Mentors

When you join the elite group of President Scholars, you are assigned a mentor who you meet at the luncheon before the school year starts. Each scholar is given a mentor, usually someone of high capacity at the college [some even with three funky letters at the end of their name], to which they meet with and discuss everything from life at school to things bigger than North Shore (life skills to be exact). My mentor happens to be a very busy man at North Shore, so when we are able to meet, I like to squeeze every last drop of information out of him. This week, I had a issue with something at the college, something that I really didn’t know how to deal with without offending the professor I was dealing with. So, I did the adult thing, and seeked out my mentor, with who sat me down and give me one of the best lessons in life you can be handed: when dealing in a situation like this, you need to craft your words so carefully so that you can get your point across, not offended the other party, and find a resolution that fits both parties. After being told this, I realized how valuable that lesson from the my mentor was. 

Dealing with difficult situations is a fact of life, but dealing with them respectfully and in a proper manner can make all the difference in the end result. Its get better though. I found out that day I had two mentors: I walked across the hall to check in with one of the three-at-the-end-of-her-names and asked her opinion. This young lady stressed something that my other mentor stressed: grades aren’t everything. They aren’t the end all be all. Its what you take from the class and can go forward with that matters at the end of the day