Refractions in the end

In class this week, Megan and Corey discussed other groups on campus that use methods similar to ours and use peer mentors. Such groups were the Greek community, Big Brothers Big Sisters, tutors, and Honors. These groups are similar in that they promote education and leadership. However, these groups can be vastly different from the Hixson program as well. For example, Big Brothers Big Sisters promotes friendship between a “little” and a “big.” This cannot be the relationship between a peer mentor and a freshman Hixson scholar. In addition, Honors has a focus just on education. However, as Hixson peer mentors, we are responsible for things other than education such as adjusting to college, discussing roommates, and serving as a resource for information about campus.

            This week also came with the realization that we are almost finished with the course. There is still training to be done, but we are close to being assigned a recitation class for next semester. Realizing this, this makes me recall my mission statement, and how I plan to install the values of this course into the recitations next fall. I plan on encouraging diversity in the classroom while helping to eliminate or downplay stereotypes. In addition, I plan on bringing leadership to recitations in order to maintain control along with my co-leader. By displaying all the positive signs of a leader, we can fulfill the role of role model for the students. Also, I plan on helping my recitation session become a group with all the positive traits of a group such as cohesiveness, communication, and reward for finishing a project.

            Overall, I feel this course has helped me grasp a better understanding of what a leader is. I feel that this class will not only help me as a Hixson peer mentor, but it will help me in other aspects of my life. I can use it when I am working on a group project, or I can the information when I am studying for tests. Finally, I look forward to next fall, and I hope that my co-leader, and I can work together to insure that the entering freshmen get the best experience ever.

MOAR Diveristy in the 12th week

            This week in lecture, Denise Williams, diversity coordinator for the College of Human Sciences at Iowa State University, guest lectured about diversity. Personally, I love hearing lectures about topics like these, and this one did not disappoint (also there was ice cream). One thing that Denise talked about was what made up diversity. She asked if our group, the group made up of the peer mentors, Hixsons, and the Hixson Student Board, could be classified as diverse. At first, I figured that our group was not very diverse. I was thinking in terms of race and ethnicity. The group in that room was mostly Caucasian with few other ethnicities in the room. However, Denise informed us that race and ethnicity weren’t the other factors that could make a group diverse. Other factors that could result in diversity are socioeconomic background, gender, skill sets, age, and what you are majoring in. This opened my eyes as I had a strict view of diversity until hearing that it was more than race.

            Another thing that Denise talked about was stereotypes. She showed racist memes on the board that were influenced by common stereotypes. She also showed a video clip from the play “N*gger, We*back, Ch*nk” that talked about common stereotypes of Asians, Blacks, and Latinos. Her whole point about this information was that stereotypes can hurt. It generalizes a group, and it causes some people to form opinions about a person before they actually get to know that person. While some stereotypes may be positive about a race or group, they can also be harmful at the same time. If one stereotype is positive about a group, and a person from that group does not have that trait, they may feel like they do not belong. I never thought about that issue before. Next fall, I have to make sure to avoid using any stereotypes as it may anger a student or may cause them to feel bad about themselves. This lecture helped me by taking me deeper into diversity and allowed me to see that generalizing a person before you get to know them is wrong and often results in you being wrong about that person. Every person is unique, just as every Hixson next fall will be unique. In order to be successful as a peer mentor and a role model, I must accept this an incorporate it into my work.

Students Helping Students in the 11th Week

This week in class, Easten and Alex taught a learning session on ethics. I feel that this lesson was EXTREMELY relevant to everyone in the class. There are many rules and guidelines that peer mentors must follow if they are to help younger students and succeed in being role models. My favorite part of the lesson was the part where we tried to solve problems in various scenarios. I liked the scenarios because they all seemed like issues that would come up next fall. This week’s lesson has greatly prepared me in understanding how to handle certain situations and has cleared up some misconceptions I had with the position as a peer mentor. In addition to the lesson, Allie and Silas had the whole group play a safe version of “Would you Rather.” I enjoyed this because it gave me a chance to see what was going on in my fellow peer mentor’s heads. This is definitely one of the icebreakers I will use when I teach a recitation next semester.

            For this week, we had to read Chapter 11 in Students Helping Students which was about various peer education programs in college, and the responsibilities of peer leaders in these programs. One type of peer education program is a community service program. This program can be local like America Reads/America Counts and Alternative Breaks or international with students traveling to countries like Kenya or Turkey. The peer mentor role in this program is usually filled by the coordinators. Another peer education program is a health and wellness program. These are groups such as SHAPE, SNAC, AND Healthy Decisions. Peer leaders in these groups promote wellness as well as help students stay healthy and eat right. Overall, I feel that these organizations are an essential part of any college campus. I also think that it is a wise idea for each one to use peer leaders for these various programs because students can relate to other students. This is what the book is all about, and I feel that if I employ the methods learned from the WHOLE course next fall, I will succeed as a peer mentor.

Change in the 10th Week

Last Monday, I went to a diversity event lectured by Anne Clifford. The event was about Wangari Maathai and her role in the Green Belt Movement. Wangari was a Kenyan woman who was an environmentalist and won the Nobel Prize for her work in sustainable development and promoting democracy and peace. I didn’t stay for the whole event, but I did learn quite a bit about Wangari. I learned that she was one of the first scientists to identify the problem of climate change. I also learned that she sought to eliminate discrimination not just in Kenya but in Sub-Saharan Africa as well. She did this by having women help with her projects to show that they were important as well.

Overall, I thought that this event had too much of an emphasis on religion. However, considering that Wangari was a Catholic, and because the event was sponsored by the St. Thomas Aquinas Church, this was probably unavoidable. In addition, I thought that Wangari’s actions are something that we can all learn from. Finally, I felt that Wangari is an example of one person having a great impact on the world. She is proof that you do not need to be powerful to make changes.

One of the things I learned about and that I can apply to being a peer mentor is Wangari’s idea of the African Stool. She argued that the African Stool can be applied to life in that it has three important components: A need for democracy, sustainable management of resources, and formation of “cultures of peace.” I can apply democracy to being a peer mentor by allowing recitations and planning with co-leaders to be a place where everyone can have a voice. Sustainable management of resources is something that Chapter 10 in Students Helping Students mentioned as well. It is important because it promotes a better future. Finally, with the formation of “cultures of peace,” I, as a peer mentor, can make recitations be filled with compassion, tolerance, and justice.

One final thing I can apply as peer mentor is the idea of Catholic Social Thought (or common sense to the non-relgious). As a peer mentor, I can promote respect for the dignity of every person in my classes. In addition, my co-leader and I can work for solidarity and the common good in order to see development in the classroom. Finally, it is important to promote peacemaking not only to be a good role model but also to solve conflicts as well.

Going Digital in the 10th week

This week in class, Christina and Kaylene taught a session on resources. One activity that they did was having us talk to partners about resources that we have used on campus. I frequently talk to the Office of Financial Aid. I also use Debra, Allison, and Silas as resources, and I have them help me locate resources. Another resource I use is the library. Knowing about these resources and what they do will help next fall when I have students come to me with problems that I cannot solve on my own. In addition, Kaylene and Christina had us identify the various buildings and resources on campus and explain their functions. This will also help next fall.

In addition to the lesson, Allison and Silas took our group around the campus to see the various buildings and identify the resources within them. I learned a great deal including the English center in Carver, some knowledge about the Sloss House, and I learned about the biofeedback center in the Counseling service center which I plan to use now. Understanding the exact location of these resources will come in handy when I refer students to them next semester.

For this week, we are working on our digital storytelling project. Currently, we have two scenes out of the three total completed. I have enjoyed working with the rest of the group, and I believe that it has helped us bond. It has also introduced teamwork which will be an important trait for co-leaders to have. Another important thing that this experience has taught me is that your plans may need to be adjusted. I learned this from having to change around actors in scenes and by having to adjust the script. 

Resources: The 9th Wonder of the Worldet

Last week, Laura Wentworth and I taught a learning session on strategies for academic success. Overall, I feel the lesson went well. We were able to get our points across, and Laura and I worked well together. One of the issues that people felt we should work on was that our instructions needed to be clearer. This makes sense as I now realize that we might have been vague in what we were looking for. I hope to work on this so that when I teach a recitation next semester, I can help all the students understand what I am trying to say. I feel that this lesson has prepared me for next semester, but I also understand that I have a lot to learn before then.

For this week, we had to read Chapter 9 in Students Helping Students. This chapter was about resources and referring to resources which is what I think a big part of the peer mentor role is about. One important point from the chapter was that today’s world is changing, and our idea of age has to change as well. Instead of using years, we should use days. The book recommended the website http://www.peterrussell.com/odds/worldclock.php. There I found that I could expect to live to about the age of 78, and that I am 7171 days old. One other thing I learned from this chapter is that there are important factors that go into understanding when and how to refer to resources. For example, if you need to know when to refer to someone to a resource, you must first listen to them. You must also understand your own abilities, so that you can understand if you have the ability to help a student. You must also consider that you may not know the student’s needs and that they may need to seek a counselor. I like this point as it helps avoid mistakes. You wouldn’t want to recommend a resource if you cannot clearly define a student’s issue.

I consider providing resources the easiest and best part of being a peer mentor. It will require some work as I still am unacquainted with some parts of this college. A great example of how to fulfill this part of being a peer mentor was provided to me while I was a first year Hixson. My peer mentors did a great job of helping me find the right resources for some of my problems on campus. I hope I can do just as great a job of them when I get the opportunity to do this next fall.

Social Media and ISCORE in the 8th week

This week was the start of social media week. In class, we brought our computers and tweeted for little bit. Social media is something that I am quite familiar with. I have been on Facebook since freshman year of high school, and I started Twitter about two years ago. I wasn’t an avid Twitterer until last year when it was required for social media week. Now I am quite familiar with it. I understand the value of social media as well. Many employers look at it when evaluating potential employees. It is also a great method of getting your name out there, and I think I am doing a terrific job at that. When teaching the recitation sessions next semester, we will have to do a social media week with them as well, and I believe that my experience will help in convincing them as to how helpful it is.

In addition, the Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity (ISCORE) was this week. I could only attend one session, and I found that the session I wanted to attend was cancelled. Instead, I went to a much more interesting sounding session called “But, That Isn’t What Was Shown to Me! Inaccurate Portrayals of Indigenous Peoples in Media and Literature.” This was a particularly interesting session as they showed clips from two movies that I watched when I was younger, and they pointed out how they misrepresented Native American groups. When I watched these movies at a younger age, I don’t remember noticing the portrayal of the groups, but I now realize how easy it was to misrepresent a group to children. One question that the group who was presenting asked was “Is it better to be underrepresented or misrepresented.” Everyone seemed to agree that being underrepresented was better as your group is not being seen in stereotypes. In addition, there were several people who said both types were bad. However, I feel it is better to be misrepresented because underrepresentation leads to people not being aware that your group exists. This can lead to conflict in the future. In addition, if your group is misrepresented, then that gives your group a chance to wow others by showing that you are nothing like the media portrays you. By the end of the session, I realized that there was a great deal of stereotypes and misrepresentation about indigenous peoples in the media. However, there are times when I feel that the presenters overanalyzed such as when they talked about the movie “The Indian and the Cupboard.” Still, I feel like I learned a great deal from this session, and I will utilize this information next semester and in life as well.