Mentor Power for Success

Overview.

During fall quarter of 2022, I became a mentor for the Mentor Power for Success (MPFS) program, dedicated to helping and guiding new students with their transition to the University of Washington. The program took continuing UW students, such as myself, and assigned them to mentees or protégés. The idea was to have each mentor paired up with a protégé, in which they form a friendly relationship full of learning and growth. This program was important to me as the end result was always a mentee who will move on with their university experience in a more confident and strong-willed manner, and a mentor who has gained invaluable leadership experience.

Personal Importance of Work.

This program hit very close-to-home for me. I had a difficult first year in college and I wish I knew about the MPFS program going into university. After my first year ended, I thought about other students who may also be having a rough time transitioning from high school or community college to a university, especially one as large as UW where it is easy to get isolated among the crowds. I volunteered for the program and told myself that even if it's just one student, that I was going to make a positive impact on their first quarter at UW. Going through that process helped identify my love for mentorship and teaching, especially if I can create positivity.

Tasks Accomplished.

• Initiated conversations with protégés via email and met in-person for weekly check-ins.

• Taught protégés about the university's academic, social, and career services.

• Identified specific resources and connected them with protégés based on their preferences such as questions around community involvement, internships, or sports. 

• Assisted protégés in learning more about university systems such as MyPlan and Canvas. 

• Engaged with protégés in conversation about academics, social life, community, and much more during weekly check-ins. 

• Attended two quarterly events with my protégés to bond and also meet other mentors/mentees. 

• Was awarded the 2022 Mentor of the Year award for my demonstration of excellence in mentorship. 

Leadership Competencies Gained.

Initiative.

For leaders, initiative is a great skill to have in many different circumstances. I equate having initiative as having an "attack mindset", as in you're eager to start the task at hand. Especially within mentorship when there is a mentor and mentee relationship, initiative is important for maintaining a professional relationship. For both my protégés, I reached out to them via email before we met at our program kick-off because I wanted them to get to know me a bit beforehand and to inform them that I am their assigned mentor. Once we finally met in-person at our kick-off event, I engaged with them to "break the ice" and set up weekly in-person meetings. Especially because most new students are, by nature, a bit shy and nervous about engaging with other students, taking initiative and providing a sense of reassurance, comfort, and confidence that they deserve to be here.

Mentorship.

This was the first role I ever had where I was mentoring 1-2 people, whereas I'm used to mentoring young kids in teams of around 30-40. I was nervous at first because I thought to be able to mentor someone 1-on-1, it takes an incredible amount of confidence, knowledge, and skills. While part of that is true, I failed to understand that I am also a student, and it was okay for me to be learning how to mentor while mentoring another student (in theory, isn't that the best way to learn how to mentor?). I learned more about what it meant to be a mentor through this short program than I have in any other experience prior. Through consistent engagement, initiative from me, and utilizing the knowledge I had, I was able to provide a great experience for my protégés where they could pick my brain in a non-judgemental and stress-free environment. This was the part of my college career I learned about what mentorship is, how to use it, and what a great influence it can have on others.

Service.

Even before I began this program, I had certain feelings about the act of service. Especially as someone whose identity can be categorized as able-bodied, young, and college educated, I am in a very unique position both on the hierarchical scale that is society and also within the concept of mentorship. Throughout my mentorship experience, I learned that the act of serving is not just a physical factor, but is mostly a mental and emotional factor. You can serve someone in many different ways whether it's providing clarity, informing, teaching, or just talking, service goes deeper than the tangible acts we do that may appear superficial to some. Mentorship is not just about pointing in a direction and telling someone to go there, it's about teaching them the best and most effective way to get there as well. 

Personal Values.

When i became a mentor, I was only a second-year in college, still quite young to be acting as a mentor to some. I lacked a strong foundation of beliefs or values, and went into the program feeling unsure about how I really feel about them. This caused me to lose some stability in my confidence and initiatives, as I wasn't even sure how to convey them to my protégés at the time. However, during a training that all mentors had to attend in preparation for the program, I met another mentor and had a quick chat with them. I brought up the idea of values and how to convey them to your protégés without coming off as stubborn or unchanging in your beliefs, as beliefs too strong in the wrong direction can be off-putting for some. This fellow mentor said something along the lines of, "Just talk to them, be yourself, be authentic, and the values that are most important to you will shine through and reach them in the right way." I took that advice to heart and found that when I'd talk about certain experiences or activities I partook in, I naturally brought up things like my "why" or what each of my experiences mean to me, from which point it was simple to infer what my values were. 

Empathy.

Being empathetic was something I was still working on at the personal and interpersonal levels. However, as the weekly meetings with my protégés went on, the more we started opening up to one another and sharing more personal things like hobbies, family, and values. From there, listening to my protégé's stories about their struggles, their transition to university life, and even the type of food they hate, all helped me understand and empathize with them. I also believe that because I went through similar struggles before and during my first year of university life, I was able to connect with them on a more personal level through shared experiences. In the end, I became a more understanding and emotionally-aware person who understands that empathy can create strong and unwavering relationships that will last a long, long time.

Functioning Independently.

The MPFS program was unique in that while the program outlined the purpose and goals of it, the structure of the program was to be built entirely by the mentors and mentees themselves. This means that they can decide how often they'll meet, where and what time they'll meet, what they'll talk about, what questions they want to integrate in their learning, etc., which gave the students a lot of freedom and flexibility. However, this required both parties to be responsible in what the program asked which was to meet consisntely throughout the quarter and engage in learning and mentorship. I was able to function independently of other staff or mentors and concentrated on my protégés and their needs and questions. This also required constant communication to ensure that we were staying on course with the program and not lagging. Whether it was bringing up a new niche topic, showing my protégés around campus, teaching them new skills, or just hanging out to be an outlet, I worked to tailor the program myself to my protégés, ensuring that they were receiving a great experience and that I was building on my leader and mentorship skills.

Future Oriented Statement.

Serving as a mentor in the UW Mentor Power for Success program has reinforced my commitment to leadership, mentorship, and community building. Through this experience, I developed strong communication and guidance skills, which will be invaluable in future roles that require teamwork, coaching, and advocacy. Moving forward, I plan to apply these skills in professional and academic settings by fostering inclusive environments where others can thrive. Whether in the workplace or within my community, I will continue to support others in their personal and professional growth, ensuring that mentorship remains a key part of my leadership journey.