Coming away from my last SHO TIME experience I believe I’ve been able to learn and grow in the ways I had hoped and expected to, but also in ways I did not expect to. A major part of my goal for SHO TIME 2017 was to lead by example, provide guidance and direction, while also seeking to take in new ideas from my co-mentors. In meetings with my whole committee I was able to help Brian and Tommy offer guidance to the younger mentors on our team as all but one other person on the team was a sophomore in their first SHO TIME. I truly do believe I was able to serve as a guide and sounding post for new ideas.
When my co-mentors had questions, whether it was during the summer before SHO TIME or during SHO TIME I felt I was able to provide leadership and direction when needed, but I was also open minded to their new approaches. I think this really led us to work together as an effective team. When the discussion of drinking culture at Penn State and SHO TIME came up on the first night, my co-mentors were unsure of how to react and how to feel. I felt it was my responsibility having been involved in SHO TIME both as a mentor and an SA previously to discuss with them what the best approach to the topic was without simply telling them what to do, but really getting their input and having a thorough discussion of how we as a team would approach our mentees.
My co-mentors and I spent time making sure we got to know our group as well as we could before bringing up the necessary though potentially hurtful subject of how to deal with drugs and alcohol in college and were sure to provide them with opportunities to bond and have fun on their weekends without the presence of drugs or alcohol. At the same time we made sure to remind them that college was a time for them to grow and make independent decisions and we urged them to make smart safe decisions as well as reach out to us one on one before they decided to do something with their weekend that could be potentially harmful or dangerous to them. At the end of SHO TIME our group members gave us thank you notes and some reached out to us individually to thank us for being both insightful and honest in our guidance in their first few days of college. I think this is a reflection of not only how I was able to provide guidance to my group and to my co-mentors, but was also a reminder to me of the importance of teamwork and working together with my co-mentors to put the needs of our mentees first. In addition, it really reminded me and taught me again the importance of having an open mind. Though I was older than my co-mentors if I had simply told them what I felt was right or what had worked for me in the past then we wouldn’t have been able to work together effectively or to serve our mentees the way they deserved. Having an open discussion with my co-mentors allowed us to craft an approach to a difficult subject that was right for our group of mentees and was a solution we could not have come to had we simply moved forward on my past experience alone.
Overall I felt that SHO TIME has been an amazing part of my college experience, as a freshman, as a mentor, as an SA, and as a mentor again. I have learned so much about myself as an individual, a leader, a mentor, and as a student. I’ve had the awesome opportunity to learn from others whether they were my mentors, co-mentors, or even my own mentees. But most importantly I truly feel as though I’ve had the opportunity to impact the lives and college careers of new students in Schreyer, and I really hope that the four years following their SHO TIME’s will be just as amazing as the four years I’ve been able to enjoy at Penn State and in Schreyer.
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