In the first chapter of our reading I liked how the author mentioned
that although we as peer mentors have the potential to be one of the greatest
influences to our students in their college years, we might not always know the
answer, or feel like we can offer the best professional advice in certain areas.
I think it’s important that we realize that as mentors sometimes the best
advice we can give our students in the Hixson class of 2012 is the name and
office number of a trained professional to deals exclusively with certain issues.
Even if we need to discuss certain topics with our students that we feel very
comfortable with, you can’t go wrong by giving out contact information to a
professional for additional support.
The second chapter about student
maturation and the impact of peers really hit home for me, as I found myself
facing many of the examples of students development my freshman year, while in
the military, and even as recently as fall semester of 2011 after being away
from college for 20 months.
My freshman year at Iowa State I left behind a farm that I’d devoted my whole life to, a high school class of 35 students, and a structured life balanced between school, farm work, and sports. In exchange I was given the biggest university in Iowa, free time I’d never had before, and a love for the social life. As a result I had poor time management skills, less than perfect study skills, and an imbalance between work and play.
My time spent in the military has opened up my understanding and growth of understanding others who come from different ethnicities, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds, both foreign and domestic. It was at this time of reflecting on my past three semesters at Iowa State and my military service that everything came full circle for me, and the picture was clear for what I needed to do academically and personally to become the man I want to be for the rest of my life.
I returned to classes at Iowa State in fall of 2011, about one month following my deployment to eastern Afghanistan. I came back a much better student with developed study skills, better time management, and a drive to achieve academically. I did exactly that and for the first time I made the Dean’s list at Iowa State with a 3.83 GPA while taking 19 credits. There were some major adjustments to being back stateside this fall and being out of the military mindset, but I’ve since adjusted just fine, and I’m happy to be back to myself and surrounded by the friends and family I’d missed for the past nearly two years.
This second chapter of our reading is what it’s all about for me wanting to be a Hixson peer mentor, helping students adjust to their new environment, mature into a young adult, and grow into adulthood.
My freshman year at Iowa State I left behind a farm that I’d devoted my whole life to, a high school class of 35 students, and a structured life balanced between school, farm work, and sports. In exchange I was given the biggest university in Iowa, free time I’d never had before, and a love for the social life. As a result I had poor time management skills, less than perfect study skills, and an imbalance between work and play.
My time spent in the military has opened up my understanding and growth of understanding others who come from different ethnicities, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds, both foreign and domestic. It was at this time of reflecting on my past three semesters at Iowa State and my military service that everything came full circle for me, and the picture was clear for what I needed to do academically and personally to become the man I want to be for the rest of my life.
I returned to classes at Iowa State in fall of 2011, about one month following my deployment to eastern Afghanistan. I came back a much better student with developed study skills, better time management, and a drive to achieve academically. I did exactly that and for the first time I made the Dean’s list at Iowa State with a 3.83 GPA while taking 19 credits. There were some major adjustments to being back stateside this fall and being out of the military mindset, but I’ve since adjusted just fine, and I’m happy to be back to myself and surrounded by the friends and family I’d missed for the past nearly two years.
This second chapter of our reading is what it’s all about for me wanting to be a Hixson peer mentor, helping students adjust to their new environment, mature into a young adult, and grow into adulthood.
I agree with you on how peer mentors might need to direct a student to someone who is more specialized in a certain area because peer mentors don't know everything but they try to help with as much as they can.
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