One of the [many] benefits of going to a school the size of Wake Forest is that it allows for personal attention. Our students can come to know faculty, staff, and administrators in a way that might be more difficult at a 20,000 student institution – and our faculty, staff, and administrators value the ability to help mentor students.
I often give this advice to students: find one adult on this campus that you can connect with, whether that is to ponder Life’s Big Questions, to have a local expert on how to tap into needed resources, or someone who knows Winston-Salem better than you do. Find an adult who you can talk to. I had a professor I referred to as my Dad-away-from-Dad and he helped me with lots of things, big and small.
So it was fortuitous that a friend in the Mentoring Resource Center sent this to me. It’s all about helping students find their people.
A primary indicator of well-being and success after college graduation and into young adulthood is when students have had a mentor who has cared about them during college and provided support in working towards goals (2018 Strada-Gallup Alumni Survey: Mentoring College Students to Success). So how do we help our college students identify mentors and to engage in meaningful relationships that support their needs and goals?
This Fall semester, the WFU Mentoring Resource Center is kicking off our student mentoring campaign, “Who Are Your People?” designed to help students think about what they need, identify who can meet those needs (faculty, staff, peers, offices on campus), and four keys to building effective relationships with mentors and supporters. Learn more here!
Finally, a great reminder from my friends in the Office of Sustainability. At this point in the semester, you might be hearing from your student with requests for you to mail them things they forgot to bring with them, or telling you they need X or Y for their room or wardrobe. Help your student minimize waste and preserve their wallet by reminding them that the answer is not always to buy more 🙂
