This semester when I interviewed my mentees, Becca Nichban and Hadas Marcus, I posed all the questions to them and allowed them to choose which ones they answered. Last semester Becca was an Education major with a plan to teach math, and Hadas was a Public Health major. They remain in their majors as of right now.

Becca talked to me about how she’s liking her major. She says that what initially drew her in was OSU’s First Educational Experience Program (FEEP) which allowed her to gain hands on experience working in a school. She has really enjoyed her experience so far. Her placement was close to campus and pertained very closely to what she wants to do in the future. She was placed in a high school and got very helpful experience working with students and got to understand what student teaching is really like. Becca had said she definitely plans to stay in her major. Hadas chose to tell me about a class of hers that she believe will be the most difficult for her this semester. She’s taking an earth science class that she knows will be a challenge to her because she characterizes herself as a non-science thinker. The focus on memorization is a challenge for her and attendance isn’t required so she has to put forth a lot of effort to get herself to lecture. I told her that its very understandable and a challenge that a lot of students face, specifically freshman because its very different from how high school functions. Luckily a lot of her assignments are online quizzes and tests, and she has done well reaching out to her fellow classmate for assistants.

My mentees have done great jobs getting involved on campus outside of ACES and their academics. Last semester Becca joined a dance group called Stylez Dance Group, joined an education club, and become a penpal for a fifth grade girl in the Columbus. She likes both the dance group and the education club but said that the leadership and structure were lacking and that they were a bit disorganized. She mentioned that a lot of the dance practices were last minute, and because of her schedule and the short notice she wasn’t able to attend. Becca mentioned this was a trend with other members of the group as well. I sympathized with her and the fact that many of us have very busy schedules that can be fluid sometimes but often last minute plans don’t fit in. Sometimes when writing to her pen pal, Becca isn’t sure how to help with the girl’s boy problems because they only talk once a week, but she still enjoys it. Hadas also put a lot of work into getting involved in several co-curriculars. She told me that she applied for, interviewed for and was accepted into the Public Health Student Leadership Committee. She works with other public health students to create and plan events which bring together students in the College of Public Health. Earlier in the semester I also gave Hadas some information and advice about applying for and interviewing for a job as a Sexual Civility and Empowerment Ambassador. She is hopeful that she’ll get that job, and I think she’s a shoe-in! Hadas also mentioned that in order to get more involved she took the conscious step to cut back on work hours in order to get more involved on campus. I really respected that because co-curriculars are so important and enjoyable but providing oneself with a source of income is also something very important to consider.

Both my mentees wholeheartedly told me they really enjoyed living in the living-learning community. They love being close to the people they’ve had a class with, attend events with, and have a similar background with. I told them that I agreed and that living with people I knew very well my freshman year was a helpful way to find a community I was easily comfortable in while adjusting to college life.

As far as careers go, Becca has yet to reach out to the career services office in her college but definitely wants to. She’s been considering several minors but is unsure which would be best for her and plans to ask someone at career services which minor would pair well with her major in the future. Hadas chose to answer the question about how she feels about her current career path. She loves her major and she happily told me that her career plans have been totally affirmed. She told me that over the course of this year she’s been talking to professors and fellow students about career plans, tips, obstacles, etc. Hadas also loves that she is in a college with fellow students who share a lot of similar goals and said that its very validating.

For the last set of questions, both girls told me their favorite memories from last semester. Becca said that her favorite memory was move in day. The excitement of finally meeting people and getting her room set up exactly as she had imagined was the culmination of a lot of built up excitement for college. Hadas’ favorite memory was when she was home for winter break and realized that she missed OSU and was so excited to come back after break. It was the first time she had to leave her home to go home. I echoed both girls sentiments completely. We talked a lot about how different life at home and life in high school were from life at OSU. Its nice to be home with high school friends and your family, but difference in the level of freedom is almost staggering. Plus having things like quiet study spaces, all your friends, plenty of food, a full gym, and more all within walking distance is so different than when we’re all at home in the suburbs!

First semester I predicted that my mentees would do a really good job at acclimating to college life. I think I was right. They seem like they’ve found their communities and hit their stride. Of course busy schedules and time management are hard for them, but those things are hard for everyone. They’ve reached out to me several times just for tidbits of advice, but I think they’re doing a really great job being on their own for the first time. I hope they continue to reach out when needed because I’m happy to help.