As an incoming freshman I was so nervous when move-in day rolled around. Would I like my classes? Would I meet good friends? What if I hadn’t even picked the right college? All these worries and more were in the minds of every person in my class. Thankfully, DePauw has a wonderful first year mentoring program that helps all of the freshmen come out of their shells. My first year mentor, Maggie, was so influential for me and she helped everyone in my orientation group be the best versions of themselves! I was interested in Maggie’s perspective on what it means to be a first year mentor so I decided to ask her about her experiences.
HC: Hi Maggie! Thanks for talking with me today. I wanted to start by asking you about your experience as a freshman and your first year mentor. Why did you want to become a first year mentor?
MP: My first year mentor was named CJ, he was wonderful and created such a community for us. We were all so nervous coming in, especially because of Covid, but CJ made us so comfortable and facilitated so many friendships between us. I am so grateful to him and he is the reason I wanted to be a mentor!
HC: Can you tell us what your favorite thing about your first year mentor is?
MP: My favorite thing about CJ was how honest he was and how he made the best of everything. Our original mentor got Covid right before orientation, so CJ was sort of thrown into everything last minute. But he explained everything to us and let us know we would figure it out together, which set a great tone for the rest of the year.
HC: Now that you are a first year mentor, what is your favorite part? Would you recommend being a first year mentor?
MP: My favorite part is how wonderful it is to be able to usher in the first years and help them find their community on campus. It is so rewarding to see them being leaders a year or two down the road. I would totally recommend it.
HC: What sort of skills do you think a first year mentor should have?
MP: They need to be able to follow through, that’s a big thing. They should also be enthusiastic for DePauw, in a realistic way of course. They don’t need to be DePauw’s number one fan, but they do need to promote it. Positivity is also super important. Be an extrovert! Or at least be able to pull the first out of their shells. And definitely have a comforting presence.
HC: Well thank you so much for being a great mentor and for interviewing with me!