Mentoring

"Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction."

-----John Crosby

Why should I have a Mentor?

Perspective and Experience. A mentor can give you the benefit of his or her perspective and experience.  

Think Outside the Box. A mentor can help you look at situations in new ways. He or she can ask hard questions and help you solve problems.

Define and Reach Long-Term Goals. A mentor can help you define your career path and ensure that you don’t lose focus and continue down that road even when you become distracted by day-to-day pressures.

Accountability. When you know you are meeting with your mentor, you ensure that all the tasks you discussed in your last meeting are completed.

Trusted Colleague to Discuss Issues. A mentor can be a great sounding board for all issues – whether you are having difficulty with your family or friends, an ethical dilemma, or need advice on how to tackle a new project, or which college to go to.

Champion and ally. A mentor who knows you well can be a strong champion of your positive attributes and an ally during any bumpy spots in your life.

Expand your contacts and network. A mentor can help expand your network of contacts. This can be very important when applying for jobs, colleges, and scholarships.

Inspire. A mentor whose life you admire can be a strong inspiration

Work better. With the help of a good mentor, you can work more efficiently with a clearer view of the future you are trying to achieve. 

At TEAM we have College age students who are wanting to be there for YOU in the way YOU need them to be. They can help YOU with figuring out what YOU want to be when YOU grow up, help YOU fix a problem in school or YOUR personal life, or just be someone YOU have fun with.  This relationship is all about YOU!

At TEAM we also have the great opportunity to work with the After-School Club and help mentor the Elementary students at Wilson Elementary. Growing up, were there people in your life who offered you encouragement, shared their experiences and knowledge, and sometimes just listened when you needed to talk? This is the chance for you to give back and pay it forward. Be that mentor to someone else, that your mentor was to you. 

Don't forget we meet Monday and Thursday after-school at Logan High from 3-5:30 PM.

See you there! 

PRIORITIES . . . One Word for a yearly focus.

This week for Arts we continued focusing on our one-word project for the year. 

After a week of thinking, the students came back and began brainstorming and designing words to become their yearly motto. Finding a word to guide all aspects of your life for a year can prove a bit tough, as some of the students discovered, but after discussion everyone found a word that fit their goals. Words mentioned included:

Diligence

Dedication

Simplicity

Laughter

Service

Priorities

Talk of how to design the words on the 3D printer also took place. Some students plan to make a design that printed each letter separately as connecting pieces while others plan to create one single piece for the entire word. Now that we have designs on paper, the next step is designing the words on the cad program!

Prepared by Mollie O'Donnell

My One Word

Arts: One Word

With the beginning of the New Year comes a list of resolutions. A list of goals, some specific, some vague, to be completed in 12 months time. However, often these goals can be lofty and are quickly forgotten or broken early on in the year. This idea of resolutions, without the shattered lists, can be fixed with the idea of one word. The book One Word by Gordan, Britton, and Page, has changed the way many people view resolutions and has even come to change lives. The idea is that individuals choose one word to essentially guide their life for a year. One word that will relate to all aspects of their life. 

This one word will become the driving factor behind decisions that they make. Examples of success have come from words including believe, commitment, faith, courage, strength, and many more. For arts this week we shared this concept with the students and asked that they choose a word to guide them for the year. This then relates to arts as we will create a 3D version of the words using the new 3D printing technology that is being incorporated into TEAM. It will be exciting to see the “One Words” that come out of this!

Prepared by Mollie O'Donnell

What Can You Learn From a Quarter, A Nickel and a Dime?

STEM

This week’s STEM activity was a milder one, but it had some far reaching ideas. We discussed 

momentum, how it is a physical and a mental phenomenon. To demonstrate this we took a quarter and placed it on the table. Then, we slid a nickel and a dime at it in turn and observed its reaction. We found that if we slid the nickel at the same speed as the dime, the nickel would make the quarter move further every time. But, we also found that if we slid the dime faster, it could match the displacement caused by the nickel. What we were observing was momentum in action. Since momentum equals mass times a velocity (p = m X v), something with smaller mass (the dime) can have the same momentum as something much heavier (the nickel) with an increase in its velocity. We also talked a little bit about inertia and how it is harder to start or stop an object than it is to keep it in motion. This led us into our next discussion.

While this experiment wasn’t quite as explosive as some of others, we decided to relate it to ourselves. We decided that it is always very difficult to start doing our homework, but once we start it, the hardest part is over. Same thing with bad habits. If we’re stuck in a rut and can’t quite seem to get out, don’t despair. The initial change is always the hardest part, but once you’ve made that change, it is sooo much easier to keep from doing it again. Keeping your momentum going is always easier than having to restart all the time. Hopefully this simple act of seeing quarters and nickels colliding will help them remember that lesson. I know it’s helped me.

Prepared by Ben Lovett

Creating Signage for the Upcoming Composting Project!

 

SERVICE

For TEAM’s service project this week we have focused on helping promote a composting program that will be implemented at the Wilson Elementary School. 

Our TEAM members have really enjoyed creating posters to go around the school, relating to recycling and composting food. We believe that this will be a wonderful opportunity for the Wilson School students to get involved in a great cause and making a difference. We are also grateful for the opportunity to help make this possible.



Prepared by Anna Donaldson

Teacher Appreciation Dinner

Students of TEAM organized a teacher appreciation dinner where they served soup, salad, and dessert at Logan High School.

The dinner was to thank teachers for all the hard work they apply each semester. It was also a great opportunity for TEAM members, mentors, and coordinators to inform teachers about the organization in order to get more students involved.  Information on meeting times, places, types of activities, and basic goals and values of TEAM were made aware to all teachers through greetings and pamphlets.

TEAM is an excellent way for students to get involved in their school and community! There is so many different experiences to be had through the organization.

We hope all teachers who attended were pleased with their experience and hope to recruit some more members to help strengthen our organization because "Together Everyone Achieves More!"

Why and How USU students should get involved

TEAM mentoring is a great opportunity for USU students for numerous reasons. The mentoring program gives wonderful experience that becomes an asset to any resume. Especially for USU students looking to get into education, counseling, or a number of related fields, TEAM provides firsthand knowledge about what certain future careers may entail. Furthermore, TEAM allows USU students to become a part of the community and serve. The atmosphere of working with the high school students to ease their troubles regarding high school and college preparation is so rewarding. Seeing the difference one can make in others lives with a bit of extra listening and effort enhance self-worth and outlook on life. Additionally, by signing up through a group known as AmeriCorps, USU students can earn a scholarship by being a part of TEAM that can help them further their own education. AmeriCorps members sign up for certain hourly commitments to be completed within a years time. Getting involved in TEAM mentoring is easy! By contacting the program coordinators, anyone can start the simple online application process today!