UHP Welcome Experience Mentor (Welcome Experience Leader)

What was involved

The UHP Welcome Experience Mentor (Welcome Experience Leader) program allows UHP students to lead a team of 8-10 freshman honors students and help guide them through their first year, exploring the opportunities that UC and UHP have to offer. I was forturnate to lead a group of UHP freshman with another Welcome Experience Leader, Halle Bodde, to provide the students with our best knowledge and expertise about college and the University Honors Program. We first attended the Welcome Experience event where we first met our mentees, and later met with them three more times to check up on how their college experience has progressed through the semester.

What I learned from the experience

I learned through this experience that every University Honors program student is unique and has a variety of interests that they are passionate about. Therefore, I learned that even if a mentee is in a specific area of study, it is important to expose them to other fields of study and interests as well. I learned this due to the honors seminars and programs that UHP offers, and I showed these opporunities to my mentees. What was so surprising was even if a mentee was in a major completely no related to research, they were equally if not more interested in these oppotunities. I wanted to help them tailor their college experience and not feel obligated to do everything that everyone else does. This experience was an opportunity for self reflection and it allowed me to look at my own self and make sure if I was truly passionate about what I was doing.

How it impacted my life

The University Welcome Experience Mentor experience impacted my life because I realized how much I was learning from not just upperclassmen, but students under me as well. When I was first entering college, my comparably less rigorous schedule and involvements allowed me to have time to discover my passions for the first time. However, as I take harder classes and am obligated to new positions, I feel as if I am not as avaliable as before to explore other interests. This allowed me to transfer this advice towards my mentees, who are still in freshman year and have yet to explore. I learned an important piece of advice which is that you should not be obligated to participate in everything that everyone else does, and instead find things you are truly passionate about. You need time to rest and self reflect, and never be afraid if plans change.

These are pictures that my welcome experience mentees and I took the week before the first week of the fall semester. I chose this sample for my honors portfolio because my mentees were the most important part of the experience. Being able to give them advice before their first semester of college as well as tour their classes allowed them to be prepared physically, mentally, and emotionally for college.