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December's Mentor of the Month
1. How did you become involved in mentoring through the Hillsborough Education Foundation?
I became involved in mentoring with the Hillsborough Education Foundation when a friend told me about the wonderful program. I am currently a senior at the University of South Florida studying interdisciplinary social sciences and am always looking for ways to get more involved. After doing some independent exploration on all the incredible things the Hillsborough Education Foundation does, I knew I wanted to be a part of it, so I applied for an internship. I met some remarkable people and was then awarded a position mentoring students at Sickles High School.
2. What has been the most rewarding part of mentoring?
Mentoring for me has been rewarding because it has given my life more meaning. I believe it is so important to help others if you are able to. The most rewarding part is seeing each of my four students every week and hearing about how well they are doing in school, and the big dreams they have for the future. It is so gratifying to know that I am able to make an impact on my student's live by guiding them on the path towards college.
3. What do you believe is the key to being a quality mentor?
At first, I was nervous about mentoring high school students since I am in college and feel there is not a huge age gap between us, but then I found out none of that mattered. In fact, I believe the key to being a quality mentor is connecting with students and listening to what they have to say. Over the past weeks, my students have opened up to me and although I love to give them advice and tell them about my own experiences, I think it is key to let them live their own lives and show empathy along the way. My main role as a mentor is to give my students the tools they need to be successful, and then watch how much they succeed.
4.When you are not working with students, how do you prefer to spend your free time?
When I am not mentoring, I spend a lot of my free time in organizations around the University of South Florida's campus. Following a semester abroad in Florence, Italy in 2015, I became a GloBull Ambassador. As an ambassador, my main goal is to inform the general student body about the incredibly study abroad opportunities available. To me, this a win-win situation because I am able to tell others amazing stories about my own experience, while setting them up for their own trip abroad. Participating in this organization, along with others such as the USF Sociology Club have made me an open-minded person and shaped who I am today.
5. What do you hope your mentee will learn from you?
I hope I am able to impact my mentees' lives in the ways that they have impacted mine. My biggest hope is that my mentees learn that they are smart and with determination and motivation can get anywhere they want to be. I always remind my students that they do not have to know exactly what they want to do for the rest of their lives, but as long as they work hard and keep an open mind, they will find what they love and be successful. I hope my mentees will learn from me that education is so important, and although college is not easy, it is crucial to so many aspects of life, and with a quality education anything is achievable.
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Recent Events
Metropolitan Ministries Holiday Tent
On Monday, the 21st of November we had a coordinated a day of volunteering with Metropolitan Ministries. Depending on skills, interest, or language, students and mentors alike were given tasks to carry out throughout the day to give back to our very own community, making certain that as many people as possible got to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner. We look forward to more opportunities in the future to invest our efforts into Tampa, especially during this holiday season.
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Many Americans have experienced "microaggressions," but not nearly as aware of it.
Microaggressions are the "constant and continuing reality of slights, insults, invalidations, and indignities visited upon marginalized groups by well-intentioned, moral, and decent family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, students, teachers, clerks, waiters and waitresses, employers, health care professionals, and educators," writes Derald Wing Sue in the book
Microaggressions in Everyday Life
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Here's an example:
"Yeah, but you're not
black black," translates to: "Since all of your positive qualities are not ones I know to be affiliated with your race, I refuse to acknowledge the fact that you're black."
They're not overt. They're hard to point out and if you do, get ready to be told you're being overly sensitive or playing a race card/woman card/gay card.
"People of color or other stigmatized and marginalized groups who may be feeling distress because of microaggressions - and aggressions that are not so micro - it can definitely build up," says Monnica Williams, a psychology professor at the University of Connecticut. "Research shows it can cause anxiety, depression, substance use, and even OCD."
How to make sure you're not committing a microaggression? Putting yourself in the other person's shoes and thinking before speaking - just like your parents always said.
Arguably the most important thing to keep in mind about microaggressions is the fact that it is not necessarily the experience of a microaggression in isolation that is difficult for those experiencing them. Rather, it is the cumulative effect of repeated exposure that is most damaging to an individual's sense of worth. It is possible for the most resilient and even temperament to be worn ragged over time through these repeated exposures.
So what are a few steps mentors and programs can take to help mitigate the impact of microaggressions? First, be mindful of your assumptions, or what you take for granted. This can include the assumption that others feel the same as you do about topics such as politics or religion.
Such consideration can serve to benefit your mentee in the long run.
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Take Stock In Children Volunteer Day
Hillsborough Education Foundation is presenting an opportunity for you and your respective mentee to volunteer and help The Teaching Tools store. The Teaching Tools store receives thousands of dollars worth of donations annually to aid the over 140 Title 1 schools in Hillsborough County. In order to efficiently sort and package the supplies, we appreciate the extra hands that volunteer provide. The date to volunteer is the 28th of December, and the hours will be from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Please click here to RSVP or email Julia Carter if you have any questions.
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Skills for Life
For the uninitiated, soft skills are the skills a person carries that are necessary to thrive with interpersonal relationships, in both everyday life and in a business setting. These include, but are not limited to, the ability to present your ideas in a clear manner, the capacity to portray yourself as a confident human being, etc. In the coming year, we hope to have our Skills for Life program up and running that will hand our mentors a curriculum geared towards teaching our scholars a variety of soft skills.
Our Mentoring Committee Chair, Dr. Bob Graham, recently visited Academy Prep, a charter school in the heart of Tampa to learn from the students what grasp they had on "soft skills." Of his visit, he had this to say:
"The importance of repetition and reinforcement was front and center when I spent two hours at a tremendously successful Charter School in Tampa. The students line up every morning and shake hands with the principal. Part of their program is a firm handshake, looking an adult in the eyes, and speaking out firmly and loudly every day during the school.
I visited two classrooms and had a chance to interact with every student as I walked around by high-fiving and shaking hands with every one of them. I loved meeting them-wonderful kids from the low income, high-risk pool our Take Stock In Children winners come from.
But about only 80% looked me in the eye, about 70% had firm handshakes, and about 25% seemed comfortable in meeting this new adult and spoke up strongly in welcoming me to the school.
The lesson to me is that one gift every single one of our mentors can give their student is how to interact with adults, whether that is a teacher, a future boss, or someone important to them. That means every mentor needs to reinforce whatever life skill we impart-in this case, a very firm handshake, eye contact, and the self-confidence to speak firmly and loudly.
You are changing your mentee's life. Just meeting with them every week helps, but communicating and then reinforcing our life skills will geometrically help them along their life paths. Thank you so much for what you do."
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Mark Your Calendar
| TSIC Volunteeer Day |
December 28 |
HEF |
| Students Return to School |
January 3 |
HCPS |
| Martin Luther King Jr Holiday |
January 16 |
HCPS |
| President's Day |
February 20 |
HCPS |
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If you know someone who is interested in mentoring,
have them visit our website for more information:
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www.educationfoundation.com
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