Orientation Team (OTEAM)
About OTEAM
OTEAM at IUI is a program designed for current students to help incoming first-year students transition into college. During both my second and third years, I have acted as a First Year Seminar (FYS) mentor. Within this role, I am a mentor to a class of incoming freshmen for bridge week and throughout their first semester on campus. Bridge week at IUI is the week before classes begin specifically for first-year students to become adjusted to campus life. This allows them to meet some of their instructors and classmates prior to the start of classes. Once the semester begins, I help lead their FYS course alongside the instructor. I also meet with all of the students twice during the semester in one-on-one peer mentor meetings to better support them. To learn more about my own experience in my FYS course, please click here.
Reflection
This experience has been extremely meaningful to me because of the relationships that I have established through this role and the skills that I have gained through being a mentor. Many of my previous mentees, while they are no longer formally my mentees, continue to reach out to me to let me know how they are doing. I feel that this speaks to the level of rapport that I have been able to establish within my FYS class. Some of my previous mentees are now mentors themselves in various programs. Overall, this experience has shaped my perception of mentorship and has allowed me to develop my own skills while helping others.