Per Welcome Period Topic & Residence/PSO
Feedback from Aurora
I learned how to lead a team and work with them and also how to work with other mentors and upper leadership to achieve things together.
Feedback from Capri
I learned that as mentors we are all one big team and I one of us doesn't bring his or her part the team can't function properly so we have to always give our best so we as a team can run as smoothly as possible.
Feedback from Oude Molen
Throughout the welcoming period you have to work with your fellow mentors and House Committee I had to learn to take positive criticism as well as how to help others out if they weren't available.
Feedback from Nerina
Being assigned five completely different human beings all with different life-outlooks from different background and with different beliefs is a challenging concept to have to tackle initially. In the beginning you (and them) know literally nothing about each other and as they are all different they all have different emotions triggered through each task/day of Welcoming and thus having to work through the possibly diverse emotions experienced by each member of the mentee group on the daily absolutely strengthened my collaboration skills. I think what really refined this skill of mine was learning to listen to each mentee in the group and trying to name the predominant emotion/feeling being relayed throughout what they were saying. I did not always name the correct feeling and then they would correct me- and it is through this correcting that I learnt to listen better. And as such feelings/emotions were named it made it easier for other members of the group to agree or relate thus aiding collaboration and resulting in the group gelling very well as even though they felt different emotions at different times naming and talking about why they felt such emotions helped them to better understand each other and build stronger relationships.
Feedback from Equite
Being able to collaborate is a very important skill that in needed in a mentoring team. This is because your help is needed not only in your small mentor group with your mentees but also in your big mentor group with other mentors. I believe my collaboration skills were strengthened as in the beginning of the mentoring term we had set goals for ourselves. Mine being to try and get over 15 mentoring sessions done with my mentor partner. It is safe to say I accomplished this. As a group our goal was also to help each other out wherever we can. It is safe to say we did this. Often advice was shared between mentors to give the mentees the best possible experience. My mentoring success would not be possible without the collaboration of my team. Through out the year we had to communicate our feelings and intentions. This strengthened my collaboration skills as now everyone knew how we all felt and had a clearer idea on how to approach things moving forward. This prevented anyone from feeling upset or lost. A key part to strengthening my collaboration skills is learning to listen to other and finding a compromise. This occurred often as I would have to listen to others and then try help them find their own solution to their problem or work together and find a mutual solution to our problem. Being open minded was also a key part of strengthening the collaboration skill. This is because we are all from different backgrounds and see things differently thus we have different ways of approaching things. Emphasising the need to collaborate together for the best possible outcome.
Feedback from Nemesia
Similar to communication I think that the mentee-mentor partnership and the mentor-mentor partnership helped my collaboration skills.The reciprocal relationship between myself and my mentees allowed me to understand them and them to understand me. This allowed for mutual understanding and a sound relationship where I could support them and they could understand my actions and words.The collaborated efforts of the mentor team also allowed for so many new friendships and a sound and loving atmosphere where everyone was loved and supported in their leadership.
Feedback from Nemesia
I invited some HC members to be present when I have sessions with my mentees especially the individual sessions. the one time I went to cut two of my mentees hair. through this process I learned more about them made sure they were mentally and physically okay and two HC members were also their cutting their hair. this was a good bonding session and through this there was collaboration between different groups.
Feedback from Lydia
I really enjoyed working with my mentor team. Everyone had something they brought to the table and it was nice to hear al the different ideas and solutions to problems. We really worked together on ensuring that all our mentees were having a good time while staying safe.
Feedback from Equite
Collaboration was a very important aspect of my mentoring journey. When I received my mentoring faculty I was quite shocked because as a BA Law student engineering was not something which I had any knowledge about nor did I have any friends who studied engineering. Consequently I felt that I had insufficient knowledge on the degree (the difficulty what it entailed how to study etc.) and feared that I would not be a good enough mentor for my mentees. Despite my fear I felt that I needed to take action and work with others so that I could be a better mentor for my mentees. I sent a message to my mentor group asking if they knew any mentor students. When I had received a contact I messaged the engineering student asking for advice with regards to subject difficulty examination preparation etc. I think this experience was a true example of teamwork for my mentees and from the positive feedback I knew that the information I received was beneficial and relevant. I think that as a mentor it is important to listen to the wants and needs of my mentoring group. As such collaboration was an important asset that I used during my mentoring journey in order to understand what I need to do for them or what they wanted from me. Open communication was important in this regard and it was something which I tried to establish since day 1 of welcoming. Our teamwork has been shown in many areas for example when it came to study methods and examination preparation instead of simply giving information on what I thought was important I asked one of my mentees what they struggled with. They said study timetables so I gave them information about my hour-block method and how to prioritize time for certain subjects during the examination period.
Feedback from Hippokrates
As a mentor you are forever collaborating with your fellow mentors House comm members keen and worried parents who just want the best for their children and of course your mentees. Working on all these different levels made me feel like I was a 5 star Michelin chef who was serving 7 different restaurants it was a lot of pressure at times but even that can make diamonds. So I sharpened my collaboration skills by just letting the moment take charge being present.
Feedback from Equite
Collaboration was so important during welcoming and I really would not have made it through if it was not for my mentor team and I was grateful for that. I mean everyone was willing to help one another and sometimes they would do things without you even asking and they also provided support which is what I took away from it the whole leadership was united and it was not just in front of the newcomers but it just was innate as we all wanted the welcoming week to be a success. That is what I took away from my term as a mentor that support and the willingness to help one another goes a long way and when you all have the same vision it comes naturally. I apply that in everything I do now as with the mentor session I also ask some of the other mentors for help and collaborate with them with the aim of just pouring into each other's cups to ensure that we give our mentees the best guidance. I could not have asked for a better mentor team.
Feedback from Nemesia
I can sometimes find it difficult to work in a group. I often feel lead to just do tasks by myself because of fear for failing I guess. Working in a mentoring team helped me work in my collaboration quality. I could learn more from my fellow leaders and they are so inspiring & helped me develop certain qualities I'm weaker in.
Feedback from Nemesia
I can sometimes find it difficult to work in a group. I often feel lead to just do tasks by myself because of fear for failing I guess. Working in a mentoring team helped me work in my collaboration quality. I could learn more from my fellow leaders and they are so inspiring & helped me develop certain qualities I'm weaker in.
Feedback from Equite
I was not able to collaborate much with other mentors due to all the covid-19 restrictions.
Feedback from Equite
Meeting the mentor and HC team you collaborate and form a unit that is strong and dependable. None of this could have been done if everyone had the attitude of every man for himself this is 100% a team effort and having all these people supporting and helping each other prevented a burn out. We were all tired by the end of O-week working as a team so I don't even want to imagine trying to pull it all off single-handedly. Realizing that you need the help of people and their ideas definitely improved my collaboration skills as knowing you have backup is extremely relieving. Fighting a battle with many people beside you will increase your chances of a victory.
Feedback from Osler
I think my collaboration skills increased as the mentor group became a team and groupwork was necessary for effective communication. Finding suitable times for everyone to discuss and monitoring the actual discussions to make sure everyone's voice was heard required collaboration on our part and I think my teamwork skills when working in non face-to-face situations improved greatly.I think previously I used to shy away from taking the lead in groups but I lead a lot of the decisions in our mentor group. Our group also had ground rules of respect and appreciation for everyone's opinions which lead to open and friendly discussions. There was a mutual respect between everyone which made our interactions a lot more pleasant and enjoyable.
Feedback from Nemesia
When you are in a mentoring team you have to work together with your other mentors and get along with them. I feel I have always been fairly decent at collaborating with other people however being in a mentoring team elevated this for me. I really enjoyed working with and hearing ideas from people who are not similar to me as I feel this really allows you to gain perspective on certain things.
Feedback from Silene
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.
Feedback from Equite
As I have mentioned I am not studying accounting and this really forced me to walk the extra mile for my Mentees. In this way I had to collaborate with two friends of mine one who studies accounting and another who also studies accounting but was also a mentor. I often had to collaborate with them in my mentor academic sessions so that I can have the important information and answers that my Mentees may need. Collaborating with them has taught me so much about the field. With regards to my mentor team I often found myself collaborating with them to form new ideas and plans of action to encourage participation. It forced me to work with other people and hear how they have handled other situations so that I could better equip myself and also help others if necessary.
Feedback from Equite
I definitely learnt a lot about working with people and building my network. Learning to be self aware and to implement that when dealing with different people in the teams. I managed to pick up a little something from each individuals I worked with to help build myself as a leader and I learnt how to communicate trust and work in unison with different people.
Feedback from Serruria
This was such an important aspect of my term as a mentor and collaboration with our mentor team was the main place I experienced it. We always stood united as a team and aimed to work together at all times when trying to solve a problem coming up with ideas giving advice and supporting each other. This became my family and I felt that all our different personalities and ways of thinking meshed together and collaborated while we worked together in our term of office. I always experienced a professional work ethic from each mentor and together we made a wonderful team. Another collaboration was with the mentors and the HK and here I felt that my collaboration skills were strengthened immensely. Our HK was so supportive and included us in decisions discussions planning and treated us as one of their team mates. I learnt here about fairness and equality among different leadership structures and how they can collaborate in aid of a big picture that needed to be executed(welcoming week). Collaborating felt like a sisterhood to me and that's my take away from my experience because my concept of collaboration has become the notion of family respect equality and teamwork infused as one.
Feedback from Equite
If it wasn't for the help and support of my fellow mentors and the House Committee, my term as a mentor would not have been successful at all I learned the skill of networking, and knowing who to go to for different things
Feedback from Equite
I think strengthened my collaboration skills by listening to people's ideas and not dismissing them immediately in my head because I realized that sometimes what they were saying pointed out faults in what I said but also allowed me to open minded to the fact not everyone is like me With that in mind I had to make sure I was bouncing ideas of my team rather than just saying this is how we should do it I usually tend not ask for help when I'm having trouble but I noticed that expressing my worries and concerns about the mentor sessions I was having to head mentor and a few of the other mentors allowed me to collaborate with them as they had a different perspective from me This mentoring experience really allowed me to improve on my collaboration skill
Feedback from Equite
One of the other mentors and I had to the same faculty group for mentees, thus we collaborate many times with our groups so that our mentees gets to know more people
Feedback from Minerva
When applying for mentoring I originally wanted the physical or emotional well-being pillars, but instead I go something completely out of my comfort zone, which was the intellectual pillar Taking on this pillar that completely falls outside of my comfort zone forced me to rely on the expertise of others, which helped to strengthen my collaboration skills The time spent with my fellow mentors, doing activities together and working with them to reach the same goal also strengthened my collaboration abilities,
Feedback from Equite
I definitely strengthened my collaboration skills during my term as a mentor also due to the fact that it was during Covid-19 protocols I became more open-minded as we had to become more open to and accepting of new and creative ideas to fulfill our duties as mentors with all the protocols in line We had to become more adaptable towards our events and quickly think about solutions if we had to change the last minute arrangements to ensure that everybody can attend and is safe when attending
Feedback from Equite
Collaboration skills- Because of COVID, it was so important for me to interacted as much with my mentees and HC We were all able to work together The Hc was always hepful when i struggled Also, other mentors were always willing to help out
Feedback from Heemstede
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
Feedback from Equite
Being put in this leadership position within the University structure has taught me how to collaborate with various different people Working with a lot of different personality types and learning how to communicate with each other was a challenge, because all of us have very strong personalities which is really amazing Working together to achieve a common goal, which was to insure that the mentees are fully equiped for student life has brought us all together in a different type of way Having to work together, create new ideas and to help each other has truly opened my eyes to whole new styles of leadership and work ethic Learning to co-operate and listen to one another within this collaboration has helped me improve in the way of me understanding these leadership structures and working together as a leadership team within the PSO aswell as with relevant organizers
Feedback from Equite
I have become a lot more silent in the way that I work with others and have tried not to get irritable or funny with people when collaborating with them Even though there have been individuals I have not gotten along with, I have been able to be more understanding and to think harder before I speak or comment
Feedback from Nerina
My mentees came from all over the country, some from Stellies, Durban and East London It was challenging at first to find some middle ground to talk about with the girls as they each came from such different backgrounds but nonetheless I found that by digging a bit deeper with each person that one can easily find things to build a relationship off of and help them form relationships in amongst themselves just by asking the right questions in out group setting
Feedback from Metanoia
Being surrounded by fantastic leaders has been a catalyst for the development of my personal character and leadership skills Collaborating with the fantastic leaders and people in our mentor body has aided in the development of my understanding of what it means to be a team player I think that undoubtedly, my ability to work and function in a team has developed thanks to my mentoring journey Of course, being able to function in a team is a result of improved collaboration skills, and therefore I feel this mentoring journey has successfully helped me become a better collaborator This is exciting as it is a skill which I can apply outside of my university life
Feedback from Metanoia
I definitely learnt that working as a team is much better then trying to do work thing alone especially with the whole mentoring position There was often times when I didn't know how to deal with a situation and just getting help or opinions from my fellow mentors helped a lot Also seeing how my mentees grew to become a team with one another throughout the year was amazing to watch and just how well they work together
Feedback from Metanoia
Collaboration skills allow you to strive towards a common goal: a bigger picture with fellow leaders This includes clear communication, active listening (something i mentioned earlier in one of the other questions), being accountable for your actions, and respecting the diversity of your fellow mentors, regardless of their backgrounds Furthermore, you have to be open-minded in which you accept new ideas, you have to be organised, and you have to be adapatable I, as a mentor, have seen the importance of having all of these skills, as well as the downside of when you lack these skills The way i strengthend these skills was through learning: seeking advice from fellow leaders of what i did right in a situation, what i did incorrectly etc and then learning how i can improve these skills or what i should do next time, should a similar situation arise Furthermore, i learnt the hard way This was when i maybe miscommunincated something to another mentor and i saw how false info spread I learnt the difficult way, however as a result, i have strenghened my collaboration skills
Feedback from Metanoia
Being mentor obviously involves being a part of a team I think I've always been fairly good at listening to others' input and ideas, but not as good at giving my own I'm always worried I come across as bossy or trying to take control As I was very comfortable with my mentor team, I became better at raising opinions and giving input This went beyond just the mentor team as I found myself doing it in conversations with other groups (such as during assignments or conversations with the HK) With this, my communication skills also bettered I learned that collaboration goes both ways I also again saw the importance of having diverse opinions when making arrangements and plans, and being able to integrate them
Feedback from Metanoia
I found during welcoming week a lot of collaboration was done within my section and i have improved in working in a team by realizing that often the things i lack can be taken on by those better suited to it and vice versa Moreover, within the leadership body i saw the effectiveness of collaboration where individual strengths can come together to achieve tasks more efficiently
Feedback from Metanoia
The first and last time that we, as a team, went out together was blissful We went to a restaurant called Bramptons and just had a time getting to know each other even better over wine Need I say that the decision to go to Bramptons was one that was made on the whim We, the mentors, had just been allocated free-time on what i recall was the 4th or 5th day during O-week Half of the body went to Bramptons using an Uber while the other half walked Might I add, the team was looking so good; our fashion sense as a Mentor body was on point Anyways, we get there Everyone was still a bit to themselves considering that that day was our first time out that is until the wine bottles arrived After the arrival of the infamous wine bottles, it was just a mess We were all just intoxicated One of the mentors had called an uber for the individuals who just could not hold their wine glass anymore Might I add that the act of calling an uber for that specific cause spoke to the collaboration of the team as a whole even in an informal setting
Feedback from Metanoia
Having a co-mentor really helped with this as we frequently had to collaborate on most things we did with our Mentees and thus it paved the way for teamwork and collaboration to be explored
Feedback from Serruria
I did so by realizing that I could not do everything on my own and the art of delegation is what makes a team successful. It is understanding that mentorship is a team effort.
Feedback from Equite
Towards the end of welcoming the mentor group was still unified yet became slightly more divided as some mentors became less punctual in terms of session attendance. Once I picked this up I tried my best to form an even stronger bond with the individuals in this particular group since I did not want to make any snap-judgments or assumptions. This was different to what I would usually gravitate towards doing. I would usually just allow the situation to play out and make sure that whatever I would need to be doing gets done and that I fulfil all of my responsibilities as a mentor. I made more of effort to understand why it was that they were doing what they did and realized that they were most probably just exhausted like the most of us. They had just expressed the exhaustion a nit differently.
Feedback from Minerva
I have never been good at working with people my accountability partner Alyce and my head mentor really helped me with this. I was able to learn how to adapt my ideas and merge them with my accountability partner and my team as a whole. When my accountability partner and I planned our event I had to learn to collaborate our ideas.
Feedback from Serruria
I have definitely strengthened my collaboration skills in two ways. Firstly with my mentor team. I think especially in welcoming week you have to work together to support one another learn from each other and get advice from one another. Even throughout the year knowing that my mentor team could help me address something really helped me see the importance of collaboration. Another thing was the dynamic of section mentor and academic mentor was another big area I learnt about collaboration. If a mentee asks me about academics I am not doing then I knew I could refer them to their academic mentor and the problem will be addressed. Secondly in my group sessions with the mentees I think the conversations were really helpful only because of everyone's input and thoughts. I could never have shared advice that would be so useful if it was just me giving my thoughts. There is definitely power in collaboration through diverse experiences and thoughts.
Feedback from Nemesia
My collaboration skills were improved due to having to work in a team with the other mentors. I learned that everyone has different perspectives and how to approach conflict or issues. I had to take part in activities we planned as a group and when we had events during welcoming. Working in a team towards a goal teaches you how to use everyone's strengths to achieve that goal. I learned how to step out of my comfort zone and actively take part and collaborate in activities and form bonds with others. I learned how to approach others and include everyone in a group setting. Most of all I know that when should enjoy the moments you are in.
Feedback from Nemesia
In a mentoring team you must be able to set your own interests apart in favour of the bigger group. We all came from different backgrounds and different classes and so we had a lot of barriers but we managed to work with them instead of against them and use our differences as positives. We realized that because we are so different we have a member of the team representing almost every type of person in our res. It is important to listen to all these sides to make the best decision as a team.
Feedback from Nemesia
The way I did this was just to stay the open minded person that I am and that then would allow me to see other perspectives of other people that I work with and understand where they are coming from.
www.sun.ac.za/bewell