Mentoring

     I am currently three weeks into the mentoring program I signed up for at Hand Middle School.  So far the program has been great.  The mentor leaders do an excellent job of preparing me on what I need to accomplish before I go to each mentoring session.  I do not feel too overwhelmed or confused at the tasks at hand during my time at the service site.  Although I cannot disclose anything about my mentee, just know that she is great. 
     This week marks the third session of mentoring, however I have not made my third visit yet.  The past two visits have gone by very smoothly.  The first visit consisted of me meeting my mentee and getting a tour of Hand Middle School.  We talked about what we have in common and she told me a little bit about herself to help me better understand who she is as a person.  I also gave her background information on me and what I hope we can gain from the experience together.  This past session we actually started digging into what mentoring really is.  I did a homework check and discussed the importance of doing every assignment for class regardless of how pointless it seems.  We also dived into an organization "party" to help my mentee get organized to better keep up with her work and get good grades.  We did not finish all the organization so hopefully this next time she will have completed what we left off at so we can begin mentoring.
     Ironically, one of my biggest strengths is being very organized.  This is quite handy for my mentee who is not as organized.  I am able to help her get organized and better prepared for her classes.  I also have experience working with children because I used to be a day camp counselor with the YMCA.  My experience of working with children helps me relate to how they can act, and how I should act towards them in order for them to appreciate where I am coming from and listen.  Having this experience really gives me a step ahead knowing the possibilities of what can occur each day and how I can counteract these possibilities.
     The mentoring program as I am sure you can figure out is very time consuming.  On top of classes and volunteering for this I have yet to volunteer anywhere else this semester.  I am a part of Habitat for Humanity so I will hopefully be helping with a build sometime this year.  I am also a part of two different Christian organizations that will most likely volunteer in some way to do mission work around Columbia.  Between all the organizations I am involved in I will not be surprised to find myself helping the homeless or cleaning up part of campus sometime in my near future.