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.