Week 2

I thought we had a great discussion in class last week. I really hearing everyone's ideas about the different subjects we cover in class. It is important that we identify what a peer mentor’s role is to make us effective peer leaders. Peer mentors can be seen in many different areas especially here at Iowa State. We have a special role as Hixson Peer Mentors because our program is so unique. I believe that students appreciate our program and we set our standards high for being great peer mentors.

Each student that enters the Hixson program is unique because everyone is facing different challenges than someone else. It is nearly impossible for us to be prepared for every challenge that our students may be facing when they arrive here at Iowa State. We can, however, explore many different common problems as a way to help us learn how to be problem solvers. The best way to help our students is to provide them with the resources to help them be successful students.

It is the little things in life that really make people’s day. I always think back to the FISH video and how we can pick our attitudes. If we are in a good mood every class period, it will help put our students in good moods and help them obtain a positive attitude. Another little thing is following up with students. Any time a student ask you a question it is very important that you follow up with an answer or a resource. This lets the student know that you care about their success and that you followed through with their concern. It is also important that after we answer their question that we follow up with them in a few weeks, just to see how everything is going. This really lets them know that you care.

I am looking forward discussing our MBTI step twos in class this week. I always find those to be an interesting and effective tool for self awareness.

Have a great week!



An effort made for the happiness of others lifts us above ourselves. ~ Lydia M. Child

Week 1

It is always nice to get the semester off to a running start. I am feeling a little bit overwhelmed with the many projects and general homework that I am going to have this semester. I need to continue to practice good organization skills and keep myself motivated throughout this semester. I am excited for the challenge of this semester because it will force me to set my goals high. I always look forward to all the great things a new semester has to offer.

I am also excited about getting to know a new group of Hixson Peer Mentors. I find that I learn so much from other people and hearing about their experiences. It is always interesting to listen to different point of views from mentors with different backgrounds. I am also enjoying the fact that we got a new text book for the class. I am looking forward to obtaining new ideas about being a peer mentor.

An experience I look ahead to every year is ISCORE. It is one of my favorite events at Iowa State. I always learn new facts about a culture and I find it very interesting. I feel privileged that Iowa State has such an outstanding event. I also really like that students give a lot of the presentations. It shows there dedication to wanting to be educated and to edcuate others on various sensitive subjects.

I am very excited about this semester and getting to know all of the other peer mentors. I think this is going to be another great group of leaders!


"By learning you will teach; by teaching you will learn." - Latin Proverb

School of Dreams

The book I am reading is called School of Dreams: Making the Grade at a Top American High School. The book is documenting what jouralist Edward Humes witnessed at Whitney High School in California. At the time, it was ranked as one of the top public schools in America. Humes gives an interesting behind the scenes look at how great of a high school it really is. I am about one third of the way through the book and I have already learned so much. Whitney high school may be one of the best, but it is terrible on the students that attend the school. Many students only average about 2-4 hours of sleep per night and are expected to be involved in about everything they possibly can be. It have realized that students do not just struggle because they may be poor or find school challenging. They also struggle because they are put under far too much pressure and are expected to do things that even adults should not be expected to handle. I have really enjoyed this book so far and I am excited to read more about Whitney High School.

Reflecting on MBTI

It is always nice to have a good MBTI refresher. I learn something new about myself everytime we discuss this assessment. I feel that in the last few years that I have became very comfortable being an 'I'. But I also know that I am a little more on the 'E' side than I would have ever imagined. The experience I have gained by being a peer mentor and other experiences on campus have made me more comfortable with expressing my ideas. I know that I am definitely an Introvert because of my need for alone time and my very independent nature, but I am glad that I have become more comfortable expressing myself around Es.

I have a very strong preference for sensing. Some of the things listed under this preference really stand out to me because they are very true to my personality. It says that I am reluctant to change things that are working well. This is very true for me because I have a very hard time with change especially if it in unnecessary. It also says that sometimes I get stuck on detials at the expense of larger considerations. This is so true for me. I get easy distracted by the small little details of projects such as my landscape designs. I can spend hours making all the little details right when I still have large parts of the project to complete. I am very particular about certain details and I do not feel right about the project unless they are complete.

I also have a very strong preference for perceiving. I am completely aware that I am a pressure prompted person. I do my best work under pressure and no matter how hard I try to change this, I just cannot. It is a part of me. I am also a very spontaneous person. I really do try and plan things out, but I find myself just going with the flow and doing things when i randomly feel like it.

I really enjoy MBTI and I think it is a great way to take a deeper look at why we are they way were are. It is important to know how we handle situations so we know how to plan for school and other activities. It is also a great way to look at ways to improve on your skills and make communicating with other people easier.

Internship

This summer I am working as the Education Intern at Reiman Gardens. This internship helps incorporate both of my majors which are Agriculture Education and Horticulture. I get the opportunity to give tours to both adults and children at the gardens. I will be in charge of the Summer Day Camp in July and I am working on various other projects throughout the summer.
Being an intern is also great because we get to go on field trips. Last week, we took at trip to Des Moines. Although the weather did not cooperate, it was still a lot of fun. We toured the Better Homes and Gardens test garden, the Des Moines Art Center, Terrace Hill and the Botanical Center. It was a great experience and it also gave us interns time to get to know each other even better.
I also get the opportunity to docent in the butterfly wing. This is an awesome experience and allows for more time to help educate the public. It seems like everyone who enters the garden wants to learn which makes my job enjoyable. This coming weekend, the gardens will be having an event called Rose Festival. Many of our roses are now in bloom and we will be having the Iowa Rose Society Annual Rose Show. We host many wonderful events through at the year at Reiman Gardens and there are many more coming up soon. In July, we will be having a Wine Festival and Garden Art Fair. I am very excited to get the opportunity to work these events and make our visitors' visit worth while.

Diversity Event: Truth is on Its Way

Truth is on Its Way!

I went to the diversity event called Truth is on Its Way. It was a lecture with guest speaker Nikki Giovanni. She grew up during the 1960s Black Arts Movement. She is one of America's most distinguished and widely read African American poets, authors and essayists. She has been a very well spoken activist for a quarter of a century and is determined as ever. She fights for civil rights and equality in education. Nineteen of her twenty books are sill in print today. Some of her books are Black Feeling, Black Talk, and Black Judgement. She also writes children's books.

She shared with us the process of her children's book, Lincoln and Douglas: An American Friendship. It was about how Ab Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas had a friendship in the sense that they were both working towards freeing the slaves. She told of a story when Ab Lincoln received too much change and was honest enough to give it back. It was only a nickel but a nickel would have bought an acre of land in Lincoln Heights at the time. Lincoln Heights is where all the African Americans fled to from Cincinnati when the lynching was going on and it is where Nikki grew up. Lincoln and Douglas had a few things in common like a dry sense of humor and they both loved food.

She also read some of her love poems. She told us, that if you are not in love, you should be. Get rid of the ideas about what you think love is or who it is and just find something, anything that you love.

She is an African American, who is constantly fighting for her rights and others. She is currently a professor at Virginia Tech and has survived lung cancer. I found her very inspirational. She definitely has a strong voice and knows where she stands.

My favorite quote of hers was, "All you have is your voice."

Resources

Last week, we spent the class period traveling around campus to find where all the important campus resources are located. It was a lot of fun and I think it was a great team building activity and it incorporated information that we will need to know for next fall. My group decided to find the easier places but we learned that there are A LOT of donations of different areas on campus. It was a lot of fun to race around and find out new things about campus.

I found out last year, that it is a very effective tool to take your students to different places on campus. There are places like the Study Abroad office and the Career Counseling services that we know about, but our students might not be familiar with. It is really helpful to students to show them were things are located so they feel more comfortable going there themselves. I think it is important that we as peer mentors have a good base knowledge of the resources around campus. Although, I know it is hard to know about ALL the resources so we need to be effective in finding out information and getting back to our students about it.

I think we can be a good tool for each other when it comes to campus resources. It is important that we share our past experience with other peers to help them reach out for their students. I know that last year we fed of each other as peer mentors a lot and it was a very successful tool. I am constantly trying to learn more about Iowa State, and what is has to offer. I have found that you can learn the most by just checking places out yourself, and researching what different areas on campus has to offer.

Have a great week everyone!