Brain Rules Chapters 3 & 4; Undergraduate Research

Mentoring at Hand Middle School has been a really great experience. Since babysitting has always been my summer job, I sort of had an idea of what to expect handling a sixth grader. However, the mentoring is so focused on one-on-one interaction between the mentor and the mentee. It's different from babysitting. I can really be a positive influence to Mya, my mentee. She's quiet, extremely bright, and has a great head on her shoulders. She reminds me a lot of myself (minus the quiet part). Getting to know her lately I've realized she doesn't have a great home life. This is what really gets me. I hate knowing that her dream is to go to Clemson (yes, she is a Clemson fan living in Columbia. I can't believe it!) and that dream might not be possible simply because of her background. My strengths are getting her to talk more often. I am trying to bring her out of her shell as much as I can. Although she has straight A's, she is not very organized. Which is perfect for me, considering I'm sort of a neat freak. Anyway, mentoring is becoming a positive experience for both Mya and I. I have volunteered somewhere else this semester. I went to the Harvest Hope Food Bank with some people from my mission trip and helped them with whatever they needed (stocked shelves, etc). Volunteering is a serious passion of mine, so all of these "requirements" for Capstone and such don't really feel required to me.