Extracurricular Activities
Note: This portfolio may contain information that is out of date. For my updated professional portfolio, please click here.
Mentor for Relate Living Learning Community (LLC)
Relate LLC group after pumpkin picking in Canandaigua October, 2018.
One of my responsibilities is being a mentor for the Relate LLC. Our job as mentors to first-year students is to guide them along their first year, to make sure they are adjusting well to the college experience, and to help them become more involved in their community. We meet once a week to have dinner with our mentorees where we have activities planned for them.
The first year of the program, a research class associated with it for class credit as well. As a group, we are researching the transition into college, in which we use the stories and experiences of our mentorees to view closely the kinds of emotions they are feeling, and how they are adjusting to life at Keuka College.
Supervised Research class in September, 2018.
Relate LLC group at Bad Axe Throwing in Rochester, NY in September 2019.
What I Have Learned
I am thankful to have had the unique experience of researching first-year experience in my 2018 Field Period before becoming a mentor for this group. I have learned that successful transition into college requires students to feel comfortable in a new environment. The role of Relate LLC in this was to create a space in which students could learn about themselves, others, the college, and how to navigate through a difficult transition. By having "family-style" dinners and games, we were able to create bonds with students that made them feel closer to their mentors and to each other. Meeting once a week made the bonds grow stronger each week and the diversity of the group meant that we never ran out of things to talk about. Overall, creating a safe environment is key when working with first-year students.