Since I have been volunteering with Buckeyes Inspire (a RecSports program that pairs undergraduate OSU students with high school students in Columbus to empower students to overcome obstacles in the path to further education) for a year now, I decided to apply to become a Program Assistant (PA) in charge of working with other program leaders to plan activities and lead sessions.
This semester has been my first semester as a Program Assistant, and I feel like I have been growing a lot! I feel like I am making strides in my confidence and ability to lead a group, especially during visits to the high school. My first visit as a PA was difficult for me because mentors and mentees were used to seeing me in my mentor role, so it was hard to command more attention when I spoke, and I struggled a bit with letting my mentees go and work with other mentors because I felt so connected to their journeys. However, within the next couple of visits, I definitely started to lean into my role facilitating activities more. I now feel like I am able to lead discussions and give instructions without feeling like I am in a totally foreign role. I also feel like I am making strides in planning activities and thinking critically about improvements that can be made to the program. It is really nice to be able to get feedback as I am working on those things, so I am constantly learning how to better plan events and create agendas that are dynamic but still ordered.
Buckeyes Inspire has had a tremendous impact on me! Educational equity wasn’t necessarily something that was on my radar before I joined Buckeyes Inspire. Learning about ethical service and educational disparities even within Ohio has opened my eyes to new passions. Because of Buckeyes Inspire, I was able to find a new passion within medicine – the educational equity problem often leads to disparity in education about health and the healthcare system in general. I want to take what I am learning about self-motivating others and giving people the tools to take charge of their own education and apply it to become a part of a larger systemic change in access to medical care.
In my former role as a mentor, I learned the value of having good listening skills in order to form connections with my mentees. In my new role as a Program Assistant, I have learned a lot about planning intentional events and activities, being flexible as plans change, leading groups and discussions, having difficult conversations, and creating a community where mentors and mentees are able to interact and work together to overcome hurdles to further education.