Your first meeting
You will probably be quite apprehensive about your first meeting with your new mentees. Don't worry! It is perfectly normal to be a little nervous as you are meeting people you have never met before. Remember, they are probably as nervous about the whole thing as you are and they may be very quiet and uncommunicative at first - don't think they're not interested. They have all volunteered and are probably just a little shy. Persevere and you should slowly build a rapport - it will probably take a little while for them to feel comfortable with you and vice versa.
There are a number of things you can do during your first meeting.
- Find out about your students and let them find out something about you. Look out for ideas of activities to conduct on that first day. There are also a number of activities in the manual which can be useful icebreakers.
- Explain why you are there (why you want to be a mentor, what kinds of things you will be doing, etc) and ask them to do the same.
- Set rules and expectations. What is appropriate behaviour during your time together? What do you expect of them? What do they expect of you?
Above all, remember to be energetic and excited to be there. They will take your lead. If you are excited about working with them and show it, they will do the same for you.