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What is UTA Hosts?. And what do we do?. Introduction .
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What is UTA Hosts? And what do we do?
Introduction • UTA-HOSTS! (Helping Other Students to Succeed) is a student mentoring program sponsored by the Leadership Center. New students, or mentees, are matched with returning students, or mentors to build a mentoring relationship which assists with the transition to college life. Mentors assist mentees to develop personally and academically by introducing students to the many resources and variety of learning opportunities offered in the university community. • The program is designed to last two semesters. Participation in the program is free and all positions are voluntary.
What is mentoring? What are the rewards?
Qualities of a Mentor • A mentor is most often a person with more experience, who acts as a : • Role Model • Guide • Friend • Advisor • Support System • Network to others
The Rewards of Being a Mentor • The rewards of being a mentor are self-evident: • Help someone out • Be a useful, positive influence in another person’s life • Gain ideas from interactions with mentees • Develop a sense of pride in seeing a mentee learn, progress and focus on goals • Make a valuable contribution to the University community • Develop leadership skills • Enrich your college experience • Develop valuable transferable skills used in professional and personal life • Mentoring is human interaction, support, caring and empowerment. It can be a life changing experience. Like any other relationship, you must put effort into it - keep working on it.
What does the peer mentor position entail? What are the expectations of the position?
The Peer Mentor Position • The peer mentor is a sophomore, junior or senior student who provides leadership to a group of new students making the transition to college life. The peer mentoring program runs from Fall – Spring. • Mentors assist in achieving the goals of the program which are: • To foster a network of support for first year students • To aid in the academic, emotional and cultural adjustment of first year students • To promote leadership skills in the student body • To encourage the development of student relationships with other students and staff • To provide consistent, reliable sources of support, information and inspiration
Expectations of Mentors • Contact mentee weekly via any method: email, phone, text messaging, face-to-face contact, (such as meeting in hallways during class, lunch in UC, social events) • Keepcommitments to mentee • Acquaint your mentee to the UTA life from your perspective • Monitor mentee’s progress • Assist in the development of skills necessary for mentees to succeed in college • Communicate university resources and services to mentee • Accompany mentee to program activities, if at all possible, such as mixers and other events • Complete check-up forms according to program requirements • Maintain confidentiality in your relationship unless there is a serious concern • Provide feedback to the program coordinators especially if you are unable to contact your mentee • Provide support, guidance, encouragement and information to first year mentees • Meet 1:1 with mentee(s) each month to talk about goals for the fall semester
Boundaries • A mentor is not a parent, a professional counselor, a social worker, or an “ATM machine”. If you have any problems or concerns about communications or behaviors, please contact the UTA-HOSTS!-Staff. • Termination of a mentor or mentee’s participation in UTA-HOSTS! may occur for several reasons, including: • When one of the participants cannot be reached despite repeated tries. • When a participant is unresponsive to requests to contact or meet and does not give reasons or appear interested • When a participant exhibits inappropriate behavior • When a mentor/mentee withdraws from UTA • When unexpected personal circumstances arise that prohibit one from participating • Please do not try to handle any situations you are not prepared for.
Please be aware • If any of these circumstances occur please notify the UTA-HOSTS! Office as soon as • possible and the staff will seek to end the relationship in a positive way. In the • case of participation issues, the UTA-HOSTS! Staff will send an e-mail to the • mentor/mentee prior to termination requesting circumstances that may explain • non-participation. If termination of a participant occurs the other mentor/mentee • will be notified and a rematch can be initiated.
You’ve been matched Now what?
Before you meet your mentee • Sit down and give some thought to how you will work with your mentee to achieve a successful experience for both of you. You are in a good position to offer advice and support. • Develop an action plan. This is a great opportunity for you to continue to develop leadership skills such as goal development, time management and communication skills. In the appendix to this training manual you will find tips on these subjects. • Review the appendix section on Resources and Services. Recall your first days in college and information that would be useful. • Review the chart in the following slides so you will be prepared as the semester progresses to inform and remind your mentee of important tips.
Your first Contact • You should contact your mentee as soon as possible after you receive match information. • Ask your mentee about his/her expectations for the mentoring program. • Clearly outline and discuss mentee responsibilities. • Compare schedules and determine the means of communication that will work best. Frustration and wasted time can be avoided by knowledge and understanding of your mentee’s student life. • Conditions for the meeting should be comfortable for both parties. It should occur in a public place such as the University Center where you are both “on familiar territory”. • Remember that students will require a lot more help and support the first few weeks. • Relax, be yourself, make a new friend.
First Semester Tip Chart Early Semester
First Semester Tip Chart Mid-Semester
First Semester Tip Chart End of Semester
The goodies for being a mentor and a leader Opportunities for you to be recognized for being a great mentor
Credit and Scholarships • Mentors provide a valuable and much appreciated contribution to UTA. WE ARE PROUD OF YOU and want other members of the University community to share our pride and appreciation. • The response rate of check-up forms is one indicator that quantifies program participation. We want you to get “credit” for your activity as a mentor and important contributor to the university community. • The UTA-HOSTS! Program offers scholarships that are awarded in the spring semester. Check-up forms must be submitted in order to qualify for a scholarship.
Beyond mentoring: the leadership team and Program Coordinator • The Leadership Team plays a valuable role in the UTA-HOSTS! Program in the following ways: mentor recruitment, training, program input, publicity, and planning for and assisting at events. Please consider volunteering for this group. • The Program Coordinator is a paid position that serves as the coordinator of all UTA Hosts! Programs and aides with the training and matching of mentors and mentees. • The position becomes available for application in the spring and begins in the summer of each academic year.
benefits: Mentoring is more than helping a person • College offers endless possibilities for growth intellectually, emotionally and socially. • We want participation in UTA-HOSTS! to be a meaningful and relevant experience for both you and your mentee. You can use your mentoring experience to grow as a person. Many of the skills you use and develop as a mentor are transferable to many other aspects of your life; these skills are valuable in your professional and personal life. • These are some skills to focus on during your time as a mentor: • Self Reflection • Personal Accountability Goal Setting • Time management • Communication cd “Reflection is one of the most underused yet powerful tools for success.” -Richard Carlson ba
Mentoring and personal responsibility Being a mentor is a choice
Accountability • Becoming a mentor was a choice. • With choice comes personal accountability. • With Personal Accountability we ask: • What can I do to make a difference? • How can I contribute? “Not many things are as freeing as realizing we have the power to choose” From Personal Accountability by John G. Miller
Accountability Accountable people think hard about how to make things better. Being accountable embraces: Ownership Creativity Trust Clarity Integrity • Learning • Service • Courage • Excellence • Ownership Through your active participation as a mentor you contribute not only to others and the University as a whole but have the opportunity to grow as a person. Look at the list above, we learn and change when we challenge ourselves to grow and improve.
Communication skills, time management, and goal setting Being a mentor requires some specific skills
Communication skills • Rapport • building a rapport with your mentee is important to a successful mentoring relationship. Rapport is established in two ways, verbally and non-verbally.
Time management • These thoughts about time management cited below are excerpted from Time Management Made Easy by Patty Marler and Jan Bailey. • We cannot manage time, we can only manage ourselves. • Efficient time management is a life choice, a process of stream-lining, an exercise of self-knowledge and discipline……and no one mentioned it would be easy. • Needing to evaluate your time management does not mean you are disorganized or lazy. • There is only so much time in a day. At the end of it all, you need to be happy with what you have done and what you have become. • Manage yourself, manage your time. It’s all about choices. “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of. -Benjamin Franklin
Goal setting • Goal setting can be readily applied to the mentor/mentee relationship. Mentoring offers a great opportunity to hone goal setting skills. When you sit down to develop an action plan prior to your first meeting with your mentee you may want to proceed by establishing goals for the semester.
Resources and traditions Getting help and being involved
Resources on campus • University Resources • When wanting to get help on campus… • Health Services • A friendly reminder that tuition covers the co-pay costs of seeing a doctor at the health clinic! • Study Abroad • Every student should try to get to study abroad as a way to take their education to an international level. • UT Arlington Traditions • Every student should be involved with student traditions!
Contact us E. H. Hereford University Center, lower level B120 C Phone: 817-272-6054 E-mail: hosts@uta.edu
