MIS for BeWell 2016

I am not entirely sure how to interpret such a question however I think I learned a lot about the art of conversation through being a mentor. It's about juggling and relating your emotions to the emotions of your mentees by validating what is is that they are feeling even if you cannot fully comprehend it yourself. I feel that it's not so much about what you say or do or give to them as much as it is about showing up for them and being there when they need you.

Feedback from Equite

I strengthened my creativity skills by coming up with solutions when I had no other options. This means that I was able to come up with the idea of having a virtual meeting instead of in person when the weather did not play along or the timing to get to campus was almost impossible. I also found the confidence to pitch my ideas to the group thus learning that no idea is a silly one and that it can set the brainstorm into motion to get others thinking of ideas too. I also learned to bounce ideas off of others thus each idea becomes more creative and more optimal until eventually it can be put into practice.

Feedback from Nemesia

Similar to my above answer because all my mentees were different and different in how they acted and expressed emotion and needs I needed to get creative about how I approached and led each one.Whether that meant that I had to change my tactics to get through to a Mentee who was quite closed off understand a Mentee of a different culture or even find another mentor who could love and lead my Mentee better than I could I needed to lead each of them differently. This took creativity and a lot of time in thought and in converstation with other people.

Feedback from Nemesia

I had to find creative ways to present the BeWell topics to make it fun and interesting. for the Physical health card I took my mentees on a walk early morning and bought them a coffee. through this they would remember what the card said by linking it with the experience.

Feedback from Lydia

Because of social distancing we could not do what we did in the past. Our mentor sessions and social gatherings had to be in a different format than in previous years. I really tried to find creative ways to do these gatherings with my mentees but still create a space where they could open up to me and feel safe. I definitely enjoyed being more creative and I do think that the different and unusual circumstances of this year did not prevent solid mentor-mentee relationships being formed.

Feedback from Equite

Throughout my mentorship I have used my creativity to try and create mentor sessions that are funny engaging and informative for my mentees. Welcoming period was filled with these as it was important to create an environment that is warm and engaging so that my mentees feel comfortable and can share their true feelings with me. For example two truths and a lie was an impromptu game that we played in order to get to know one another throughout the welcoming period. In addition I had to create sessions in order to understand how people were feeling; to know: whether they liked the main session or not how the academic programme was going and whether they were generally nervous worried or excited about their first year. This was usually after one of Equite's main sessions where we would sit together as a group again and I would ask group questions and people would volunteer to answer. These question sessions were very important to me as it helped me to connect with my mentees and also helped them as well. Another example of using my creativity for my mentor sessions was on the topic of exams. As a mentor I created a session on Teams where everyone could speak and I could help with certain examination tips. Teams were important so that I could engage directly with them for the session. I was able to prepare topics beforehand such as study timetables and help them create hour templates for certain subjects. Now that the examination period is over I plan on creating feedback templates for them in order to help them be better for the second examination period and the second semester coming up. I hope to present it in a word format and for them to answer questions such as What I can improve on in terms of my study methods? or What lessons have I learnt from my first examination period? or Did I use my time wisely and efficiently?

Feedback from Hippokrates

Ah creativity ! Well the pandemic has pushed all of us to become a bit more creative. With the state of the world being creative felt like breaking out of a prison. Routine is important don't get me wrong but doing the exact same thing the exact same way every single day for over a year becomes very mundane. As a mentor I had to be creative with the questions I asked I couldn't just ask the basic 'how do you feel about COVID' question I found myself having to spice it up a lot.

Feedback from Equite

Creativity was applicable in how I conduct the mentor sessions and I feel like I did improve my creativity skills to make the sessions interactive and fun. And I love that each time I got to learn so much from my mentees and most of the time I would try to draw from my own personal experiences so I feel like that really helped as well-being as real as I can be with them and I made the environment to be friendly and I also gave them a platform to come to me with any concern that they may have. So it was all about simply being a friend who has gone through what they are going through now and ensuring that they know this. And I also strived for a more intimate relationship with them as to avoid the sense that I am doing this because I am hired to do it. So it was more like I love helping people and meeting new people and would love to get to know them than the sense of obligation and trying to force the relationship with them because it was my job. This was the approach that worked for me and I ensured that they are their best selves and I also provided them with the best support I can in different aspects of their lives.

Feedback from Nemesia

I have always been a more creative person with a love for film music and literature. But when referring to creative thinking considering a fresh perspective has always been an easier task for me to handle. I'd say I am an inclusive person which thus helped me to in a creative way welcome all my different mentees & to see their point of view in different scenarios.

Feedback from Nemesia

Feedback from Equite

Mentoring during a pandemic forced one to be very creative. I have hosted most of my mentor sessions using online platforms like MS Teams and online games.

Feedback from Equite

Being able to think on the spot when outside companies don't deliver what you are waiting for on time. Come up with activities when the weather takes you by surprise and keeping mentor sessions interesting. You learn to be creative when it comes to asking questions so that the people don't ask the same questions over and over again. Making observations is key as it gives new sparks of conversation. I learnt to use alternative thinking due to all of the above mentioned.

Feedback from Osler

I think lockdown forced the mentors to become creative in their approach to mentee groups. Social distancing changed a lot of usual activities and relying on online communication made us look for out-of-the-box ideas to keep our converesations interesting. During our mentee discussions we would often have group fun facts about ourselves to start the discussion. This would break the ice and make people more comfortable before we talked about more serious topics.

Feedback from Nemesia

I think my creativity definitely grew as I was challenged with a lot of issues that I had to solve in a creative manner. I think the fact that we have to help first years to get to know each other and to assimilate during a pandemic also teaches you creativity because you have to come up with different ways to help your mentees to get to know the other first years.

Feedback from Silene

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.

Feedback from Equite

I believe I refined and strengthened my creativity in my term as mentor by making each wellness session special. I wanted to think outside of the box and I even thought of the idea of Goal-agami where each mentee writes down their goals on a piece of paper and they fold it into a butterfly as a keep-sake. Because the levels in COVID also changed I had to think of how I could be creative in my session online - I had to make powerpoints and add my own personal flare to it. I also had to learn how to be more creative in the WhatsApp messages to encourage more replies. Using original and unique ideas to make academic sessions fun and active - I had to refer to personal experiences in exam times just to keep it light as well.

Feedback from Equite

This was definitely one of the most developed skills. I have never been someone that considered myself as creative at all but after the welcoming in designing the mentor name tags and coming up with cool ideas for mentor session and being involved in all the activities and coming up with creative solutions and ideas within our teams helped me develop that creativity skill to see the bigger picture.

Feedback from Serruria

My creativity skills were definitely refined and strengthened in my term as a mentor. I am quite creative out going and enjoy coming up with new ideas. I was able to strengthen this skill during welcoming week with my mentees when we had to do various activities and games with them that required us to adhere to lockdown regulations and still have fun. It was extremely fulfilling seeing my ideas come to life and see my mentees enjoy taking part in activities I formulated for their experience to be memorable. I had to come up with an idea to have an afternoon activity for bonding with my mentees. I took my mentees for a socially distanced movie during welcoming week at PULP and it turned out great and we all had a wonderful time.

Feedback from Equite

I had to be creative in my approach to the mentees, and in presenting to them various house opportunities, or even just in running mentor sessions, as to catch, keep, and expand their attention Having had the objective of active participation in mind, I had to think of ways to achieve this goal in a fun and appealing way

Feedback from Equite

My creativity skills were refined and strengthened through this journey as a mentor As I experienced two instances where I needed to use my creativity skills I had two mentees join my mentor group at the start of first semester and so I knew that it might be a little nerve wracking to be in new environment So I decided two plan a mini tour of the Stellenbosch campus but I wanted to make it interesting for them This was interesting for me to do because every stop that we had, I tried to make everything sound exciting and fun as well as informative I also used my creativity skill within the group chat when sending them messages about sessions so that they would be intrigued to come, although I don't think it worked out well as not many of my mentees pitched up

Feedback from Equite

I think covid really challenge many of us to think outside of the box and to get creative by thinking of ways to still live life around covid

Feedback from Minerva

My creativity skills was strengthened by working and collaborating with my fellow mentors when having to complete a task My creativity skills was also strengthened way more by asking for advice and feedback from my fellow mentors, other leaders on the way I did certain things with my mentees and how I handled different situations

Feedback from Equite

Our creativity skills were stretched beyond measures as we had to come up with innovative ideas on how we can present our sessions and meeting online Socials between houses were forced to be online and we had to come up with interesting, yet fun ways for the newcomers to interact with each other Without creativity the mentees would've gotten bored and retract from being a part of our social events Thus creativity skills is very important for us as a PSO to ensure that the mentees is enjoying their university years

Feedback from Equite

Creativity_ Because of COVID, we could not intereact physically so i used social media as a way for fun and communication We had a games/quiz night on whatsapp which was fun and creative The mentees were able to participate and enjoyed it

Feedback from Heemstede

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

Feedback from Equite

Being a leader, when of the most important skills to have is to be able to be creative Life happens and is ever changing and you can be presented with situations that requires you to adapt and think out of the box As said before, Covid-19 most definitely posed new challenges that leaders have to be able to adapt to and creativity will enable them to do so This holds a close link with critical thinking, but most definitely supports problem solving within these tough situations My creativity has definitely always been one of my strongest skills, but during this time period it has become more refined due to my active response to the change and challenges that we faced I had to use this skill to think of various ways in which things within the PSO can become better, new and better additions to the PSO and problem solving Creativity brings new and exciting things to the table

Feedback from Equite

I have had to become more creative in the way that I have had to interact with newcomers and get them involved in certain activities I have also had to become more creative in the way that I have interacted with them and provided them with information

Feedback from Nerina

I really enjoyed getting creative with the welcoming letters that i gave each of them at the beginning f their time in stellies I have also enjoyed getting creative with the ice breakers and conversation topics to get to know one another Finding new places to go and new things to do as a mentor group and even with my individual mentees has also been a creative task

Feedback from Metanoia

My ability to be creative was often tested during welcoming when trying to facilitate ice-breaker events with my mentees and trying to get my mentees to contribute during BeWell This term, many of my mentees started as quite shy and reserved and therefore to facilitate the necessary conversations to help make the BeWell and bonding sessions meaningful was often difficult Therefore, we needed to think creatively in order to make this happen As stated in my reflected of how well we managed to integrate the newcomers into university life I believe that we were able to think creatively - and therefore our creativity skills have grown and flourished

Feedback from Metanoia

Creativity was a bit think I grew with I am not a very creative person but I had to often think of creative ways to engage with my mentees and to make bewells more fun and interesting Also with covid protocols there are a lot of things we can't do anymore that we could in the past so coming up with new ways to socialize and get to know one another was challenging at times

Feedback from Metanoia

Being creative is something i developed as a mentor This was particuarly prevalent in the mentor camp we conducted prior to Welcoming week We had to come up with team names, create our ultimate mentor, do team bonding activites that required us to think on our feet, and be creative In doing all of this, my creativity levels have strengthened I think creativity is also vital to keep people on their toes, keep everything fresh, and keep people engaged This is something we emphasisied as a leadership body, and it was successful

Feedback from Metanoia

I have always been a very creative person I was in charge of my section in Residence's decorating, and had to think of practical ways to do so creatively on a very tight budget, as I did not want to ask for an unreasonable amount of money from my section members should it be exceeded I really had to learn how to take my creative ideas and make them practical and achievable

Feedback from Metanoia

At times the 'set' way of how we had been instructed to do the job seemed in efficient in effectively helping my mentees This includes things such as the proposed structure of BeWells as i found it was not always suited to my specific mentee group I found my creativity improved as came up with my own ideas to avail myself as more effective in engaging with my mentees

Feedback from Metanoia

There had been a period where my mentees were so busy that there was no time to actually have a BeWell meeting Some of my mentees weren't even in res at the time I mean in between Clayton just wanting to be in his room, Zack, Cade and Nash were always wanting to chase the vibe of the res, Scott always had First team Maties hockey practice and Marcus just always wanted to be with his significant other I had to capitalize on the fact that no matter how busy one getsone has to be on their cellular device at some point I decided to do a conference video call over Whatsapp where I held a to-the-point BeWell meeting just to check up on how they were actually doing Turns out my mentees were transitioning and integrating with Metanoia regardless of the covid protocol obstacleNO doubt that if covid was not a thing, the rest of Metanoia would enjoy the place even more

Feedback from Metanoia

Creativity was not really the strong suit during this time of mentor ship as the app really gave a structure on what was to be done and the only real room for creativity there was just in our implementation which just boils down to personality

Feedback from Serruria

Through collaboration and thinking outside of the best. Sharing ideas and bouncing off ideas off of people created such a creative and flexible environment.

Feedback from Equite

There were many situations during welcoming that called for us to be creative such as assisting our welcoming leader Tayla Fourie with coming up with ideas for the welcoming program concerning sessions and what these sessions would entail exactly. This called for us to be creative and think outside the box mainly because we wanted to planned fresh new sessions that were seen as original by the rest of the house but also because we had to work around covid regulations.

Feedback from Minerva

I am naturally born creative and I have always been creative this is the different element I brought to the table. My creativity was stretched when it came to problem solving during orientation week however I believe I assisted many other with their creativity which improved my own as a result.

Feedback from Serruria

I think I definitely strengthened my creativity skills because( a little bit unrelated to this) I had to decorate my section and that really made me be creative because I am not naturally creative. I think I also had to think of different ways to present the sessions I had so that it was interesting and engaging. Whether that be sharing my own experience first or sharing experts opinions versus letting the mentees share from the start was dependant on the session itself. I also grew in being creative in approaching my mentees. I realised that some were very eager for group sessions whilst others were not really bothered. I knew then I had to then knock on their doors and check on them so my approach was different for each mentee.

Feedback from Nemesia

I learned how to be a more creative person when I had to think of things that we could do as a mentor group. I also had to be creative when thinking of solutions to any issues or concerns that my mentees had. I encouraged my mentees to be creative when working on studies to ensure that it could be more fun for them. One also needs to be creative when working in a group towards something. Because we were not able to have social events we had to be creative in planning things that would ensure we still had n great welcoming and year.

Feedback from Nemesia

My thinking and problem-solving definitely developed more creatively. Sometimes you are faced with a problem that cannot be solved with knowledge or logistics you must be imaginative and think outside the box.

Feedback from Nemesia

The way my creativity skills were strengthened and refined during my term was when I had to find different ways to do mentor sessions whilst still abiding to the covid safety protocols. So normally mentor sessions were held in the Nessies but because there is a maximum of 3 people I could not be there for my sessions so I would have to think of a bigger space that will still be sizeable for us to be safely close together. Another way was when I did not have time to host my sessions I would have to find a creative way online to have them. Overall the corona virus enhanced my creativity skills.

Reflections 2021

Submissions/Reflections from Mentors per Residence and PSO

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

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