Per Residence/PSO & Welcome Period Topic
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 do think i was successful in providing support during their transition. I think i had a very successful welcoming week with my mentees which prepared them very well for the year. I made myself readily available if they ever had any questions which seemed to be a great help when they needed assistance in regards to assessment policies and the purchasing of textbooks. Unfortunately due to the fact that majority of the year was online and not all my mentees were in the stellenbosch area (we are a PSO and most of them had to commute to campus) i was unable to see them face to face. But they seemed to be prepared with the online learning.
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 of being a mentor this year was definitely the curve balls covid threw at us. It was difficult to meet up with my mentees as they were not on campus due to online learning so we did not have any face to face sessions after welcoming. This was challenging because it is hard to keep a solid rapport with someone if you can only do it via whatsapp or zoom. So i did not feel like i got to know my mentees on a personal level it was more just 'business'. I don;t think that i could have done anything different to change this because it was all out of our control. Iqould advise prospective mentors to not give up and keep on persevering even if your are not receiving any responses via the whatsapp group. the mentees still see your message and for all you know it could of been very helpful towards them and relevant to their current situation even if you don;t know. The most important thing as a mentor is not to give up on a relationship with your mentees it may feel one sided but it is important for them to know that there is at least someone out there who is available to help if needed.
How do you think you think you refined and strengthened your "communication" skills during your term as a mentor? Please elaborate.
Because this year was all online except for welcoming i had to learn to be on top of my online communication. Whatsapp messages became extremely important more so this year than in previous years. So i had to improve my online communication. This meant that i had to be more concise with my words and be able to put everything as simply as possible. You have to think twice as hard about how you are going to relay certain messages because online you can;t always convey the exact emotion and don't have as much time to get the message across. So my communication skills definitely were upgraded.
How do you think you think you refined and strengthened your "collaboration" skills during your term as a mentor? Please elaborate.
This makes me immediately think of Welcoming and Vensters. All the collaborating that is involved in creating dances and activities for welcoming. I think an important thing i learnt from collaborating was patience. To be patient when some presents their idea even if it is not relevant to the situation. To be patient with them and constructively communicate how you feel towards them. Collaboration is always fun but can get frustrating when you can't get your say. So i definitely learnt when it was the right time to step up and when it was the right time to step back.
How do you think you think you refined and strengthened your "critical thinking" skills during your term as a mentor? Please elaborate.
Critical thinking is still a confusing term to me. I am naturally a problem solver so i always want to provided a solution. I think our critical engagement sessions which encourage critical thinking showed me that sometimes you don't need a solution you just need to discuss all aspects first
How do you think you think you refined and strengthened your "creativity" skills during your term as a mentor? Please elaborate.
Once again i think about Venters. I am by no means a dancer but myself and a friend(other mentor) choreographed our modern dance for vensters. This challenged us both creatively because we had to step out of our comfort zones completely. Creativity is sometimes a skill that is lost during our everyday lives and it felt good to tackle a project that required creative thinking and expression. By being challenged with having to choreograph and teach the Vensters dances not only were my creative skills tested but so were my self-confidence. this really helped me grow a bit more secure in my own skin.
www.sun.ac.za/bewell