#HOWTO: IMPACT The Next Generation

This past weekend I had the privilege of participating in a mentoring program for multicultural students at my school, Central Michigan University. The IMPACT Program allows the incoming freshmen, and transfer students to move-in on campus early, build a strong sense of community, make connections, develop leadership qualities, and receive information on all the available resources at CMU before the rest of the population makes their way to campus. For every group, or family of students, there are two IMPACT mentors who guide these students through the program and give insight on how to navigate a PWI, predominately white institution, successfully.

As patterns show, I never really know what I'm going to write about until the opportunity presents itself. Coming off of a very fulfilling, and service-based weekend, I wanted to share 5 tips #HOWTO impact the next generation through mentoring.

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Mentor, noun: an experienced, or trusted adviser.

Mentorship, noun: the guidance provided by a mentor, especially an experienced person in a company or educational institution.

Mentee, noun: a person who is advised, trained, or counseled by a mentor.

*These terms are very important to understand before reading on, or going out for a leadership position like mentoring.

#1. SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE: Educational, spiritual, emotional, mental, physical, ALL OF THAT! There is absolutely nothing gained if you don't share your experience with your mentees. Pretending that everything will always go your way paints a picture of peaches and creme, which is good, but not reality. BE REAL! Sharing your experiences helps make connections, whether that's on a surface or personal level.

#2. LEAD BY EXAMPLE: This one should be very simple. It's the rebuttal to "Do as I say, not as I do." By now, we should realize that people do as they see, not as they hear. If mentoring is important to you, you should make sure that you act the exact way that you expect your mentees to behave when you give them tips, tricks, and advice. If not, the position you hold means nothing, and they see you as just another Joe Schmo down the street.

#3. ASK QUESTIONS: Don't be afraid to ask the questions that aren't all surface level. Icebreakers are cool, but the goal should be to develop a bond that goes beyond just favorite color, favorite animal, and Coke or Pepsi. Ask questions that aren't so easy to answer like: What's your purpose? Why do you believe this? What do you want to do? What kind of leader are you? Why did you choose college? Why are you here? What got you here? What experiences made you into the person you are today? That being said, make sure you present yourself as open as you want your mentees to be as well.

#4. REMEMBER, YOU'RE NOT THERE TO BE COOL: Stop worrying about being liked. Instead, make sure you are respected. I know this comes hard for some personality types, and I'm not dismissing the way you interact with people you want to help. But, make sure your mentees know and fully understand during this time, y'all ain't friends. You are there to give them tools, resources, and connections in order to succeed in life, and be a person of contact for questions or tough conversations.

#5. SPEAK LIFE: "What's wrong with this generation? Y'all just can't get right." Um. Next.

I think cancelling this method of thinking and replacing it with words of encouragement and support will get this generation and the next where everyone thinks we should be. You know, let's start using simple statements like: You are capable. You are valuable. You have the power to make a change. You have the creativity to make this better. You got this! Reminding the next generation of who they are, and what they are capable of does a lot more for them than telling them what they can't do or don't do correctly. Speaking life and cracking a smile can changes a persons life, trust me I know.

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CMU's IMPACT Program actually just completed it's second year on Saturday, August 19th. Whoot Whoot! And I wasn't going to mention this, but I actually went through this program as a mentee last year. How do you think I got such valuable tips? (Oops, that's a joke). I experienced everything that the program set out to do, and met some of my closest friends through it that it was only right to return the favor and become a mentor this year for the class of 2021. Becoming a mentor this year was probably the most rewarding thing I every could have done; not because I had I was given the title of a mentor, but because I got to meet my mentees where they were, and point them in the direction of where they can go. Through smiles, laughs, cries, frustrations, irritations, and everything in between this program really changed the way I view my role on my campus, and the role you have, whether you accept it or not, on the lives of people around you.

With how competitive everything is in this world, it can be easy not to want to help someone else succeed. Fun fact! Helping someone else achieve and discover themselves as a leader doesn't prohibit you from achieving any more or less than you were before. Human nature says: everyone for themselves, be selfish, it's all about you. But, as I finish this post, I think the new human nature should say: help the next one succeed, because we all gotta win. So let's be great together, for ourselves and the generations to follow.

Peace +GLOW Always,

"God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.

Use them well to serve one another."

-1 Peter 4:10 NLT

#thehowtoseries #mentorship #IMPACT #college #purpose #relationships #cmu