How To Create A Blog

How to step up your blog!

1. You will need to create a gmail account outside of your iastate.edu address if you don’t already have one. Make sure you log-off of your cymail before trying to log in with the other account.

2. Go to www.blogger.com

3. Once you log in, find the “New blog” button on the left side of the screen.

4. Create a name for your blog and a URL.

We suggest using your name for the URL but the title of your blog is up to you. Please keep it appropriate.

5. Choose a theme. Make sure you choose one that is not distracting from the message you will be sending with your blog posts. For those who are internet savvy, there is a option for a custom theme of your choice. Make it your own!

6. Make sure you go to the top right corner once you are done creating your blog. There you will find a drop down tab with your name. Select the link to your Blogger profile and then choose edit profile.

7. Create your profile as you wish. Please upload a photo of yourself at the bare minimum. Make sure it is just a photo of you by yourself or have anyone else in the photo cropped out. You don’t want to misrepresent yourself. Keep it appropriate! For those who want, there are plenty of places to share more information with us and your fellow section-mates.

8. Send your blog URL to Kaylene AND Dane for us to compile a class list so we can all follow one another for the blogging assignment. For reference, our emails are kivos@iastate.edu and daneb@iastate.edu.

Peer Mentors

This week we talked about other peer mentoring groups. I thought Megan and Cory did a great job. I liked the activity we did and they had great discussion questions that went with it. Doing the activity helped me compare and contrast other peer mentor groups with the one that I am in. It helped me see that there are a lot of similarities because one of the main reasons for a peer mentor is to assist and help others fit in or answer their questions. The group also usually consists of similar groups of people, whether it be the same major or the same financial situation. There are a lot of differences between peer mentor groups though, like what their meetings consist of, how frequently they meet, or even how personal their meetings get. I think that the Hixson program allows freshman to become friends with the students in their recitations and with the advisers and peer mentors. I think that this is one of the main reasons for peer mentors at Iowa State. I know that I was very nervous my freshman year and it helped to have that small class to go to where I was able to discuss with classmates and learn about campus and things that were not part of my curriculum. I feel that I have grown tremendously since my freshman year and I think that Hixson was part of the reason. I am excited to be a Hixson peer mentor next year and help the freshman get accustomed to college life and to help them feel like they belong here. That is what peer mentors are for!

Diversity Diversity

Denise Williams came during class this week and she was great! I went to her diversity session one Friday about a month or so ago. I was excited to hear that I would get to experience it again. We watched the video, "N*gger W*tback Ch*nk" (I think that is how you spell it) and it really is a funny video about stereotypes about asians, African Americans, and hispanics. Denise asked the question, "why do we all get the joke?" We all the get the joke because in this country, we care more about money and advertising and being better than everyone else. Money should not be the most important thing in the world but people use stereotypes to advertise and they make money off of it. Every commercial is filled with ten commercials and sometimes there are more commercials and advertisements than there is the actual show. Some tv shows have a lot of stereotyping in them. Everyone sees commercials and billboards that word gets around and soon everyone thinks this advertised statement is true but it is only a stereotype. It is shared among friends of friends of friends and becomes wide spread! Denise also brought up a good point about stereotyping and how to somewhat overcome it and if people could do this, we could get past all of the stereotyping.

Whenever I meet someone or see someone walking by, I am always stereotyping people. Everyone does it unconsciously and some are worse at it than others. I am going to work hard on not stereotyping people and when I do stereotype someone I am going to ask myself "why did I think that?"I think being able to ask myself this question is going to help me be a better peer mentor. If I am able to not stereotype someone at first glance then I will be able to be a better person and a better teacher that will not show a hint of resistance if my stereotyping is negative. I will also be able to have a better experience and let my mentees have a better experience because I will be more relaxed and open.

Ethics

This week we talked about ethics. I learned a lot from Easten's and Alex's lesson plan and also from the book. I learned that it is not recommended to become friends with your mentee, but it depends on the situation I think. I can see how becoming friends with them could shift the atmosphere in the class room. It could cause problems and the person that you become friends with might not look at you like a teacher and might not take you seriously. That could cause a lot of problems. Another thing we talked about was that if there is a problem, or past experiences that went bad, with a person, it is better to talk to them face to face and probably one on one, not in front of the whole class. You need to tell them the truth and be honest about your feelings. The other option would be to ignore the situation all together which won't solve anything and the problem will continue and it will probably ruin the experience for others. Or, you could egg it on and make the situation much worse, this would be the last thing I would do. If I have a problem with a student or another peer mentor next year, I will confront them and make things better because there is nothing worse that feeling awkward around people you have to spend a lot of time with.

Digital Storying Telling Project

This week, we had a work day for our digital storying telling project. Our true life video is going to be really good and informative. It is short, fun, and to the point on very diverse topics about important things freshman should know. I think that this video is going to help inform the Hixson freshman next year in getting comfortable with campus and using its resources. Since us peer mentors have gone threw the experiences of being freshman, we know what it is like to be a small person in this very large campus and it can be overwhelming at times. We had our own thoughts and fears and things that we wish we would have known coming into college. These ideas might be the same as a lot of the incoming freshman next year. The video will also be a good introduction to the video that they are going to have to make during the semester and will help give them ideas on what to do (or not to do) in their own movie. I was an actress in the video and I know that there were some problems getting everybody together on the scheduled time, but we were able to find a different day that worked for most people. I think we got the filming done on time and now all that is left is the editing. I think that our movie is going to turn out great because we have such a great group of peer mentors! :)

Resources

This week was Christina's and my turn to lead class.  It gave me great insight in how our classroom is going to work next year. It also made me realize how hard it is to wait seven seconds for everybody to think about the question and come up with an answer. The silence is kind of awkward for a while but I think that it will get better and become less awkward. Teaching our lesson plan that we thought would only take 20 minutes was an eye-opener because it took way longer than we had estimated. In reality, our lesson plan was way too long because we were not able to ask more of our discussion questions, but it would be a perfect lesson plan for a 50 minute class period! I think as a peer mentor, we should know most of the resources here at Iowa State because it is important for your students to feel comfortable going to you and knowing you will have the answer (most of the time anyways) or be able to refer them to the right place, but always being willing to sit down with them and look with them is a good option; it will help you bond with your student and also learn something new! I also like Amy's idea about bad versus good experiences with resources. Just because you have a bad experience with a resource doesn't mean it is going to be that way the next time, so just being open and willing to give your resources more than one try will help one stay more open minded and probably be more willing to refer someone to that resource.

ISCORE and Etiquette Dinner

I attended the first-generation students experience session at the ISCORE conference. I thought it was a good session because it had real students sharing their experiences, but I do have one comment against it. They talked a lot about how they did not know how to do anything like sign up or apply for scholarships and how they did not have any friends and they felt like they did not belong at Iowa State. First, I think almost everyone that goes to some new place and feels that way when they first get to Iowa State. My dad went to college but he is not a computer person and he was not able to help me with anything, we were both in the dark. When I got to Iowa State, I had the same feelings and anxieties like the first-generation students experienced. I was shy and did not feel like I was able to connect with the people on my floor. I did not feel like I belonged at Iowa State and some days I still have that feeling. This session made it seem like first-generation students are the only ones that experience that so I am a little unsure about the session.

The etiquette dinner was awesome! I think it was a really good idea because it will come in handy when going on a dinner interview especially because they are becoming more popular. I thought the food was great and so was Ardy Rohr (I hope I spelled her name right). She was very helpful and informative. I also like how she gave us tips about interviews that her daughter has recently experienced. I still don't like that you can't mix your vegetables, rice, and chicken together but I guess I'll have to suck it up for my interview! But until then, I'm still going to mix it all! Yum!!

Communication Processes

In class this week we talked and read about group processes. We did an activity where one person was blind-folded and their partner had to direct them around the room that was made into an obstacle course. It was a great was to show how important communication is. It was a really good way to bring trust between your partner and you because the blind-folded person had to completely reply on their partner on getting them to their destination. For the partner who could see, it probably took a great deal of concentration because they don't know if their directions were good enough or detailed enough. 


It gave a good example of how us as a peer mentors are going to have to communication next year. I am going to have to analyze situations of freshman and know when I will need to give detailed answers, like where to go for these certain resources. Or if my answers need to be more broad like in advice giving so I don't accidentally give them advice but I just lead them to the answer they want. We also played a game where we had to all stand on a little blanket and somehow get it flipped over. I think this would have been a great exercise if the blanket would have been bigger or there were less people on the blanket. It was a good way to work on our problem solving skills within a larger group and to see how the activity was going to get accomplished or if it even was going too. It was also a great way to bond with the other peer mentors!

Making Things Work...Or Not

This week we learned about solving problems. I thought that Mike and Carly did a great job this week! I like how they gave us that test to see what kind of conflict management styles we use most often. I was in the category compromising, where I try to help make everyone sacrifice a little in order to get the best outcome and have everyone be happy. I think that I actually belong more in the accommodating group because when Amy was talking about her answers I felt like I related to her more than to compromising. I usually try to stay away from conflict until it gets worse or I am sick of thinking about it. In high school, I had a really opinionated friend and she would just argue with anyone that disagreed with her. I think that is why we were such close friends because she would try and argue with me and I would just give up and say okay maybe you are right and move on! Even though I still thought I was right, I thought there were more important things to talk about. I thought the questions that we had to answer were really great and helped explain how and when to use each style.

We also broke off into groups of two and had to work on working as a team. The trick was that we were in some way made handicapped, for example Dylan and I had to make a clay animal by only using our non-dominant hands. Everyone did something different and I thought it was a great representation of learning how to think out of the box and trying to accomplish something that might be a little uncomfortable or difficult. This applies to being a peer mentor because we are going to be put in some situations where we may be uncomfortable and being able to get practice in any kind of uncomfortable situation will make me even more comfortable when something more serious comes up.

Communication

This week, we talked about and learned about different kinds of communication skills and ways of communicating. I thought Lauren and Dylan did an awesome job in creating their lesson plan and it really helped me understand the difference between giving advice and using interpersonal communication. Before this week I did not know there was a right and a wrong way to help someone solve a certain type of problem. Giving advice is for more of a direct answer to helping them find other ways to solve their problem. It could also be my own opinion or what I think should be done instead of what the student might actually need to do. For example, if they don't know which major to choose, I can give them different resources that could better help them make a decision. For interpersonal communication, it is more like asking open-ended questions where I wouldn't give them a straight answer but where it would help them come up with their own answer to their problem. 

I think knowing when to use the two different types of communication will come in handy when we are peer mentors. The interpersonal communication is new to me and it is going to take a lot of practice in being able to come up with the right kinds of questions to ask. I think it is very important to know how to ask those kinds of questions instead of just giving the student your advice because most of my advice from my past experiences might not be the right answer for the student. It would be bad if they decided to take the same route I did and not get the same results. Everyone has different experiences or problems that need their own answers.

Diversity

This week was all about diversity. I thought that Amy's teaching was great and the questions she made really made me think about the role I play in diversity. Being the majority is easy and many do not know what if feels like to be the minority. Many of the older generation have preconceived thoughts of the minority and they have thought that way for so long that it is almost impossible to change their minds. That leaves it to our generation to get prejudices to be a thing of the past. And us as peer mentors are going to be able to help inform the minds of the incoming freshman about the importance of peer mentors. 


I went to the communications session in the morning and it really informed me on how to communicate and to mediate conversations between people that are having conflicts. It helped me find ways to encourage, re-ensure, and support peoples actions and help build their confidence. 


I also went to the "Taking the Sit Out of Diversity." This session was great! Denise was able to get everyone involved and she was able to give us many ways to engage students in activities about diversity. When I first walked in, we were told to fill out this survey about different things like your race, your sex, your religion, if you have ever made a racial joke or laughed at one, and the final one was if you felt uncomfortable checking some of these statements. There was only six people that came to the session so we were not able to do the activity but it made me think. It made me think about if I was the only one that checked the last question. That is one of the things that I need to work on, being more comfortable with diversity and gaining the confidence in being able to ask questions and make conversation. There were a lot of other great activities that talked about diversity and I am very excited to use some of them next year because I enjoyed them and I enjoyed being able to do activities and not have to sit there and be lectured to. 

ISLE

ISLE was actually a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be. Delatorro is great! He is fun and makes you participate in his speech. He is also a great motivator and likes to keep it real! His keynote speech was really good and he gave examples from recent movies of the different types of leadership styles and the pros and cons of them. He gave great requirements to have in order to be a great leader. One is needing to be a great follower. Also, you have to be able to lead yourself before you can lead others.

I went to the first session with Delatorro again because I was hoping to get the 12 important steps in writing my own ticket in college and beyond. I wanted to know his idea of the best way to succeed in college so I could share that not only with myself but with the freshman next year. Unfortunately he did not get through all 12 steps but he said some really great things. The main thing that stuck out to me was, there is no win or lose, there is only win or learn. You can't look at life as winning or losing, because every time you lose, you learn something from that experience. Learning will always get you closer to winning the next time and that is why one should never be afraid to go for things they want.

The second session was about icebreakers. I thought this session was really fun and I wish we could have had more time to learn more icebreakers. The one that was really fun was when there was someone standing in the middle and they have to point at three people and say "cow or rabbit or fire hydrant," then the three people had to perform an action. It was a great way to get relaxed with the people you were around because we had to do funny actions which probably put a lot of people out of their comfort zone. Icebreakers are a great way to open up and feel more relaxed with a group of people one has never met.

The third session I attended I did not like. It was about utilizing strengths but we never identified different types of strengths or how we could use them to our advantage. The ending of the day was great because my name was drawn for a prize and I received a twenty dollar gift card!!! Yay!

Chapter Three

My eighth grade summer I hung out with friends people call "hicks." When this guy asked another boy in my grade if he should go for me or my friend (I know, what a player), the boy said don't go for Kaylene, she hangs out with "hicks." Well, he didn't listen to him, but I feel like my school was really bad when it came to stereotyping people and being prejudice. It occurred especially within the high school girls. If you were older, then you got to boss the younger girls around. Girls in sports would only hang out with other girls in sports. When I was a freshman, I heard rumors that the older girls didn’t like me because I was going out with "their sophomore." I think I was a prejudice person when I was in high school, but I think that going to college has allowed me be on my own and grow into a better person. It has changed how I feel and think about everything. Now, I am more accepting of people that are culturally different. I feel like this will help me be more open-minded and understanding of the different ways people live and act. Being able to be sincere and curious about different cultures will help me be more relatable and I really am more curious about other cultures than I have ever been.

One sentence from this chapter that stood out to me was, "We are all vulnerable and we all make mistakes." I expect from myself perfection and it is hard for me to accept that I am not, but I have been working on telling myself that what happens, happens and nobody is perfect and it is impossible to be perfect. I don't expect anyone to be like me or have the same opinions as me. I don't expect anyone to be perfect. I don’t expect anyone to be smart and understand everything they are taught. Those are important traits a peer mentor has and I think I have them pretty well figured out. One of the tips at the end of the chapter was concentration. Being "in the moment." I have been working on that when I go to my classes, just thinking about the moment right now and not worrying about the past because you cannot change it, and not worrying about the future. This is what a peer mentor should be able to do in order to fully understand people that are culturally different. I thought the book did a great job at describing how almost everyone feels at some point in his or her lifetime and I felt like I was able to relate to the text very easily. It also gave great instructions on how to try to help change the way you look at people that are different. 

Chapters One and Two

I thought the first two chapters of the book were very interesting. The first chapter outlined a lot of points that explains who a peer educator is and what they are here for. A sentence from the book grabbed my attention, "relating with her peer educator was like 'being able to relate to someone who has been through similar experience but still understands and won't judge me for needing input on what may seem unimportant.’” This sentence does a good job of summing up one of the major reasons for having a peer educator. I hope that I can make the students feel comfortable enough to ask me any kind of question because I have had a lot of stupid questions in my lifetime and it is nice to know that someone is there to help you answer them, not because that is what they were hired to do but because they obviously like helping people with things otherwise they would not be peer educators. Also, in the section about peer educators being role models. I definitely agree with that section. There are certain guidelines that give peer educators good reputations. When I think of a peer educator I think someone studious, friendly, confident, and they get good grades, and care about school and people. You want a peer educator to have these qualities because these are the kinds of qualities everyone should strive for in order to learn and succeed and you also want someone you can rely on that will always be there on time and will always be willing to help. I know that I will be able to fulfill the role of a peer educator because this is what I want to do with the rest of my life and I think it is fun to be able to teach students new things and hopefully inspire them to follow their career goals and succeed. I think the second chapter described my feelings of being a freshman very well. Going to college is and was a stressful time for me. It was scary leaving my parents and not knowing anybody and having to face most of the challenges that Students Helping Students lists. I thought that the Hixson class not only helped me make friends and feel more comfortable but it also supplied me with a lot of knowledge about the campus and its resources. My peer mentors were always happy to see us, and they tried to make class fun. I want to be able to inform the students and make it a fun environment like my peer mentors did for me. I think that the class activities we have done so far has really helped to set a friendly atmosphere and they are always great ways to get to know ones classmates.