Busy Week!

The past week was full of many events and it really to me into the "mentoring" mood. The MBTI step two was interesting and it was a lot of fun to read. While looking at the detailed explanations about my type some things really stood out to me. I am still an ISFP which I have been since I was a freshman. I feel comfortable for the most part with my type. While looking deeper into the sensing preference I noticed a few things that I thought really described me well. The first being that I take pride in my common sense and the ability to realistically appraise situations which I truly do. I find great strength in having common sense and "street smarts." I also relate this to how well I remember random facts about life and I use them to apply to new situations. This also reminds me of another preference of mine which is the fact that I can get stuck on details. This is very true because I can remember the most detailed things about my past and I get caught up in the details of a big project quite often. It also talks about how I am seen more as a matter of a fact person which I definitely agree with because I like to tell it how it is. I agree with the perceiving type more than any of the others because I am very pressure prompted, casual, and spontaneous. I definitely work best under pressure and I love to procrastinate. I prefer to be casual and I am very laid back. I think to be spontaneous and I truly do enjoy freedom. The type traits that I did not necessarily agree with were that of the introversion type. I am very comfortable being a introvert but I do not agree with the receiving aspect of it. It states that I consider social obligations unimportant and leave them to others. This is definitely not true. I do act quiet around new people but with my friends and family I talk all the time and I love to be social. It also says that I do not enjoy phone calls, but I actually really love them! But then just below the receiving preference is that I am expressive and that states that I talk a lot and I am seen as social rather than reserved. This is very true with people that I know and feel comfortable with. I thought the step two was very helpful and it really made me dig deep into my type.

The leadership institute on Friday was a nice refresher course. I went to the session about Kolb's Learning Styles Inventory. This was a great reminder of what my learning style was and how knowing my learning style can help me work better with others. My learning style was a pragmatist. This means that I am good at problem solving and decision making. My weakness is solving the wrong problem or having hasty decision making. I agree with this for the most part. We did a fun little activity with building a paper tower. Mine failed miserably but I gave it a good attempt.

ISLE: I got the opportunity to go the guest speaker session. I thought that David Coleman was a great speaker and really kept the audience engaged. I liked how he had a fun outlook on everything, and how he really stands by the theory of picking your attitude. I like how he brought in our leadership focus with his presentation and put a nice spin on how leaders can be positive. The second session I went to was the Financial Aid session which was taught by Allie and Tara. I thought this was a great session and I learned how I could find out how much loans I do have now and how I can better manage my money. I manage my money fairly well but there is definitely room for improvement. I realized during the session that I should waste less money on little things, because that is what really adds up for me. i spend money on things that I do not necessarily need but just want. it is not a lot of money usually just a few dollars, but that really can add up in the long run. I need to make sure I am keeping my future in perspective when buying things that I do not need.

Hope everyone got a great start to their week! See you Tuesday!

...from high school to college...

The transition from high school to college is not easy for anyone. Everyone has their own story and faces their own changes that come along with the transition to college. I look back at some of the issues that I faced and I know that my problems were small compared to what some students will face. It is important to keep in mind that we all are going through different things, and sometimes just being able to relate to the fact that it is hard gives students comfort. As I reflected on the questions that they asked us for the go around, I came to the conclusion that I worry about many different things now than I did when I was a freshman. I think that we also are constantly transitioning to adapt to our college life now.

Schlossberg's Transition Theory is a great thing to keep in mind when dealing with transitioning students. As I took a look at the four different Ss, I was surprised at how true they really seem to be. With my transition to college, support was the main factor that helped my transition possible. I had a great experience with getting a random roommate. We became almost instant friends and we are still roommates today. I also had a lot of support from my family and my boyfriend. Even though they were not at college with me, they would encourage me and be there when I just needed to talk. As a mentor, I would like to have the relationship with my students, in a way that I could be a small part in their support system while they are transitioning. This chapter made me remeber how important it is to treat every students situation differently and how important it is to be supportive to them.

I enjoyed the activity that we did in class. I thought it was a great activity to get everyone involved and to hear what other people have struggled with. I think our class has a good diversity of ideas and I think it will help us to be strong peer mentors next fall.

BLOGGING!

It is now time to get back into the routine of blogging again. I am very excited to get to know all the new peer mentors. I am looking forward to having a new experience with mentoring and having different people around me will help me gain different perspectives.

The first chapter discusses becoming a peer mentor. It highlights the differences between being a formal and informal mentor and outlines a few roles of being a mentor. I think it is important for me to take a step back and look at these roles. It will help me to gain a new understanding and help me become a better mentor. The topic on focus on building a relationship really grab my attention. Last semester, I built relationships with my students, but some where better than others. In this coming year, I want to focus more on building relationships with my peers and students. I want be more open and hopefully that will result in an even better experience for me as a mentor. Another role that stuck out to me was to make the most of the time you have. This really hit home for me when reflecting on my past experience as a mentor. The fall semester went by so fast and it felt like we were already wrapping the semester up two weeks after we had started it. I wish our group could have spent more outside of class time together, to help build better relationships than we already have.

Last week in class, we played the ice breaker two truths and a lie. I really like this ice breaker and I think it would be fun to do it again later in the semester when we all know each other better to see how much we have learned about each other. That is an ice breaker that I will keep in mind to incorporate into my future lesson plans. We went of the syllabus and discussed different assignment for the semester. It was nice to get a look at what will be expected of us for the semester. I am looking forward to going to the diversity events because those are always one of my favorite things to do! I am very excited to get this semester underway and get to know my peers!

Have a great week!

Hello Finals

I had my last test today!!!!!!! Woo-Hoo!!!! Too bad I have a fifteen page paper to write by Friday. I only wish writing a paper was as easy as blogging or chatting on facebook. I cannot believe the semester is already over. I have been so busy that I have not even realized how fast things have been flying by. This has been my favorite semester so far at Iowa State. Being a Hixson peer mentor is one of the best experiences that I have had. It also made me realize that teaching is something that I care a lot about. This semester I officially declared a second major in AgEd and I am very excited to see what new opportunities I am going to encounter with that. I am very excited for winter break, but I will spend sometime studying because I will be taking the Praxis on January 15th. I want to wish everyone a very Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

First post in a really long time!!!!

I just thought I would let everyone know what was going on with my life lately. I think October has been a very stressful month and I am quite excited for it to be over. This year is flying by and I cannot believe mid-terms have already pasted. This year has been full of very wonderful things. The opportunity to be a Hixson mentor has been one of the best things I have been involved with since I have been at Iowa State. The experience is something I would not trade for anything and it has really helped me make some really important decisions about my future. I have recently added a double major. I will be majoring in Horticulture AND Agriculture Education now and I am very excited about it. I have been thinking about adding this major for some time now and I have decided it is definately something I want to do! Teaching has always been an interest to me and I am just adding another opportunity to my future. I would have been graduating next December with a Horticulture major and I am not ready to be out in the real world yet!
This semester I have also been taking some classes that are really getting into the details of my major. This making class a lot more interesting to me and making it a little easier to get motivated to study. I have been very busy this semester with Hixson mentoring, school and work but being so busy has made me be more focused and get things done quickly. This fall, some of my friends and I played intramural flag football and we are now playing volleyball. This has been a lot of fun and has helped me realise some of my everyday stress. I am having a great semester and am looking forward the other opportunities that will come my way.

FINNNAAAAALLLLS

So finals week is almost over for me! I am very excited to get summer started. I am working at a flower shop in a town near my house. I am looking forward to the experience I am going to get with this job and of course making some money. I am also doing some work for Pioneer this summer and possibly working at the Iowa State Fair. It is going to be a very busy summer and I am looking forward to it. I am also looking forward to next year. I cannot wait to meet my students and learn all about them. I am sure they are going to teach me even more about myself that I did not learn this year in class. I have noticd towards the end of the semester, even though I have been extremely busy, how much more organized I have become and I still have some work to do but I am getting a lot better and I am so happy about that! I hope everyone has an awesome summer!!!!! See ya next fall!!!!!!

ISU Resources

Last week was a great reminder of all the resources we have on campus. I think it is very important that we keep up-to-date on the resources that we have. Especially next year when students are coming to us, we should have a good idea where things are located. I agree with what Randi was saying, that sometimes we know what it is or where it's at but we have a hard time telling someone else about it because we do not know how to explain it. This is something I need to brush up on before next fall. This past week I have been reflecting on everything this past semester and I am amazed at how much I have learned about myself and everyone else in the class. I am getting so excited for next fall and meeting all of our new students. I cannot believe I only have three weeks of school left. I think the next few weeks are just going to fly by because of all the things I need to get done between now and then. It is crazy how fast time flies by! Have a great week everyone!