My first-year mentee was Cadence Downey. She is from Lorrain, Ohio and is currently majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing. Originally, we had our major in common (Integrated Language Arts/English Education), but she recently changed her major to better reflect her goals and passions. Cadence hopes to write for movies and television shows in the future. We have bonded over our love of creative writing. This semester, I am taking playwriting and it has been interesting to compare my experiences with playwriting to hers with screenwriting. We both love the theatre and participated in many shows in high school, though neither of us are very involved in the Ohio State theatre department. We both love to read and we are both passionate about advocacy and activism. Cadence and I are pretty similar in interests, so there is always something to talk about!
I have loved seeing how Cadence has grown from first to second semester. She has become more confident in her passions and is now exploring a major that better aligns with those passions. She is taking chances and opportunities by applying for internships and exploring Ohio State student organizations for next semester. She thrived in the ACES community, especially first semester when she lived in Smith-Steeb. Next year, she will be the Social Chair on the ACES leadership council, so it has been amazing to see her grow as an ACES scholar. I have grown through the experience of mentoring Cadence through her first year at Ohio State. I have learned how to best support her through her acclimation to Ohio State. The area I was most able to support her in has been finding student organizations. I am pretty familiar with the arts community, so I have been able to connect her to different organizations she might be interested in.
I think a mentoring program has many benefits. It allows the mentor to grow as a leader. It also supports the mentee in their transition to college. My co-mentor and I were able to answer Cadence’s questions and help her succeed as an ACES scholar.