This year I have gotten the opportunity to develop a relationship with my mentee. My mentee is named Jillian Bettan. She is majoring in Speech and Hearing Sciences and is from Long Island, New York. Her older brother also came to Ohio State University, which influenced her decision in deciding to study here as well. She was able to see how much of a positive experience he had, and she also was looking for a big school experience. Overall, Jillian decided to come to Ohio State because she wanted to be a part of such a lively and fun culture while also getting a great education that would set her up for success in the future.
Jillian and I have many things in common, which made it really fun to get to know each other. We have the same major, and last semester we were actually in a class together. We both want to be Speech Pathologists and work with kids when we are older. One aspect of our mentorship relationship that has been really helpful is talking about class requirements. Speech and Hearing Sciences is a relatively small major and it is really helpful to know people going through the same classes. We are also in the same club so we are able to remind each other about meetings and talk about the club together. One difference we have is that I am planning on studying abroad and Jillian is not. Since I am studying Spanish, studying abroad will be a great opportunity to practice the skills that I have been learning. Jillian does not have these plans and does not plan to use a foreign language in her career.
Jillian has definitely grown from the first semester to the second semester. During the first semester, Jillian was still transitioning to life in college and had not had the opportunity to get involved in everything she was interested in. After talking to her second semester, she had joined more clubs and seemed extremely acclimated to her life here. Jillian went through formal recruitment and joined a sorority which has given her great social opportunities. She has been able to make more friends and expand her network in Columbus. Jillian has done such a great job adjusting to such a new environment and has grown so much as a person throughout this year.
Being a mentor has really allowed me to grow as a leader. I have been able to develop a relationship with my mentee and give her advice on the situations that I also went through as a freshman. I have loved being an older friend to Jillian and talking to her about relevant issues in both of our lives. Building relationships is an extremely valuable skill to have and I have really enjoyed this opportunity.
As a second-year mentor, I learned the importance of relationship building. During a pandemic, it can be very hard to feel connected to a community. This mentorship experience gave me the opportunity to connect with others with similar interests and feel a part of the community. I also learned the importance of communication and responsibility. It was important to communicate in order to fulfill the requirements of the mentorship and be responsible for deadlines. I learned a lot from this program and am very grateful to be a part of the ACES Scholars program.
As previously mentioned, this mentorship program helped me with my leadership development in many ways. I am much more comfortable reaching out to others and making plans with people that I do not know very well. I have had to strengthen my organization skills and work on keeping track of deadlines. I was also able to help my mentee in multiple aspects of her life. With mentoring, I was able to guide her on which classes I recommend taking together and some helpful information that I have been told about scheduling. In terms of socialization, we are in the same club and have talked about the importance of finding networks of people that you enjoy being around and the importance of community.
There are many benefits to the mentorship program. First, the mentor benefits from building leadership skills and developing a relationship with their mentee. Additionally, the mentee benefits from gaining valuable advice from their mentor, which can help them adjunct to a new environment. Even though this program is coming to an end, I am confident that Jillian and I will maintain our relationship and continue being friends. Overall, this program was extremely beneficial and I am so glad to have taken part in both this mentorship and the scholar’s program as a whole.