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.
Nice ideas! I liked how you mention co-leaders and how we feed off each others ideas and energy to do the best possible job. Also, good video!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you noted that our mentees will not blatantly come up to us and say "I need this specific resource for this specific problem." It may be a challenge for them to admit that they might need help for something that's going on in their life, so being able to recognize that as well as being sensitive to their situation is a must!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, loved The Office clip -- awesome show. And I think you made a great point that we need to use other skills we already have, such as interpersonal communication, and build off of those. It's funny how we keep going back to topics already covered in class, and I'm starting to see how they all work together!
ReplyDeleteGood ideas! I agree with you in the fact that there are so many resources available on campus. It is our job to let the freshman know about them and how to use them properly.
ReplyDelete