This Honors 401 seminar, “Developing Your Mentor Philosophy,” focused on defining and becoming a mentor through different philosophical readings, class discussions, personal reflections, and mentoring an incoming Honors student. This class was the first upper level Honors course I took in my undergraduate education. I was very intimidated at first, for I knew it was going to involve deep thinking due to the word 'philosophy' being in the title of the course along with several required readings by sophisticated writers such as Plato and John Dewey. A couple of weeks into the course, I realized that I do not have to be scared, but instead need to have an open mind and bravely accept the challenge. Although many of the readings were difficult to completely understand, I was able to break things down and comprehend most of the material. It was so rewarding to see my improvement in critical thinking and writing reflections on these more difficult topics. I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to practice what I learned in class with an individual of similar goals that was new to the Honors Program. The final project of this class consisted of a 5-8 page paper over my personal mentor philosophy that incorporated personal knowledge, evidence from readings, insights from class discussions, and experiences with my Honors mentee and other mentor relationships in life. To discover my mentor philosophy and knowledge gained through this course, please read the essay attached below.
I believe this course increased my awareness of my leadership style, specifically my values, strengths, and weaknesses. Through this experience, I achieved Level 1 of Values, “identifies personal leadership values,” by reflecting on my previous leadership opportunities, completing several readings on the topic of mentoring, and practicing my leadership skills in a mentoring relationship. Through readings, discussions, and reflections, I have concluded knowledge, experience, and emotional intelligence are the most important components of successful mentoring and leading. As noted in my essay, knowledge is the foundation of a relationship, for it allows truth to be sought and growth to occur. Experiences can also help create knowledge and are an essential part of leading because they can be learned from and shared with others to promote personal growth. Finally, emotional intelligence, awareness of one’s own and others emotions and perceptions, should not be underestimated. The power of emotions can be very strong, and I believe they are important in relationships with others and to be able to truly understand the human being. These three values, knowledge, experience, and emotional intelligence, will help guide how I lead and ensure I am doing it to the best of my ability.
I also believe I attained Level 2 of Values, “reflects upon personal leadership strengths and weaknesses,” by mentoring throughout the semester and writing an essay on my experiences and self-understanding of who I am as a leader and how I can improve in the future. Throughout this course, I realized many significant things about myself and how I interact with others. For instance, I learned that I often like things to go a certain way and can be very disappointed if they don't go as expected. This awareness has helped me to realize that I need to be more flexible as a leader and focus on the bigger picture and end goal. I think this is an important lesson, for being adaptable carries over to many situations in life, but specifically in my future as a physical therapist. There will be days that my schedule is unpredictable or my patients’ needs have changed and a new plan of treatment may be necessary, so a flexible mindset is essential for success. I have also learned the significance of mentoring someone where they are at in life, not where I am or where I want them to be. This is crucial in making sure individuals are truly cared for and understood in their current situation in life. I think this ties back to one of my greatest strengths: being able to listen and care for others with a compassionate, empathetic attitude. This has been something I have been able to practice in many of my volunteer experiences, and I believe it will help me to become a great healthcare professional. In conclusion, this particular mentor relationship and Honors course was a steppingstone in my leadership experiences and has helped me to learn many crucial things about myself as a leader and influencer on others.