I get it. You're a first year and you are already overwhelmed with work. Or you're a sophomore who has made a goal to improve your grades. You might even be a junior or senior who has résumés and upper level classes to worry about. Whatever year you may be, the start of any semester is tough. But take a deep breath. Despite however busy you may be, there is life beyond classes. I am talking about mentoring programs. Never mentored before? Scared to take the plunge? Relax. These student-led programs are looking for people with myriad interests and abilities.
I recently became the Co-Director of Women and Youth Supporting Each other (WYSE), and it has become a central aspect of my experience here at Bowdoin. Last fall, I had this conversation with my mentee:
"My boyfriend's eighteen," the eighth grader whispered to me. I had been watching her hands create a collage that embodied the word "beautiful." She had black with silver polka-dotted fingernails and a dash of purple in her thick blond hair. She was in the middle of gluing the face of Jessica Simpson on the white paper, next to a cut out of pink lipstick and a satin mini skirt that she had said she wasn't allowed to wear at school.
"Oh," I said, trying to hide my shock.
"He says he loves me."
"Do you love him?"
"I don't know." It was a no, I was sure.
"That's OK," I tried, emphasizing the two letters and kneeling down on the linoleum floor. "Relationships change. And if they do, sometimes it can be better for them to end."
Her eyes searched my face, trying to see through my advice or find some fault in it. Then she blurted out, "I'm just kind of scared to break it off. He threatened to tell the whole school that I wouldn't have sex with him."
It is moments like these that keep me mentoring. It's why I hop in a van every Friday with Bowdoin women and travel to Bath Middle School to teach at-risk girls about sexual decision-making, body image, role models, and anything else they feel like sharing. Although WYSE may be a bit more of a time commitment than other mentoring programs (approximately three hours a week, but most groups only ask for an hour), it's worth it.
Interested in working with younger children? Try Falcon Friends, which runs mentoring at Bowdoinham Elementary School. Have a unique class schedule? Programs such as Sexual Assault Peer Educators and Blogging Buddies allow you to make your own hours.
If you are interested, all of these programs can be found on the Bowdoin website through the McKeen Center for the Common Good. Or just talk to one of your friends who is already involved. I know how easy it is to get wrapped up in work, weekend fun, or even just a regular routine, but here's a promise: getting involved with programs in which you work one-on-one with members of the surrounding communities will not only make you feel good or give your résumé an extra punch. Making these connections through mentoring will be something you remember long after those facts from your psychology final or the answers to a calculus problem set have vanished from memory.
Abby Snyder is a member of the Class of 2011.