Introduction I had experience mentoring others previous to this class. In fact, I had great success mentoring as my class president and captain of sports teams. Because of this, I was excited and confident about mentoring Matt. I was ready for Matt and I to form a team that had many victories over the year.
Why I chose my mentee:
I chose my mentee, Matt, for a few reasons. First, I played high school soccer with Matt from 10th-12th grade. I know him and his family fairly well. Next, I mentored Matt a bit over the Summer as he was deciding on a college. I talked Matt through a lot of stress and uncertainty. Matt decided to come to Roberts Wesleyan, and room with my brother and I. I chose to mentor Matt because I know how stressful transitioning …show more content…
I believe that this was a result of his nerves entering college. Soon enough, he began to gain confidence in college. After that, he wasn’t as vulnerable with me. It was unplanned, but my mentee, my brother, and one of our best friends, James, played JV soccer. My mentee was the only one who didn’t have the proper paper work in. Because of this, he could only practice and not play. I reminded my mentee almost every day to make the necessary arrangements to get his paper work in. He kept saying that’d he would get around to it, but never did. This was a symptom of an overall lack of motivation. Soon, he began to skip soccer practices and classes. I tried to talk to him kindly about how important attending classes are, and that he is letting down his teammates. He didn’t listen. Next, I began to be more direct with him. I told him that he’s no making the most of his college opportunity. This did not work either, as he felt I was nagging (I was). Within the week, Matt quit the JV soccer team and received an academic alert in Chemistry class. This was the lowest point of our mentoring relationship. I wanted my mentee to succeed so badly. This was frustrating and …show more content…
Having said that, the challenge helped me grow in my patience and creativity. I usually am a strong presence in a mentoring relationship. Matt’s personality wasn’t fully compatible with my mentoring style. As so, I had to adjust greatly. Eventually the thing that got Matt back on track was me giving up all control on his choices. That was counterintuitive and I didn’t like it. Matt could have just as easily abused that freedom I gave him and dropped out of school. I was prepared for that to happen. Instead, I think he appreciated the level of vulnerability I showed with him. Instead of burning me, he got to work and increased his
Why I chose my mentee:
I chose my mentee, Matt, for a few reasons. First, I played high school soccer with Matt from 10th-12th grade. I know him and his family fairly well. Next, I mentored Matt a bit over the Summer as he was deciding on a college. I talked Matt through a lot of stress and uncertainty. Matt decided to come to Roberts Wesleyan, and room with my brother and I. I chose to mentor Matt because I know how stressful transitioning …show more content…
I believe that this was a result of his nerves entering college. Soon enough, he began to gain confidence in college. After that, he wasn’t as vulnerable with me. It was unplanned, but my mentee, my brother, and one of our best friends, James, played JV soccer. My mentee was the only one who didn’t have the proper paper work in. Because of this, he could only practice and not play. I reminded my mentee almost every day to make the necessary arrangements to get his paper work in. He kept saying that’d he would get around to it, but never did. This was a symptom of an overall lack of motivation. Soon, he began to skip soccer practices and classes. I tried to talk to him kindly about how important attending classes are, and that he is letting down his teammates. He didn’t listen. Next, I began to be more direct with him. I told him that he’s no making the most of his college opportunity. This did not work either, as he felt I was nagging (I was). Within the week, Matt quit the JV soccer team and received an academic alert in Chemistry class. This was the lowest point of our mentoring relationship. I wanted my mentee to succeed so badly. This was frustrating and …show more content…
Having said that, the challenge helped me grow in my patience and creativity. I usually am a strong presence in a mentoring relationship. Matt’s personality wasn’t fully compatible with my mentoring style. As so, I had to adjust greatly. Eventually the thing that got Matt back on track was me giving up all control on his choices. That was counterintuitive and I didn’t like it. Matt could have just as easily abused that freedom I gave him and dropped out of school. I was prepared for that to happen. Instead, I think he appreciated the level of vulnerability I showed with him. Instead of burning me, he got to work and increased his