Reflections 2021

Mentor Reflections per Topic as Reported by the Mentors of Heemstede

Do you think you were successful in providing newcomers / mentees with support and assistance in the adjustment and transition in their new university environment?

Yes, I think that I guided my mentees in such a way that they are now fully submerged and comfortable in Res and university lifestyle Throughout the first two terms, I have seen them come into their own and I believe that they no longer feel as if they are newcomers, but rather that they are at home

What has been the most challenging part of being a mentor? What will you do differently? What will you advise prospective mentors?

The most challenging part for me was providing each mentee with equal amounts of attention It is easy to become subjective and neglect some mentees' problems for others, especially when it comes to newcomers who arrive later in the year, who you do not undergo welcoming week with I would make sure to check up on each mentee on a set basis and I would recommend future prospective mentors to do the same

How do you think you think you refined and strengthened your "communication" skills during your term as a mentor? Please elaborate.

I think my communication skills have improved Firstly, I have learnt how to communicate with fellow leaders better by voicing my opinions and listening to others The fact that we operated as a team enforced clear communication I have also learnt to listen to my mentees better and to try and put myself in their shoes I think this skill of empathy has enabled me to identify and interact with them on a higher level

How do you think you think you refined and strengthened your "collaboration" skills during your term as a mentor? Please elaborate.

As mentioned above, my collaboration skills have definitely improved given the amount of team work the mentor group did We had to solve problems and address issues as a unit, which enabled us to better our collaboration skills a lot

How do you think you think you refined and strengthened your "critical thinking" skills during your term as a mentor? Please elaborate.

This is definitely the skill which I think has improved the most Being a mentor forced me to put myself in my mentees' shoes and consider situations outside of my own frame of reference and way of reasoning Having this skill is very important to me and this experience has helped me developed it to a large extent However, as previously mentioned, I have sometimes failed to think critically about situations since I became more emotionally involved with some mentees than with others which kept me from thinking completely objectively

How do you think you think you refined and strengthened your "creativity" skills during your term as a mentor? Please elaborate.

I would not say that my creativity was necessarily challenged or improved by the experience of being a mentor There were sometimes called for creative problem-solving, but not often