Mentor Reflection

At first I was afraid, but then I got by with a little help from my friend Hannah Bastian. She isn’t your typical student at Central Michigan University, for she was chosen to become part of a contingent for the Leadership Institutes LAS program. The Leadership Institute seeks out 50-60 new members each academic year out of 2,000 applicants who applied. The process involves filling out an application sheet that lists involvements and other extra curricular activates that a student has done along with two recommendation letters from one teacher and one outside source. The next step is being picked among the remaining 80 students who received an invitation for competition day. Here at this point interviews are made as well as measuring performance levels among competitors. Finally, the last step is waiting for the call. This happens a week later, and thus determining if you are in or not. Luckily, Hannah Bastian was chosen and I was too.

Hannah Bastian is from Clinton, Michigan, and she is currently a sophomore and soon to be a junior next academic year. Her time in LAS has given her an opportunity to grow and support all people. She went Greek in her Freshman year and was chosen to be in Alpha Chi Omega. Her sorority deals with women’s health and lifestyle. They raise money, promote fundraisers for women, and make a good name for their organization. She is also going to Central Michigan University to get a secondary education in English. At the end of her freshman year the mentee draft was in full swing. She wanted her mentee to have a better time, better relationship, and better opportunity in LAS than she did with her own. She told me that our family tree is blended and is beautiful, for she was adopted by everyone. I love this reasoning to why we got a big family tree. When it came time for her to choose she was happy with anyone and chose me. I love it.

Since then Hannah Bastian isn’t just my mentor, but is a friend whom I can look up to and get the chance to talk to. During our time at Eagle village I made it a goal to make sure that Hannah got what she deserved and that was to spend time on the high ropes course. She loved it and it made me really happy that we can work together and bring each other to a smile. Also, before the trip she got me coffee and a bag of goodies. I proudly display the painting she made me above where I sleep. It says “Carpe Diem”. I have no clue how she knew it was my favorite saying, but I say I am blessed. After the trip, we kept in touch and we went out to dinner at the café. It was neato to have someone to eat with. I made sure to always ask questions and listen to her stories. It is with proud honor to know that she is chief at Camp Timbers. This is a great honor for her and I am happy to have someone dedicated to helping kids. Whenever I need her she is always there. When I am having trouble she understands. The compassion and the lengths she goes for me are phenomenal. I want to say she deserves just the same.

Soon my mentor will be a “G” which is like a grandparent to my mentee. I know Hannah will love her. I know I will have an awesome time with her as I show her the ropes that mentor showed me. I hope that Hannah Bastian knows that I could never top her, but I will let her know that I will make her proud. What I am to do now is to keep a good smile on my face and get ready to mentor my own. This LAS program protocol to mentor a mentee during their freshman year sounds cool and looks cool. I am no skilled mentor, but I believe I will make my little mentee strive for greatness. It’s not about me anymore, but what I can do for them. I can go the distance, and I will carpe the heck out of my diem next year. THIS IS FOR YOU HANNAH BASTIAN! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!

Connections Conference Reflections

I had a splashing good time at connections conference. I learned from 3 keynote speakers about how to become a better leader. I can’t recall their names, but their presentations I can vividly recall.

The first leadership speaker had a presentation on Harry Potter. It was about dumping out. Sometimes it’s good to talk to people who might be in the center of the situation, but you need to prioritize of what is okay to say and who it is okay to say it to.

The next one was about growing your garden. The speaker had a tree and it was about who you are and how you can connect with yourself.

The last one was about Disney and how you can make your dreams come true. It was about making yourself a good person. How you achieve anything if you go the distance.

Because of these speakers I questioned myself and asked how can I improve myself. What I did was exactly what they preached and so far it is working out for myself.

I enjoyed the waterpark, ice cream shop, and being with friends. I had the best experience ever. I wouldn’t want to forget a moment.