My Take on Mentoring

I was both excited and curious for the first site visit to Family Matters. I was not sure what to expect, but when we arrived, I soon felt the community and comfort of the building. It was so nice to see the little children running around happily playing with friends while others were on the computer or studying with a tutor. Meeting Dawn was very comforting and I really appreciate how supportive and helpful she is. She helped me feel even more excited, informed and prepared to begin my mentor position with my mentee. I think it was great how she let us pick out our mentees; I think it was very wise that she had us pick who we wanted based on descriptions about their personalities and interests, and not by having us see them and pick out the one who was the “cutest” or what not. Using this method ensured that we were able to choose mentees that we felt we could influentially mentor. 

After the Mentoring Style Inventory, I learned that I mostly have an Advising and Prescribing mentoring style. I believe that both styles are beneficial, because I can share my thoughts and ideas with my mentee and also take on a more hands-on approach by helping to solve issues my mentee may have and request that she changes any habits that may be negative.

In larger group settings, I can give participants my opinions and make a difference by problem-solving; with the prescribing mentoring style I can take a more authoritative position by providing constructive criticism that will help to better situations.