Mentoring Freshies

Stepping into college from school is a process in itself. It takes a substantial amount of effort to adjust and adapt to the new academic and campus environment. Colleges have a system where seniors are to help their juniors transition into college life and be a helping hand in college and a shoulder to lean on....

This is kind of what the Job description of a mentor looks like

But being a mentor and handling mentees is not an easy job.....

When I joined IIT in 2019, I was assigned a mentor-a senior from my department. He was my Buddy Mentor. Then I was assigned another mentor called SAATHI mentor. To this day, I don't know the exact difference between the two. The only insight I can give you about the difference is that the former is an academic mentor while the other is a mental wellness mentor. 

However, the mentee experience was not that great. I met my Buddy Mentor as a mentee only once and all our further interactions were restricted to WhatsApp. I now don't know who my SAATHI mentor is!! So I decided to be different when I become a mentor..... 

And that time did come... This year! I applied for the post of Buddy Mentor for the students of the 2020 batch. I got the job, and our Department Secretary assigned three mentees to me. My job has just begun... But with a difference,

It went from this....

to this.....

If this wasn't pressure enough, due to the pandemic, the entire process of allotting mentors was delayed. They did have mentors in the first year but they were formally allotted mentors only in the second year. So, it is a different job than what I had seen.

I and my mentees from the 2020 batch decided to meet over the weekend through Zoom. But when the meeting took place, the beginning was as expected- no cameras turned on!! I then understood the plight teachers are going through in online classes. Teaching without knowing who your students are is an unpleasant experience.. I feel for them 😔😔😔. 

But I got them to turn on their webcams for a few seconds. Then we had a chat about how their online semester was, some fun incidents in both their and my classes and finally, as a dutiful senior, I gave them tips on how to be better in the department. 

Before leaving, we agreed to meet once a month. I have to try not to make the mistakes my mentors did because the transition into college life, that too during the pandemic, may not be pleasant for all.

I may have one batch covered. But there's still one more batch to talk about. That's a story for another time