Monday, June 10, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Mentoring Our Future Professionals
It has been awhile since I have written on my blog, but as I
was out walking today, I was thinking about how relieved I was this quarter was
over. I taught five college classes and
it was quite the challenge and quite a learning experience for me.
I have been working in higher education now for four years
and I have seen students come and go, fail and succeed. Each quarter comes with new challenges not
only for myself as an instructor but for my students. As I was walking I was thinking about some of
my students who embraced the challenge of obtaining an education, despite the
obstacles they knew they had to overcome.
These are the students that every quarter inspire and amaze me. They are the non-traditional student, and
range from all ages young and old, with families and without, some scraping to
get by, not knowing how they will get to school or driving from long distances
to come and achieve their dream of an education. Many are first generation college students
and are the first in their family to achieve a college degree.
As an instructor we have the challenge of not only
delivering the curriculum, but making the curriculum engaging and interesting
to the student. They may have an
interest in their particular field of study, but experience the highs and lows
of motivation as they move through their programs. This
is not unusual, but when working with the non-traditional student, it has become
even more important to me to see these students succeed. I have found that my role is not only as
instructor, but also as mentor. Someone they can turn to, respect, and know
truly cares for them and the goals they have set out to achieve. This can be quite a task and one I find
myself challenged with when I see a student so strong in potential, but lacking
in self-confidence.
As I walk, I feel the feelings of frustration I have had this
quarter seeing exceptional students, perform at less than what they are capable
of. I am then reminded of all of those
who have come through their programs successfully, who I have seen put every
ounce of themselves into making it work, even though it was time consuming,
challenging and even sometimes frustrating.
They remind me that nothing is impossible, if you make the decision not
to quit. I wish I could help more
understand this and succeed such as these students have.
As I finish my walk, I wonder what kind of advice I can give
these students as they graduate and enter into the next phase of their
lives. I guess it would be to find what
you love and do it. Don’t listen to what
other people say. You may fail, many
times before you succeed, but if you believe in what you do and love what you do,
then never give up. You are the only
one who knows what you need. Each of us were given specific talents for a
reason. Tap into it, sink your teeth in
and never give up.
I encourage other professionals to embrace mentorship and
help those just starting out in their professions. They have finished the education portion of
their career field, now comes the phase where they put it into action. Help them as they begin their journey, share
your expertise and help continue to guide them toward their success. Give them your best advice and let us never
forget that we were all once beginners in our profession in need of further
guidance from experienced professionals.
Stephanie
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