Mentor Reflection: Senior Graduation Project

The Closing Bell Speaker Series “Iron Sharpens Iron”: Why Mentoring Matters So Much was presented by Forest Harper. Forest Harper is the current Chief Executive Officer and President of INROADS Inc. Harper grew up in a poor neighborhood in Fort Pierce, Florida. In high school, Harper was a star athlete in his high school’s Army ROTC program. He attended Morgan State University on a football scholarship. His plan was to become a professional football player. He suffered two knee injuries that ended his football career. He graduated from Morgan State University with a Bachelors of Arts in Social Work. After graduation, he joined the Army and served as a Lieutenant. He spent six years in the Army and rose up to the position of Captain. After the Army, Harper participated in the Executive Leadership Training program at Harvard University. Before becoming the president of INROADS, Harper worked at Pfizer for twenty-eight years. He started as a pharmaceutical sales representative and later became the Vice President of Capability Development in Worldwide Public Affairs and Policy. He was the only African American in his division. This fact inspired him to join INROADS and become a mentor to minority college student. His goal is to help get as many minority college students into the industry they choose. Harper’s own mentor is his uncle Walter Crenshaw, the oldest documented Tuskegee Airman.

Mentors give you the advantage of learning from someone else’s mistakes. They share the experiences they went through to get to where they are today. By learning about the mistakes and experiences, you no longer need to waste your time. Having a good mentor allows you to find the best and easiest way to almost anything.

The theme of mentoring stood out to me in this week’s readings, and lecture. Mentoring is an important process that impacts all involved through connecting on a topic and also on a personal level. In this commentary I will first reflect on how my college mentors helped me. Second I will address if and when it is appropriate to be a mentor to elementary and middle school students. Lastly I will discuss how I encourage students in their creativity, and ideas for the future.

Mentors serve as a confidant, counselor, guide and advisor to a participant. They share an understanding of the organization, its mission, and the formal and informal operating processes, and share experiences which contributed to their own success, setting an example for the participant to follow. They assist the participant in career development ideas or for pursuing career opportunities. Mentors encourage participants to become more efficient and productive in their career field through self-development and other activities, and suggest appropriate training and developmental opportunities to further the progress of the participant toward leadership positions. The Mentor will provide input to the participant 's supervisor in developing their Individual Development Plan (IDP), helping the participant to set clear, realistic career goals and periodically reviews progress, making constructive suggestions on career development. Vitally important, the Mentor must ensure the mentoring relationship remains visibly and consistently professional. Mentors must ensure that their meetings are for clear purposes related to mentoring, that there is visible progress by the participant toward legitimate mentoring goals, and that office relationships between the mentor and participant

Why Important: Having a mentor is important to me because, it is a way of gaining new skills and knowledge from a person who already knows all the ropes in an organization. Mentors are there for guidance because they value mentees interest in learning and growth. If a mentor demonstrates a positive attitude and is willing to show me everything they know, I will take advantage of their help, because they are helping me in my career development. If I ever have a question about the organization I am working with or a problem, I can ask my mentor for guidance and solutions to resolve whatever issue I

Throughout my years at MELS I have grown academically and socially. When I first entered high school, I did not know what to expect and I relied on my brother’s experience in high school as a guide for myself. Although I had to encounter different situations, his advice assisted me in the smallest things like doing homework and choosing courses. However, I still had to

The focus of the semester long mentorship was to help students generate their personal statements for college entry. I mentored students on CGCC campus to help them cultivate their personal history and creatively write them on paper. Many students struggled with their past experiences as they stated that they were too young to obtain the amount of time it would take to create an experience. I asked them if they remember their first day of high school, and asked them each to tell the group what they remember. As a result, the students realized that even though they shared the same first experience, those experiences were completely different.

In the Navy and Marine Corps providing feedback and counseling to Sailors and Marines is a critical skill that every leader must possess. For this assignment, I was tasked with providing counseling and guidance to a struggling 3/C Midshipmen in my company on how they could improve in meeting the standards with regards to morally, mentally, and physically. For the counseling, I chose 3/C Burns who was struggling academically with a D at six weeks in Thermodynamics, a major course in his matrix. With this Midshipman struggling to meet the mission mentally, I was keen on attacking the issue before it developed into a major problem by providing advice, counseling, and a personal story of being in his place before.

I thought my day at Kings University College was pretty awesome, probably because it was my first time at the campus. I felt they were really welcoming and the food there was so good. To be honest, I thought this trip would be very boring, however, I was totally wrong and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole day. I was really glad that I took part in this because the trip provided me with a lot of valuable information. When the two mentors, Fisher and Chirag told us about their experiences with international students, I felt like their experiences were valuable for young mentors like us. I learned how mentorship is a mutual relationship as both the mentor and the mentee benefit from this relationship. The tour around the campus was the one of the

For the past several months, my internship has been at a standstill. Although, recently things have started to move along. Connection with my mentor was not the best, but now it has been re-established. I know now which days are best for my mentor, which days have the most customers who seek naturopathic advice, and my mentor is giving me access to reading materials. These materials and time spent with my mentor will give me much needed knowledge about naturopathic and holistic solutions to ailments.

Being a leader is always regarded at as directing folks on a daily basis, however, you must still be able to allow your subordinates a chance to lead as well or they will never develop the confidence to lead on their own. My definition of leadership is having the ability to influence others to accomplish their personal and organizational goals. Furthermore, many people have goals they’d like to pursue, but often find it hard or complicated accomplishing these tasks not having the right guidance and mentorship from a leader who looks out for their best interest.

Mentors are a very valuable asset, they go beyond that of a networking colleague and help guide you towards success in life both at work and outside of work. At my present job, not my practicum, I have a mentor that I talk to once in a while and she provides me with some guidance and recommendations that are not only work-related, but also life

Student M has been attending mentoring program consistently this month. Student M has been working very hard to improve both her Math and English grade by seeking mentoring support on a regular basis. After speaking with Mr. Fernandez, he has communicated how proud of his daughter he was as he notices a great difference in her attitude towards school. Student M has also expressed great interest in joining the future project dream team if she gets accepted into High School for Health Careers and Sciences at the George Washington High School Campus. Student M will continue to attend mentoring program as well as continue seeking educational support.

During my time with the Project Engage 2.0 program this semester I took part in four different activities. These activities, while being fun, improved my leadership skills, team building skills, and my critical thinking skills.

The aim of this essay is to discuss on how the reflection on mentorship will be undertaken, how and why the model of reflection will be used and the importance of confidentiality. I will reflect the mentorship by ensuring that the mentee during clinical practice is put at ease throughout the learning experience of four weeks (Quinn, and Hughes 2007, p. 29). Also, I will use the principle of Kolb’s learning cycle as my model of reflection because reflecting is an essential element of learning. As I am the mentor, I will follow this cycle in a clockwise direction with Jude, so she would have to reflect on the skills learnt by reviewing the whole situation (Kolb’s learning cycle 1984 in Rose and Best 2005, p.129). This would enable Jude to