Week 13

In a previous posting I talked about Denise's lecture on diversity because I attended her session once before. In my lesson plan about diversity I have implemented some of her activities she used on us in class. But the one topic that was different from the previous time was the memes because they have become extremely popular right now. Personally, I have only seen the light-hearted memes when surfing the Internet not the ones that make fun of people and stereotypes. But I do know there is a website to create meme of high schools and discovered the high school I graduate from has one. But the memes created are not so light-hearted and has created a lot of controversy on cyber-bullying enough to be a topic for my locate news station. I visited this website before the story was aired on TV. There was some of the typical stereotypes that represent my hometown, but I was a little disturbed that some of the memes said name and comments where not appropriate at all. Looking at the memes, it made me upset (because of how I was treated in high school) and disappoint because nothing has truly changed and if you do not fit their idea of what is normal you are the number one victim. I will just stop there before going on a little rant because it is pointless to talk or vent about something if you are not willing to find away to change it or are living there anymore. 



As the lecture from last Wednesday relates to the kind of diversity I will be experiencing as a peer mentor is trying no to have prejudgments of the new Hixsons because they are my brother’s age and will need to realize they are my students first. I know I have a sense of being the big sister because I have been that way to individuals his age. I know I will kind of be a “big sister” in a sense, but it is more I am their mentor to guide them and a line has to be draw though between being a mentor and a big sister type of friend. But all-in-all I am looking forward to next semester and meeting the new Hixson students. 

Week 12

Ethics...has a different meaning to every person. To me ethics is just like your moral codes. It is something you live by and will not jeopardizes when presented with issues that are not ideal. To me this is an interesting topic because  I am open mind and am always challenging myself in anyway I can. Last semester I took a media ethics class and I loved it because it where anyone could give their opinion and not be criticized for it along with challenging myself to figure out what ethics are the most important to me. Even though it was a media ethics class and we had to focus on how ethics are affected in the media world which is much or not at all different from personal ethics. The main concept my teacher wanted us the learn was what were are own personal ethics code in or personal a professional life. Our final project for the class we had to come up with our own code of ethics, but had to do it a create way other than your typical paper. I painted a canvas with my favor colors (blue, green and purple with some white to add texture) along with one of my favorite quotes, "Life is like a canvas. It begins blank and everyday is like another brushstroke. Make your life a masterpiece." On the back it had my code of ethics: Respect, Honesty, Trust, Patience, Hard-working, Communication, Open-minded, Dependable, Fair-minded, Loyal and Challenging.

As a peer mentor there are limitation I will have for helping a student along with being put in situations which will challenge my code of ethics and keep bounties with my students because I am in an authoritative postions. When thinking about it may be a good project for the student I will be teaching to come up with their own code of ethics because the more you know about yourself the better the person you will be in your personal and professional life.

Week 11

Starting a new chapter in your life is always terrify but exciting all at the sometime and going to college is can be one the most terrifying adventure for many people who decided to earn a degree. One reason why it can be such an intimating thing is because not everyone coming to a new town or school does not have any idea what resources the college has to offer along with when can be available to you. Knowing what resources are available can help you succeeded in college whereas not knowing can be making things more difficult or ending up dropping out. Even as a junior at Iowa State I am still learning what resources are at my dispose and may never know every resource I can use to make me a better student or person or even a citizen. Also as a peer mentor the more resources I know of on campus or someone who make know more than me help benefit my student more when I can point them in the right direction with any issue that arises. I know most resource available to campus, but it is a more academic focus because I did work at the Academic Success Center and I had know all the resource available to students who need or are seeking academic. Surprisingly, has this knowledge has benefited my friends because I know of a resource that can help them or send them to someone who can point them further in the right direction they need to go in. I know there are more resources available on campus that I know of and they are always changing because the news of the students are always changing.

Class Reflection

Teaching a class was a new experience for me in may ways. One way was co-teaching and creating a lesson plan that we both can again on was a little challenging. First off I have never created a lesson plan in my entire life. And the way I organizes this ingeneral like creating study guides or taking notes is  very vague and do not include much detail. So elaborating or over elaborating was a challenge for me because in my mind I know what I want/ need to cover in a class, but I do understand that life happens and sometimes I cannot be there to teach and someone will have to step in my place temporally. Then making in flow on paper so that it is clear what or why I was teaching a subject for the class was also challenging because it goes hand-in-hand with elaborating more so a person for the outside will know how this connect and why they are being covered.

Working with another person to create a lesson plan was interesting because we both had different ideas we wanted to cover and it was hard to convince the other sometime on why it is important we do this or cover a particular subject. It helped me work on my communication skills along with being able to compromise so all parties were happy with the end result. Another challenge was dividing up who says what and timing out when this activity should happen or who should facilitate which discussion equally. Even though I had some new experiences and some challenges to overcome I enjoyed teaching the lesson and hearing other people's opinions on different subjects.

Week 9

I enjoyed attending ISCORE. My favorite presentation I went to was  "Can I Touch Your Hair? Lyricism as a space of resistance towards Eurocentric standards of beauty," because it was very interesting all the examples they gave and I identified with the idea of how to control unruly hair. It may not be as hard to control or maintain like African-American hair, but it can still be a pain. Having uncontrollable hair was not the important topic or issue they were trying to address, it was how society as whole are trying to fine into the idea of what is beautiful and how one should look instead of be you. In this seminar they should a video called "A Girl Like Me" (Here is the link: http://bit.ly/33Vc1z) The YouTube video feature young women talking about issues they have to deal with like being "dark skinned" or not having long straight beautiful blonde hair or issues of marry men who have white or lighter skin because they don't have it in their gene pool. It shows how society has the preconditions whether we admit it or not or what women should like not just what African-America women should try to achieve in order to be labeled as pretty, beautiful or attractive when it is hard enough trying to figure out your own identity or who you want to become. They also highlighted Maya Angelou's poem "Phenomenal Women."(Link to the poem: http://bit.ly/48ScJQ) The poem sheds light on many issues women face trying to fit the definition of beauty, which has, be defined by society. And not every woman fit that definition because not one woman is the same as the next and each one it beautiful in their own unique way. Generally speaking, what society decides as beautiful or the "norm" is realistically untamable because not one person fits in to this said box nor do many people what others to dictate what they should look like or do in order to be whatever it is that society wants. Finally, the group showed a YouTube video by Indie Arie's song called "I Am Not My Hair." (http://bit.ly/8o739D) It is a biographical song about what she went through with the change her hair and the finally deciding that she will not have her hair control or dictate her life because beauty or who a person really is more than their outward appears. Interesting enough when I was search for her there was a link to her song and it features Akon another featuring Pink. I can tell you my opinion about each of the videos instead here is the link to Akon feature: http://bit.ly/4OAe9g  and the link to Pink feature: http://bit.ly/lTJji  you can draw your own conclusions. 

Week 8

Working in groups is a fact of life whether it is a group project or a project for work, most of the time called team projects because you are working a team for a company not as a group project were you will most likely never have to work with those individuals like you would at your job. When getting a group of people together to work on  a group there will always be conflict whether it is big or small issue there will also was be some sort of conflict. And with conflict someone has to be the one who is leading the group and is normally the one who has to smooth out the issue effectively and quick as possible so you and your team can move on to complete the project. Being in that leadership position is never easy and someone always has to step up at take the lead. In chapter seven, it gives a five helpful tips for being an effect lead. 1) Leaders stimulate and challenge - meaning that a leader is always looking for new ways to solve a problem or make an idea better to get the best possible result. 2) Leaders activate focs and goal direction - meaning leaders keep the team members are track for complete a project or goal that has been set, otherwise it is easy to get off track on a project without someone keeping everyone on task and setting small manageable goals with the big goal that the group is trying to achieve. 3) Leaser support member Involvement - meaning the leader tries to make sure everyone on the team is participating and each of their ideas are hear because one never know what idea can spark a better one no matter how ridiculous it may seem. 4) Leaders model effective behavior - meaning it is the leader's job to be excited about a project whether they was to the project or not because if others see the leader not wanting to do the project or is in a bad mood all the time the team members will follow in the leader's footsteps. Even when there is conflict the leader has to remain calm, cool and collect because it is easier to result and issue when everyone can calmly talk it out and not have a yelling match, which gets no one anywhere expect even more irritated and angry. 5) Leaders recognize and reward - meaning a leader knows when to show appreciation or recognizes ones efforts because encouragement or giving a :gold star" helps keep individuals spark alive for wanting to complete a project and be the best product they can create. It also helps boost confidence which helps anyone perform well it they know their hard work has paid off. Being a leader is never easy, but it can be the most rewarding position anyone can be in if they believe in themselves and the individuals they are in charge of.

Week 7

I have never be one who enjoys working with a group because there are always issues and conflict even if  you try and avoid them. Also it probably does not help when I have had some bad experiences when working in a group. But in life it is necessary to work in groups whether it is a school project, club activities or working on a project for your job. One problem is communication sometime only one person is communicating with the group or no one is until the very last minute. But along with working in groups, communication is all so essential in life. Inorder to successful the lines of communication have to be open and free of judgement. This does not always happens because we do not live in a ideal world. Another aspect to have a successful group is making sure everyone has a task and are doing their part along with being one time with deadlines. Another thing to keep thing running smoothly is having a positive atmosphere for everyone which will make for happy group members and allows individuals to feel free to say an idea which can be a good one for whatever the project the groups is working without making them feel insecure about sharing. Knowing this traits to create a successful group it can help make thing run smooth with the next group project I have to work on.

Week 6

I am a person who tries to solve problems on my own with little to no help at all so working with others can be somewhat of a challenge when other members of the group do not know how I operate and can frustrate them along with causing friction. When I attend one of the confidences, there was a session about conflict styles. Everyone filled out a worksheet reading statements and rating them 1 - 5. On the back  there was a section with each conflict style along with what letters on the front page coincide with the particular style. After adding all it up the one with the most points was your strongest still and the one with the lowest was your weakest style. The first time I took it my top two styles were compromise and avoid then with I took it again about two weeks later it was compromise and collaborating. It was surprise to me that my styles can change then when I said my styles have changed to another peer they said it probably change with the situations I am in at a particular time. It was also interesting discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each style along with how it may frustrate someone who's strength is not the same as yours and vice versa. Another aspect I need really thought about is how each style may be more beneficial than the other even when one of those styles is not my strength. Conflict is never easy, but when you understand different styles and how to work with those style is can be easier to navigate the waters.

Week 5

Reading chapter four it the book the on thing the stood out to me the most was the defense between interpersonal communication and advice giving. Because we someone is seeking help to understand something or help figuring what they want to do with their life or whether they should A or B was all advice and that is what the person asking for help was wanting. But when you start stepping into authoritative  role like a peer mentor you have to separate when you should be giving advice and when you should be using interpersonal communication because advice is based on personal experiences and you are giving your opinion which is not always the best. Being a peer mentor is your job to help your students figure things our on their own, but ask helpful questions which will make them think deeper and draw connections on their own. Also sometime they just need someone who is neutral to vent to or bounce ideas off. When thinking of the difference of interpersonal communication and advice giving my grandma comes to mind. Even without knowing the correct terminology or flipping a switch she automatically does this on our weekly phone calls. There are sometime I will talk and talk and talk until the end of whatever is on my mind has been exhausted then an aha moment happens then a say something which would be something she would say. And by reading this chapter it has helped me understand the different and identify someone in my life who uses both styles of listening.

Week 4

The two sessions I enjoyed the most at last Friday's leadership conference was "Taking a Sit Out of Diversity" and "Heathy Relationships and Communication Styles." They were both enlightening and made me take a step back. 

The diversity session was interesting because everyone is diverse in their own way along with learning different ice breakers. It was interesting to see with a group of individual who are primarily white and from the midwest and yet we were extremely diverse. And that just because two people can go through the same situation or event, but still have an different experiences and affect them in their own personal way. One of the ice breakers was inner and outer circle where people are face to face answering question, but it was more like speed dating with question that make you take a step back and think. 

Healthy Relationships and Communication Styles was a great way to learn different ways to communicate to a mentee in tough situations. Also we talked about where the lines it to how much we can help out before going and getting a professional or someone with more training. And with every situation when talking to  someone seeking your help is to ask open-ended questions not close-ended ones to help you better understand the situation. 

Week 3

I had a great time attending the ISLE conference yesterday. I came out with many different ways to view the world and how to focus on improving myself as a person and leader.  The sessions where I got the most information out of was the Keynote session with Delatorro and his follow-up session after. Throughout both sessions Del had many memorable quotes that hit home with me.

“To lead others you must first lead yourself.”

“A lion doesn’t have to roar to prove that he is a lion.”

“If two people are the same one is not necessary.”

“All success begins in the mind. It starts with the way you think.”

“Eagles fly alone or they fly with other eagles.”

These five quotes say a lot about how you should become a leader and be an effective one. My favorite on is “Eagles fly alone or they fly with other eagles.” Meaning the leads sometimes have to stand on their own to feet for what they believe even if it is by themselves. And that you should surround yourself with other leaders who have a vision to successes and not with individuals who seek blame because all they are going to do is hold you back.

Other things I gained from the conference were to define what success means to me and create a vision board or book. I love the idea of creating a vision board for me to see on a daily basis to help define what is important to me, what areas I was to succeed in and what I can approve on. I believe this to be a great project to do next semester with 2012 Hixsons and I plan on creating one next weekend.

Week 2

This past week we talked about strengths and weaknesses along with identifying what challenges a new freshmen will face. So I got me thinking of what challenges I am facing now. I guess the really big thing that is changing for me is facing the music of growing up. Meaning that with in the next year I have some pretty big decisions to make like do I stay until May 2013, go to law school and where, and reevaluating some friendship that may not be in best interest or health. When we graduated high school we knew that college was the next step therefore you have at least four sometimes five more years to put of growing up. Don't get me wrong college is a major deicision, but you had a directions to go to whereas graduating college you really don't.

The big reason why graduating college is different is because you really do have something or someone to guide you are say "this is what you are doing." Sure you have mentors, advisers, counselors, etc. to help you put the decision(s) is are ultimately up to you and what will make you happy or work best for you in the end. College is a transition period for one to help create you they are or want to be, right? Well one could say that you could see me starting to grow up an come into my own and not be sooo worried about what other people think of me and making sure they are happy. This starting line was changing my major for apparel merchandising and trying to find a major that fine for me and what will make me happy and not anyone else.

It is funny would people come to me for adivse which I make not want to shallow myself, but I finally decide that I should take my own medicine that is when I start changing this even more. I have notice with this year that I am taking my own advise making changes that not everyone will agree. Bring me to that my point about reevaluating my some of my friendships especially when you were really good friends at the start of college and now you are at odds because both of you have change and are no longer compatible. This makes it hard because you know that both of you have grown apart for whatever reason and just have to accept that fact. I funny how and that the time I was having a really hard time that was an article posted to one of the blogs I follow. (here is the link if you want to read it: http://www.collegefashion.net/college-life/growing-up-out-dealing-with-changing-social-circles/) It helped me realize that people do change and move on and that it is a little sad that they are no long in your life, but that maybe a reason why and only you will be about to pin point it. But this apart of life and growing up. Which basically sucks, but it helps you to discover what people you want in your life or not.

This post may or may not really have to do anything for the class, but also did say that we talked about strengths and weakness right? Well one of my weaknesses is opening up to people and communication how I am feeling. This blog post is my starting point for facing my weaknesses because facing them will help me grow as a person and hopefully make me a better peer mentor. If I able to show just one person how I have struggled and over come challenges in life to giving them the courage I will. Because showing someone that whatever challenge or issue you have faced and over come can is all the person needs for them to find their own strength and know that everything will be okay in the end.

Week 1

I have know since day one of me receiving the congratulations letter for being selected as a recipient of the Hixson Opportunity Award that I would be a peer mentor. I love the fact the program takes great care of all their scholarships students whether it be helping them transition for high school to college or becoming a peer mentor and being a role model for new students. While reading the first couple of chapters of our Students Helping Students book I can identify with what was being said, especial chapter two. Everyone matures and goes through changes at different rates, some faster than other.  And a lot of time the one who want to be peer mentors in anyway they can are the one that, for lack of a better term, "grow-up" faster because of the situations they put themselves in to challenging situation to develop skills to be a more effective mentor. I also enjoyed the fact the book gave us  five key principles of human development that will help me grow as a person and understand them better when the time comes for me to implement them with mentoring the 2012 Hixson class. 

Another reason I really related and enjoyed chapter two is that I felt like I was reading something I have be taught my how life. My father has always taught me to put myself in other people's shoe to better understand where they are coming from or reacting to a situation. He taught me this because it helps you relate to the person easier and to developing an more effective solution to  a situation. I guess this lesson in many ways has been the reason why I tend to gravitate to leadership roles and having people coming to me for advice because I just naturally put things into perpective, good or bad, and will get whatever done to move forward and past obstacles that arise in any situation.

I love reading books like this because it helps me challenge myself as a person and enjoy learning new ways to grow into to the person I want to be.