Lamore Boudoin ’20 WLAIP Mentor – This summer, all thanks to the Mellon Grant, I was given the opportunity to work an internship of my choice. I worked on campus at Wabash College assisting Professors and incoming freshmen within the Wabash Liberal Arts Immersion Program.
My role within the program was the alumni/team building coordinator. My co-coordinator and I prepared multiple alumni panels, so that the freshmen could learn a little bit about how Wabash has changed many people for the better and how great life could be after Wabash. We hosted three individuals on campus and communicated with them constantly to make sure everything they needed was available. We also have three more individuals coming at the beginning of school so that we can continue to encourage and help the freshmen as they begin their first year of college.
I, along with my co-coordinator, had to set up, illustrate, and monitor multiple team building activities. These activities helped the students to work as a team, strategize, and think efficiently about how to solve problems. For example, one of the activities was called a spider web which means everyone must go through a different hole in the webs that we set up without touching the strings. This forced others to learn to trust their classmates and learn to ask for help when needed.
My last responsibility as a mentor was to assist Professor Mckinney with helping the incoming freshmen complete Aleks. I helped answer many questions that the freshmen had on the concerns of mathematics. I worked with them to offer different ways of finding the solution to the problem that was presented. I also learned a few tips and tricks from Professor Mckinney, and the students on how to complete some problems faster.
During the Wabash Liberal Arts Program, I was given the chance to step outside of my comfort zone and learn to reach out to people even if neither of us knew each other. I advanced many of my skills while working with other upperclassmen as a team in order to prepare the many events that we had to organize. My communication, organization, teamwork, teaching, and mathematical skills improved as I continued through the month-long program. These are few skills that I can take into some fields and majors that I plan to pursue.
None of the skills I learned would be possible without the help of the Mellon Grant. They gave me a chance to venture out and try something new, and for that, I would like to truly thank them.
