International mentor benefits from program

Ruby Chan

Contributing Writer

When talking about jobs, most people think their job is hard, exhausting, competitive, boring, and stressful like a nightmare. However, my job is fun, exciting and valuable. There are a lot of benefits to my job. Not only does it help me to acquire several practical skills, but also gives me opportunities to know more about myself, improve my weakness and have fun. I've never had such a wonderful experience in my life. What I am talking about is the position offered by International programs Office at Shoreline Community College, which is called International Peer Mentor (IPM).

International Peer Mentors are student employees that assist new and continuing international students and create retention activities for them. New students usually come to the United States during the quarter breaks and it is an IPM's peak time to work. The main tasks include planning and preparing part of the orientation and activities as well as welcoming new international students. For instance, there is a Seattle tour before school starts every quarter break. We will plan where to go, what to do during the trip, how to promote the events and what the agenda is. During the quarter, fun events will also be created like a Halloween Party and a Thanksgiving Feast.

It is not difficult at all to list up to 10 benefits from working as an IPM, such as being more responsible, organized, critical, and cooperative with my colleagues as well as obtaining leadership skills and improving English skills. Besides these, I've also grown in the following significant skills.

Confidence is one of the most important and most significant skills I built up from work. As an IPM, we are the leaders of the students. We will be leading a lot of activities and events. We have to do plenty of public speaking and announcements. Moreover, we have to approach different kinds of people. If I do not have self-confidence and am always shy, it is an obstacle to talk to the students. It will be hard to build up the trust too. During the time I was working, I had plenty of chances to speak in front of groups of new students using my second language. Leading several groups of students in the activities has contributed to my confidence as well.

Being more social is another benefit. As an IPM, I cannot be quiet all the time. Besides a big smile and greeting, it is necessary to have small talk with the international students when I see them. As I already mentioned, there are different kinds of students with unique characteristics. Some of them are talkative and active. Some might be quiet and shy. In order to be able to talk to all kinds of people, I must try to find a common topic to talk about and ask them questions so that they can share their thought and experiences.

Last but not least, being considerate is also one of the skills I have learned. One of the peer mentors' primary jobs is to assist students. When they have problems, we have to make sure that we have correct sources to refer to or give them right information. Since they are newcomers to the US, they only have little background regarding their new surroundings. For example, if a student wants to go to Northgate Mall, 345 is the bus. If I refer them to take 331, they will go to a wrong place and might get lost. Therefore, it is important for me to understand their questions and provide the right information for them. Otherwise, it might cause them inconvenience and give a bad reputation to IPMs.

International Peer Mentor is indeed a very exciting and fun job. Through creating events and activities and approaching the students, I have learned and experienced a lot as well as having fun. Despite the fact that IPMs have to work while also pursuing their studies, I find it no stress at all. What I find is fun and exciting. I strongly encourage international students to join us as IPM.