Developing Your Mentor Philosophy
Date: August 2018 – December 2018
Competencies: Values lv. 1&2, Teams lv. 2&3
Competencies: Values lv. 1&2, Teams lv. 2&3
Summary
During the fall semester of my second year at MNSU, I took the Honors seminar class ‘Developing Your Mentor Philosophy.’ Throughout the semester, we discussed what a mentoring relationship entailed, as well as talking about emotional intelligence and knowledge as they relate to the mentoring relationship. In class each week, we would discuss parts of the book we read throughout the semester, Theatetus, which was written by Plato. We also As part of the class, I also worked on building and incorporating a mentor philosophy into my job as a Community Advisor and with my Honors mentee, Cole.
During the fall semester of my second year at MNSU, I took the Honors seminar class ‘Developing Your Mentor Philosophy.’ Throughout the semester, we discussed what a mentoring relationship entailed, as well as talking about emotional intelligence and knowledge as they relate to the mentoring relationship. In class each week, we would discuss parts of the book we read throughout the semester, Theatetus, which was written by Plato. We also As part of the class, I also worked on building and incorporating a mentor philosophy into my job as a Community Advisor and with my Honors mentee, Cole.
Reflection
At the beginning of class, we started by learning about the mentoring relationship: what it requires, the different roles, and the goal.
The two roles that stood out most to me were being a guide and a referral agent (Values lv. 1). As a Community Advisor, I was very heavily a guide for my students. I was also a referral agent to many other campus resources, especially when I did not have the skills or capabilities to handle the issue. I was a mentor to a multitude of residents as a CA, helping them adjust to campus living and college classes. I learned that I enjoy the challenge of sharing knowledge in a specific way to each resident, catered to their background and situation (Values lv. 2). It was also very enjoyable to build the initial relationships with my residents. As mentees, there were very receptive to my help, since we all had the common goal of adjusting well and doing good at college (Teams lv. 3).
My Honors mentee Cole was also an experience that played a part in my learning process during the semester. As a freshman, Cole lacked the knowledge and experience of campus life and the Honors program, and I was there to help him adjust and thrive (Teams lv. 2). We met a couple times during the duration of the semester. He was a fairly independent mentee, and that gave me anxiety about how good of a job I was doing as a mentor. However, he was appreciative of our mentoring relationship.
As a mentor, I struggled with emotional intelligence, particularly emotional self-perception. I felt that being a mentor helped build that self-perception a little bit, but will continue to grow as a go through various professional and social relationships. Learning about the mentoring relationship has helped build a framework I can base future relationships off.
At the beginning of class, we started by learning about the mentoring relationship: what it requires, the different roles, and the goal.
The two roles that stood out most to me were being a guide and a referral agent (Values lv. 1). As a Community Advisor, I was very heavily a guide for my students. I was also a referral agent to many other campus resources, especially when I did not have the skills or capabilities to handle the issue. I was a mentor to a multitude of residents as a CA, helping them adjust to campus living and college classes. I learned that I enjoy the challenge of sharing knowledge in a specific way to each resident, catered to their background and situation (Values lv. 2). It was also very enjoyable to build the initial relationships with my residents. As mentees, there were very receptive to my help, since we all had the common goal of adjusting well and doing good at college (Teams lv. 3).
My Honors mentee Cole was also an experience that played a part in my learning process during the semester. As a freshman, Cole lacked the knowledge and experience of campus life and the Honors program, and I was there to help him adjust and thrive (Teams lv. 2). We met a couple times during the duration of the semester. He was a fairly independent mentee, and that gave me anxiety about how good of a job I was doing as a mentor. However, he was appreciative of our mentoring relationship.
As a mentor, I struggled with emotional intelligence, particularly emotional self-perception. I felt that being a mentor helped build that self-perception a little bit, but will continue to grow as a go through various professional and social relationships. Learning about the mentoring relationship has helped build a framework I can base future relationships off.
Artifact
Attached is my Mentor Philosophy paper I wrote as a capstone for the class.
Attached is my Mentor Philosophy paper I wrote as a capstone for the class.