Top 10 List: Being a Big (Mentor)
Sam Waltemeyer
Issue date: 2/25/09 Section: Greek Corner
Be the voice of your New Member. Talk to them about how they feel about chapter operations and the decisions made during meetings. If you know that a new member had a good idea, make sure their voice is heard. Also remember that if hazing creeps into the program, you should be the first one to put your foot down.
5. Get them Involved
In twenty years when you come back to your old school, I bet you'll want to see how your chapter is doing. Well the best way to make sure that it's alive is to foster leadership within your new members.
Don't hesitate to help your New Member sit on a committee. Teach them about operations. Let them get involved in projects. Not only will they contribute, but they will also learn skills that will help them make sure you have something to visit after you graduate.
7. Expose them to Brotherhood
Sometimes a New Member gets locked into the relationship they have with their mentor. They don't get to experience full Brotherhood or Sisterhood. That means that it's your responsibility to make sure they meet other members. You can do this by setting up a group dinner, a trip to the mall or a causal poker night. Make sure that they realize that they are part of something bigger than just the Big and Little dynamic.
8. Teach them Recruitment
The only reason you get to have the experience of being a mentor is because someone recruited that person. Pass it on. In order to let other people have the experience you had, you should educate New Members. Teach them how to recruit so that they can one day be a mentor too.
9. Emphasize Concepts not Facts
At the end of the day what's more important? How many chapters there are in your national organization, or the values you hold? Facts come with time. This not to say that topics of history, dates and names are not important. What it does mean is that the purpose of your organization should be emphasized the most. Don't worry if the dates and names aren't memorized right away. I mean, when they become a mentor they will have to teach the material and thus be exposed to the information again.
Prepare them for Ritual
What I mean by this, is to get the New Member ready for the experience. There can be a lot of anxiety going into ritual. Do you remember the first time you were ushered into a candle lit room? Have the conversation about what ritual is and what its purpose is. Assure them that it's not a hazing rite of a passage, rather a means of learning the purpose and values. In other words, let them know that they can trust that you wouldn't lead them into something harmful.
10. Encourage them to be Better than You
Being a mentor doesn't stop after they become active members. It's a unique bond for life. When it's time for them to become a mentor, let them know that you might have been good, but they can be better. Share with them your joys of being their mentor. Share you problems and encourage them to not only pass on the tradition, but to improve on it.
5. Get them Involved
In twenty years when you come back to your old school, I bet you'll want to see how your chapter is doing. Well the best way to make sure that it's alive is to foster leadership within your new members.
Don't hesitate to help your New Member sit on a committee. Teach them about operations. Let them get involved in projects. Not only will they contribute, but they will also learn skills that will help them make sure you have something to visit after you graduate.
7. Expose them to Brotherhood
Sometimes a New Member gets locked into the relationship they have with their mentor. They don't get to experience full Brotherhood or Sisterhood. That means that it's your responsibility to make sure they meet other members. You can do this by setting up a group dinner, a trip to the mall or a causal poker night. Make sure that they realize that they are part of something bigger than just the Big and Little dynamic.
8. Teach them Recruitment
The only reason you get to have the experience of being a mentor is because someone recruited that person. Pass it on. In order to let other people have the experience you had, you should educate New Members. Teach them how to recruit so that they can one day be a mentor too.
9. Emphasize Concepts not Facts
At the end of the day what's more important? How many chapters there are in your national organization, or the values you hold? Facts come with time. This not to say that topics of history, dates and names are not important. What it does mean is that the purpose of your organization should be emphasized the most. Don't worry if the dates and names aren't memorized right away. I mean, when they become a mentor they will have to teach the material and thus be exposed to the information again.
Prepare them for Ritual
What I mean by this, is to get the New Member ready for the experience. There can be a lot of anxiety going into ritual. Do you remember the first time you were ushered into a candle lit room? Have the conversation about what ritual is and what its purpose is. Assure them that it's not a hazing rite of a passage, rather a means of learning the purpose and values. In other words, let them know that they can trust that you wouldn't lead them into something harmful.
10. Encourage them to be Better than You
Being a mentor doesn't stop after they become active members. It's a unique bond for life. When it's time for them to become a mentor, let them know that you might have been good, but they can be better. Share with them your joys of being their mentor. Share you problems and encourage them to not only pass on the tradition, but to improve on it.
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