receive free counseling.” The students might be vague or a bit unclear, so it is our job to use the skills we learned in this class to find out the issue at hand and provide the proper resource for the students. Another thing I learned is that I do not know of every resource available on campus. I am constantly learning about new resources. This is why it is great to have a co-leader. My co-leader helped answered the questions for which I did not know the answer. I feel this is why we have co-leaders. One person could lead an entire recitation, but that one person does not know everything. The co-leader provides balance. Of course, there is a chance that the co-leader may not know the answer as well. This is why Chelsee, Allie, and Debra are here. They are a resource as well. We can look to them when we do not know the answers. Aren't they fantastic?

And now, in order to distract from the fact that my post is short, here is a clip from the office. Toby works in HR and can be seen as a resource for people in the office.

A long diversity post about my spring break

Last week, I spent my entire Spring Break in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. What was I doing there? I was helping out the Cheyenne River Youth Project. This project is located on a Lakota Indian reservation, and I went there as part of an alternative spring breaks program at my college. A great deal of stuff happened while I was there, and I’ve decided to blog about it over the next five days.

Overall, I loved my experience there. I learned new things, acquired wise advice, and bonded with some cool people. If I had not gone on the trip, I would have just spent my time at home. This was a more productive use of my time, and it is probably one of the most important things I will ever do in my life (I’m probably exaggerating). I have numerous things to say about my trip, but I guess I should start with where I volunteered.

I volunteered at the Cheyenne River Youth Project in Eagle Butte. This organization was founded 25ish years ago in order to help the youth in Eagle Butte. What many people fail to realize is that the youth on reservations are at risk due to issues such as gang activity, poverty, and educational issues. I did not realize this until a short while ago. All of these issues are important to understand because they affect everyone on a reservation including the young people. I’m not saying every reservation has these issues, but they still exist on some reservations. The Project in Eagle Butte has been designed to provide activities for teenagers and little kids alike in order to prevent nefarious activities from going on in the community. Nobody wants to see wasted potential occur with anyone, and I believe that the project can help to insure that most of the students do healthy activities that will not ruin their chances at a great future.

Other aspects of the Project include the fact that many colleges and high schools visit the area to help as well. This can result in issues that I will get to in another post. The Project has a gym where teenagers can play games (mostly basketball) at night, they recently hosted a “Passion for Fashion” night, and they have libraries and an art room. All of these aspects combine to show the true nature of the Project: to help teenagers feel welcome and encouraging growth. The Project also has an afternoon drop off session for little kids where they can learn, play, and have a small dinner. It was a joy working with the little kids even if they were a little brutal at times. Finally, the Project does try to help the community by offering family services. This service allows those in the community to request items that the Project may or may not carry. The Project has a warehouse that I saw. It is pretty big, but it does not carry everything. Still, families do utilize it and seem relatively happy about it.

So what did I learn from all of this? I learned a great deal about culture, empathy, and diversity. I understood what it felt like to be the outsider in the community. I could tell that the residents of the reservation knew I did not belong. They did not go to any lengths to make me feel unwelcome, but I knew I was out of place. Furthermore, I learned more about empathy. One of the speakers said to us that we would never truly understand their issues because we are not Native American, and we could not think like they did. This is true. I will never be Lakota, but I should still attempt to understand their issues by learning about them. The speaker told us that he was proud of our generation because we were willing to learn and correct the mistakes of our past as well as being accepting of others cultures and identities. I feel this is an important step to take not just in Indian affairs, but in world affairs. In order to truly understand others, we should learn their story, understand what has happened in the past, and make sure that we do not repeat mistakes. It is with this that I believe that we will truly change the world for the better.  

Relating Everything to Spring Break

This past week I spent Spring Break on a Lakota Indian reservation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. This explains why I am waiting until the last minute Sunday night to submit my blog post. While on the reservation, I had time to mull over what Shelby and Stephanie talked about in class as well as the Harlem Shake information that Allie talked about before the lesson. When it comes to the Harlem Shake, I learned that we have to consider the culture it came from before we use it for anything. I think that it would be okay for us to use it because if we are sort of mature about it, we aren’t insulting the Harlem culture where it originated. Furthermore, I think that we are making enough changes that it isn’t really the Harlem Shake but a variation of it. As long as we give credit to the original, there should be no problems with it. Finally, I think the Harlem Shake can be an ice breaker or a learning tool. While I was in Eagle Butte, the teenagers I interacted with were distant from us because they knew we were just here for a week. By Friday though, they were more accepting of us. On Friday, we ended our time with them by doing the Harlem Shake which they were strongly willing to do. I feel that if we had done the Harlem Shake earlier, we might have let them know that we weren't just here for a project; we were there to help them and have fun.

Shelby and Stephanie asked “How can you apply knowing your learning style and the strategies associated with it to improving your academic success?” The answer is that if you know how you like to learn as well as possible inhibitors to your learning, you can adjust your study habits to fit the style. For example, if you know that you like lecture style classes, you can adjust your class schedule to match those types of classes. I am happy to know my learning style and the strategies I use, so I am improving my academic success. I am still learning, however, so there will always be room for more improvement. I can also apply this knowledge to the Lakota reservation that I was at last week. A lot of the teenagers have trouble academically. This relates to the fact that educators on the reservation do not do a great job, and the fact that parents on the reservation do not motivate their children to do well. If the teens knew these possible inhibitors to their success, then possibly they could find ways around them to enable their success. Furthermore, some of the teens do not know of their learning style. I feel that education on this as well as education on possible academic success strategies could help the teenagers in the future. Relating this to diversity and culture, I know that life on the reservation is drastically different than college life or life where most of the peer mentors grew up, but I still feel that these strategies could help the teenagers there. After interacting with these teenagers over the past week, I have found that I really want to help them with the issues that surround them, and I feel that the skills I have as a peer mentor could help me with that. 

Groups 2: Leadership Boogaloo

In class this week, Brady and Josh led a fantastic discussion on leading groups. One thing we talked about was the characteristics of an effective leader. We argued that leaders were communicative, empathetic, friendly, and dedicated among other things. When it comes to leading groups, leaders have to model effective behavior. If they want a project to be successful, then they have to show the rest of the group the behavior that will lead to success. If the person in charge is a slacker, then everyone else might not care about the project. Leaders also recognize and reward. I feel this is extremely important because working in a group can be stressful. If a group manages to effectively work together and complete a project, then they should be able to celebrate somehow. Furthermore, if one person in a group does a fantastic job, then a leader should recognize that person and let other members of the group know that the behavior of that person enabled success. Personally, I feel that a leader needs most of the qualities that Josh and Brady mentioned, but all leaders will not have all of the qualities. Some situations may call for certain traits and may not require others. Also, being a leader is a learning process. It requires reflection after the leadership role has finished in order to understand what traits need to be improved upon and what traits have already been excellently used.

Brady and Josh also talked about the impact on the physical environment on groups. It is always a surprise when you realize how you are seated can affect the nature of a group. Personally, I am a fan of living-room seating because it is the most comfortable and allows for easy discussion. However, this arrangement will not work for every group. Some arrangements such as horseshoe seating and roundtable seating may be more important depending on the project or what is being discussed. In terms of theater seating, I am not a fan. It seems too boring, and it doesn't seem to allow discussion. Still, this arrangement may be necessary for lectures or certain presentations. So while one method may seem better, it is important to know that all of these seating arrangements may come in handy at one time or another. 

So now that you know the good qualities of a leader, maybe we should take a look at a leader who leads groups poorly. 

We All Score for ISCORE

At ISCORE, I attended two events. One of the events was “Dumb Things We Need to Stop Saying.” One important thing I learned from this was the difference between intent and impact. Even if you have good intentions, you can still cause harm in what you say or do. Another important thing I learned was that when you do offend someone (it’s bound to happen sooner or later), you should not be defensive. Instead, you should just apologize and accept responsibility for the offensive thing you said. One of the dumb things that we should stop saying was “Some of my best friends are (insert group here).” This is dumb because it seems like someone is trying to cover up their mistake or racism with an attempt to prove that they are accepting of a certain group. Instead of saying this, they should just note that they are aware of the issues that bother a certain group and make note that they are empathetic towards that group. Another dumb thing that we say is “It was only a joke, don’t take it so seriously.” This is dumb because it is an attempt to cover up racism. The problem is that if something is truly offensive to someone, then they are going to take it seriously even if you claim it is a joke. All of this is important to remember because next fall we will be interacting with students who come from different areas of life. Knowing the dumb things we say will allow us to say the better alternatives. It will also help us in our personal lives when we try to have conversations with people from cultures different than our own.

Another event I attended was “What are you.” This even talked a lot about racial identity and our obsession with it. One thing I was surprised to learn about during this event is that an increasing number of people are identifying as mixed race. This went against my beliefs because I’ve always identified with my whiteness meaning I only classify myself as white. I’ve always thought that a lot of other people did the same.  However, this event taught me that a lot of people identify as mixed race, and historically, others have tried to identify people as only one race. The Dawes Rolls for Indians and the One Drop Rule for blacks have been instances where the federal government tried to force a group of people to identify in only one way. However, this has been problematic for people who do not identify in just one way. This could even hurt people who feel like they belong to one group but are classified as belonging to another. The good thing here is that the United States is slowly changing this policy, but progress still needs to be made in our society. We have to get past the issue of race before we can fully advance as a society. This is important to know next Fall because, even as peer mentors, we are still going to classify students by race unconsciously. It would be wise to understand this, so we can make the conscious decision to note that we should allow the students to define themselves rather than have us define who they are. 

Twittering Tweetish Twurts

This week in class Tyler and Kat led a fantastic discussion on groups. During the discussion, we did an icebreaker where we held sticks and passed them along to others who were next to us in the circle. I think this is a great representation of group process. When we passed the sticks to others, we had to make sure that the sticks would stay up long enough for the others to catch them. If one person did not do this, then the whole group would fail. In addition, we had to focus on the task at hand. If we did not do so, then the sticks would fall and the goal wouldn’t pan out as well. Finally, when we upped the stakes by tossing the sticks to one another, this became representative of the stakes being upped in a group. We had to try harder just as one would have to in a group. In the end, groups require effort, communication, and teamwork or else goals will not be met.

This week was also social media week. I am already a strong tweeter, so I did not have to change my ways much. However, I did notice some of my fellow Hixsons say that they were going to block their tweets again when the week ended. I never understood the reasons for blocking tweets. I’ve always figured that Twitter was meant for random, odd people following you, and blocking your twitter seems to negate that purpose. If you want to follow only people you know, then isn’t that the purpose of Facebook? Still, I feel a learned quite a bit about my fellow mentors. They are a talkative and reflective bunch, and I feel this was a great bonding experience for all involved. The negative side of Twitter is that it is incredibly easy to post something that you may wish you hadn’t posted. For example, I’m sure that the students who posted the negative comments about the Kansas-Iowa State basketball game wish they could take back what they said. These students are a reminder that the whole world can read your tweets, and they are judging you for what you say. This includes your future boss. Perhaps the people who block their tweets have a point. Your future boss cannot read your tweets if he cannot see them. Still, it is important to remember that your tweets are visible to some people, and you should always be aware that what you say has meaning and can affect you in the future.

You Just Got Taught

This week Brad and I taught our session on problem solving with individuals. It was fun doing this again. I had taught a group of freshmen all of last semester with my co-leader, so it was interesting to finally work with someone new. Brad was an easy person to work with. I feel this is because we share similar mindsets, but I do not think we share similar MBTI types. Based on experience, I know that my co-leader next fall might not be in the same mindset that I am. I think this is an important thing to remember for all peer mentors. Allie, Chelsee, and Debra try to match peer mentors, but we are such a diverse group of people, that it doesn’t always work out like that. The thing to remember here is that your co-leader and you might be two totally different people, but it’s important to meet them halfway. I think this class helps with that because it gives us a semester to bond with each other so that we feel comfortable doing this next Fall.

Another thing I liked from my session was that everyone was easy to teach and contributed something to the lesson. Again, based on my experience this probably will not happen next Fall. There might be some students who are quiet, and there might be some students who dominate the discussion. This is an important thing to remember when you teach next fall. How you engage the students will factor into your lesson plans and your methods of teaching.

As for utilizing our lesson for next semester, I feel that summative and formative evaluation as well as positive goals will help us and help the students next fall. Knowing the difference between positive and negative goals will help us academically, and it will also help us with our interactions with the students. For example, your co-leader and you could say that you don’t want student to fail their classes. However, this would be a negative goal. Instead, you could say that you want to recommend the student for a tutor. It would allow you to be a better mentor, and a student might adopt this strategy themselves. As for formative and summative evaluation, I feel that we will use plenty of this next semester. Allie and Chelsee have two-on-twos each work to check our progress. This seems like an example of formative evaluation. We will also use it when we check on the mentors during our two-on-ones. Perhaps, we will use this when we make our lesson plans each week. I think this is an important form of evaluation because it allows us to do checkups. We can see how we are doing while we are doing it. As for summative evaluation, we will use this at the end of the semester to see how the students liked our teaching and how they liked the class in general. This plan allows for end of the semester feedback, but if students have any issues during the semester, I feel like they are ignored.

This is all important to know for next semester. Here is a video from Office Space that features a form of evaluation.

Can I Have Some Advice?

During class this week, Coreen and Katie taught us all about interpersonal communication. They did a fantastic job. They kept me, and the other peer mentors engaged which I feel is something they need to do next fall. Also, it helped that Allie brought us ice cream which kept me energetic. During the class, we talked about the difference between advice giving and interpersonal communication. We broke off in small groups and talked about different scenarios. I noticed that when we came back together, a lot of the groups mentioned that for their scenarios, they could have used either advice giving or interpersonal communication. I think this is important to remember because next fall the students will come to us with various issues. It is our job to remember which method to use. Also, while it may seem like interpersonal communication is more thorough, sometimes a student just wants advice. I doubt they want to go into an in depth discussion about where to fix their computer on campus. Another thing that we talked about in class was the difference between helping a friend and helping a student. When you help a friend, you aren’t being very professional. You’re merely offering suggestions to them about their issue.  Most importantly, you can be very blunt with your friend and give your honest opinion because you have that type of relationship with them (hopefully). When you help a student, you have to have professional demeanor. The student is coming with a serious concern, so you have to be serious. Most importantly, the student is most likely coming to you for solution, so you are offering more than just suggestions in this case.  Understanding the difference between advice giving and interpersonal communication and the difference between giving a friend help and giving a student help will go a long way in insuring your success as a peer educator.

Allie and Chelsee mentioned referring students to them in class. I understand the importance of this, and I hope my fellow peer mentors do as well. We have an important role to play in the lives of our students. They will come to us with concerns, and we have to help them. However, there will be times when we cannot help them because their issue is far too big or because we do not have the training to solve the concern. I like to relate this psychology. If you are a counselor, and you cannot help a client with an issue due to inexperience, it is your job to refer that client to someone who can help. I feel that Allie and Chelsee are the more experienced counselors in this scenario.

In other news, we have the peer mentor retreat this Sunday. I am not presenting this time, but I do look forward to the various ice breakers that the other mentors are going to present. It should be another great chance to get to know the peer mentors and understand their personalities.  Most importantly, I get to present with Brad next Wednesday. I had fantastic fun planning our lesson, and I am interested in seeing how well it goes.

Easten, Culture, and a Link to Psychology

This week, Easten taught us all about enhancing cultural proficiency. During his lesson, he had us play a game called “All of my Neighbors.” This game allowed me to learn a little bit more about my fellow peer mentors, but I feel I didn’t learn enough. It was all general information like how many of them own pets or who lives on a farm. I am hoping by the end of the semester I can learn a little more information. I’m not asking for them to tell me their life stories, but I do want to tear down the walls that prevent us from fully getting to know each other. Where do my fellow peer mentors really want to go? Who are their role models? What is the best advice you have ever received and why? Another thing that Easten had us do was a dot connecting activities. I had done this activity in the past, but I had forgotten the exact solution until Easten had went through it again. His activity showed that sometimes you need to go outside of the boundaries or a box to find an answer or do important things in life. Applying this to culture, I think we can say that we have to leave what we are used to in order to accomplish our goals in life. I am from a small town with no real diversity, and in order to pursue my life goals, I had to come to a big city like Ames where I met a variety of people from different walks of life. And I can say that, so far, I believe I am better for doing so.

For the next week, we had to read the chapter on interpersonal communication skills in our book. I particularly liked this chapter because the various aspects of interpersonal communication also are related to the aspects of being a psychological counselor. For example, the peer mentor relationship and the counselor-client relationship involve mutual consent. A peer mentor can’t help a student if neither party wants help. Furthermore, a counselor cannot help the client if the counselor feels uneasy about helping the client or if the client does not want to be in therapy. Another way these two positions are the same is that they are designed to produce change. The change in our peer mentor relationship is that the student is happy at college and feels safe here. The change with the counselor-client relationship is that the issue that the client came to counseling for has been resolved, or they are working to resolve it. The model for successful interpersonal communications is similar to the traits that make for a successful therapeutic relationship. Both involve attending by listening and making the person you are helping feel like they are being heard. They also both involve responding to the person you are helping by summarizing what they are saying or by interpreting what they are saying to make the issue clearer. Finally, interpersonal communications and the therapeutic relationship both involve knowing limits. It is possible that you may not be able to help your student as a peer mentor, and you may have to make a referral to a higher authority. As a counselor, the issue that a client is going through may be too difficult for you to handle, and you might have to have a more experienced therapist take over for you. Ultimately, I believe that my experience as a peer mentor will help me as a counselor in the future. I also believe that my desire to be a counselor is what helps me to be a great peer mentor.

MBTI Salad

Also in class this week, we discussed MBTI. My personality type is, of course, INTJ. I’m fairly sure that I am an N, a T, and a J, but the I is still something that bothers me. I do have many traits that make me an introvert such as disliking phone calls, I can sometimes be seen as shy by those who don’t know me, and I am not someone who likes to work in a group. However, I also feel that I step out of my introvert shell on occasion and lean towards extroversion. For example, last semester, I had to be a bit more extroverted in order for me to interact successfully with the students in my recitation. In addition, I have a tendency to go crazy when I am around those who I know. Perhaps this is why my report has labeled me a gregarious and enthusiastic INTJ type.

Also in the MBTI report, it offered change managing tips for my multiple facets. For example, for my planful facet, it noted that I have a tendency to plan as far in advance as possible, and I do. I believe in planning for every possible outcome in the future because I like to be prepared for everything. The report pointed out that to enhance my change management skills, I should allow for the unexpected in my plans because the unexpected can happen. This makes sense and seems like an important trait for a peer mentor to have. Next fall, we will be making lesson plans, and it is wise to plan for the unexpected in these lesson plans in case your co-leader is sick or if one idea doesn’t work with the students. Another idea that the report noted was that in the grand scheme of my personality, I like to use intuition the best. This would make sense because I tend to like thinking in the abstract and contemplating possibilities. Understanding this and the facets of the other peer mentors will allow me to gain a better understanding of them, and it will help if we ever clash on ideas.

Overall, the most important thing I learned this week was that what works for me probably isn’t what works for another person. I often find myself thinking that the way I do things is the best. This is problematic thinking because I fail to see how other approaches could work. When Chelsee explained that she finished a 60 page paper in four days, which averaged to about 15 pages per day, I thought she was crazy. However, I realized that this worked for Chelsee. Her personality enabled her to do this and still be successful. I like to think about a saying I heard once: “If it seems stupid but it works, it’s not stupid.” Knowing all of this will allow me to better interact with the other mentors and my co-leader next fall.

And here is a video of a group of people with very different personality types.

Conferring at Conferences

This week, I went to the learning community institute and the Iowa State Leadership Experience conferences. They both provided me with a great deal of information that I can use in my social life, in academia, and next fall in my recitation section. At the learning community institute, one of the events I went to was about time management and study groups and taught by Carrielle Cofax. I learned some pretty important ideas about studying at this event. I learned that when you study, you should take a break every 20 minutes in order to stay focused. This seems counterintuitive because you would lose important ideas while writing a paper or you would never get important projects done. However, I have realized that I tend to study and do work for hours on end which may inhibit my ability to retain information. Perhaps taking a break would allow me to improve my studying. This information will be very helpful for my recitation next fall because I can help students identify what kind of studying works best for them. Another event I attended at LCI was the Nature of Science in an English Learning Community which was taught by Jenny Aune. I found this session to be very informative. Jenny presented information regarding her research which was about how she incorporated the nature of science and misconceptions about science into an English 250 class. Most of the information presented was about how science could be biased, and that it was not perfect. In most of my classes this semester and last semester, we are just beginning to discuss these ideas. I feel that if I had learned this freshman year, I could have brought a whole different perspective to each of my classes. While I don’t see us peer mentors being able to apply these ideas to our recitations next fall, I do believe that freshman could learn a whole lot more by having a specific class devoted to this idea. Perhaps the university could create a class for this purpose.

At ISLE (pronounced Izzle), I found the keynote speaker to be very interesting. During his speech, he had us form to circles and talk with various people about important events in our life and ask questions about those events. I feel this is important because it is one thing to be proud about an accomplishment, but it is another to ask why you feel proud and build on that. Another event I attended was Positive Conflict which was taught by Michelle Boettcher and Brad Freihoeffer. This was interesting because it brought up different conflict management styles. I found that I have a competing conflict management style which means that I see conflict as a win-lose situation. This is important to know because it will influence how I handle my interactions with other peer mentors and with my students next fall. I will have to keep myself in check to insure that I pay attention to the styles of everyone else to avoid aggravating the conflict. As the instructors said, conflict is going to happen, but combat is optional. Finally, the other event I attended was the Johari Window which was taught by Carolyn Duven. The lesson from this was that a group dynamic is influenced by what is known by yourself and what is known by others. We want to increase what is known by everyone while decreasing the unknown areas. This means that it is important to ask questions otherwise groups will never be fully cohesive.

I’m sorry for the essay of a blog post. I learned a lot from these conferences. I hope that I can successfully apply the knowledge I have gained to every aspect of my life.

Know Thyself

During our last class, we had to list three strengths and two weaknesses during our Hixson introductions. Now, I can go off and list all of my strengths because I’m sort of a narcissist, and I’ve been doing this in many interviews. However, when it comes to listing my weaknesses, my mind goes blank. I am not going to say I am devoid of weaknesses because that would make me sound more arrogant than I actually am. What I am saying is that perhaps I don’t know myself well enough to list my weaknesses. We’ve been taught from birth that weakness is frowned upon. Superman’s weakness is kryptonite; villains use it against him all the time. Perhaps my mind goes blank when it comes to listing weaknesses because this is my way of preventing weakness from overcoming me. I don’t want this knowledge to be used against me in any way. However, I also know that understanding your weaknesses makes you a better person. I cannot advance further in life if I do not know what is keeping me back. So, I have set a new goal. It is a SMART goal of sorts. I want to, in the next month, identify at least five of my weaknesses and work to improve upon them.

Also, in class this week, we will be discussing MBTI again. Every time we discuss this, I end up learning something new about myself. I am an INTJ personality type which I feel describes me pretty well. I am interested in seeing if any other peer mentors fit this personality type. I am doubtful as first impressions seem to indicate that many seem to be E types, but I’m sure this impression will be shattered when Debra talks more about it on Wednesday. 

Anyway, here is a video about Spiderman. He kind of already knows his strengths and weaknesses.

Welcome Back, Me

It’s been about eight months since I last blogged. When I last blogged, I was a peer mentor in training. I had all sorts of thoughts about what was going to happen when classes started up in the fall. I was worried. I was nervous. I couldn’t wait to start my mentoring. I had all this training under my belt, and I WAS READY!

Now, eight months and several bouts of mentoring later, I’m ready to do it all again. This time it’s going to be different though. Last year, I had no idea what to expect. I learned a great deal of traits and skills that I applied when I was mentoring. Rather than this being a semester of learning from this class, I feel this is going to be a semester of relearning and teaching. This is an opportunity to catch anything I may have missed or take another approach to what we will be learning. In addition, I feel that my knowledge of what will come will help the first year peer mentors. I look at all of these new faces, and I realize that this semester is going to be fantastic.

Once again, I find myself reading Students Helping Students. I read this book last year and found it to be a great learning experience. This book not only helped me in this class last year, but it also provided me with skills that I use in other aspects of my life. This time around I can read the book with experience. I can note which parts helped me last year and which parts were weaker. More importantly, I can pick up on anything I may have missed. For example, last time I read the book, I did not pick up on just how important peer mentors were. The book notes that peer mentors are role models. The students who enter as freshmen see them as a mirror of how to act. I didn’t understand the importance of this until I started mentoring. The students seem to hang on to your every word, and they often come to you with questions on how to handle situations. Another important lesson from these two chapters is the challenges that affect students. Last year, it probably would have been very beneficial to me to have paid more attention to the challenges because the incoming freshmen will come to you with almost any type of situation. It is important not to think of any one situation as ridiculous because then you will not understand its importance.

Overall, I am strongly looking forward to this semester and this class. Last year, I learned important lessons that I applied to every aspect of my life. I’m hoping this happens this semester as well. Even though I took this class last year, I’m coming into this class expecting surprises. Anything can happen, and I hope it does.