Week 9 and week 10 were my favorite ones thus far. They allowed me to get to know students better and invite students to understand me better as well.
Week 9 was devoted to introducing the students to all the amazing resources Thompson Library, in combination with all the other libraries on campus, have to offer. Therefore, the freshmen went to the library to do a scavenger hunt. I did not have to go to class that day, so I used my extra hour and 20 minutes wisely; I napped.
Despite not meeting for class Wednesday morning, I did host a peer mentor event that night.
On October 18, 2017 I took 6 survey students to the Ohio State women’s volleyball game against the University of Minnesota’s women’s volleyball team. Unfortunately, OSU lost rather horribly, but it was well worth our time. Some were able to snag a free t-shirt! We talked about relationships, scheduling, our current classes, and how fast fall semester flies by! A few days after the event, one girl reached out to me for advice concerning her living situation for next year, and I advised her to join a learning community on campus.
Week 10 was the week I had been prepping for all semester! I finally got to give my internship presentation (which I will attach in a separate post). I decided to draw from my experience with mental illness to create a useful resource for students who may currently be struggling, or hit a road bump in the future. College = Anxiety for many high-functioning students.
I first offered statistics to show how common mental health disorders truly are on college campuses, and made sure to relay the signs of such things. I hope that by giving the freshmen tools to recognize such symptoms, they will better take care of themselves and others regarding mental health. I gave the freshmen on-campus resources, such as CCS and the Department of Psychology, to consult of themselves or their friends decide to seek help. In addition, I provided ways to secure off-campus treatment. Finally, I provided emergency counseling numbers in case of emergency.
Throughout the course of the presentation, I threw in my own story to make freshmen realize mental health can affect someone who may appear to have everything together (so I like to think). Also, I know freshmen have learned these things and heard this speech many atimes, but I, for one, have never heard it from someone who admitted to having a mental disorder. By doing so, I believe the stigma around mental illness is continued on. When I talk about my mental illness, I do not feel weak. I feel empowered because I am taking a stand against it to make sure no one lets it go as long as I did. To have that experience is one of my biggest credibility factors in speaking on the matter.
I am happy to share my struggles and will continue to do so for the rest of my life, peer mentor or not, to save people the time spent struggling within themselves anyway I can.