[Brandon Holley]

Team 125 has become very accustomed to taking on new mentors each year from other teams. Because the NUTRONs meet on Northeastern's campus, it makes for a good opportunity to continue in FIRST as a mentor. We are very much a melting pot of FIRST teams, with our connections stretching to over 40 teams. I went through the student-mentor transition, and I've seen dozens and dozens of other mentors go through the same thing in my 8 years on the team.

What were some of the largest adjustments you had to make while undergoing this transition?
Been said already, but learning how to take a step back is hardest issue new mentors deal with on our team. You have been programmed to jump in and solve problems instantly. However as a mentor you need to reel that in a bit, and lead others to solve issues.

What lessons did you learn from your first year of mentoring?
Learning to operate on a new team with many personalities is tough for many of our newcomers. I would say almost all of us get a good lesson in learning to work with people who come from different backgrounds.

Have you tried mentoring through digital media (ex: Skype video chat, emails, etc.), and if so, how? How successful is this method?
Very informally. IMHO, to become a very good mentor, you need to be in the trenches everyday working with students. You need to establish those personal relationships, and you need to be able to hear and see things that aren't necessarily directed to you.

What is it like suddenly belonging to a new team? Did you carry over many of the things you learned from your high school/previous team?
This is one of the biggest points to touch on. Almost everyone graduating high school and moving on to new teams has become accustomed to 'FIRST as it is done by team XXXX". It is sometimes a difficult transition for people to now experience the same program through a different set of lenses so to speak.

My advice on this one is to offer advice when you think its quite applicable. Do it the right way but explaining why your team chose to do a task a certain way. But also keep an open mind when you are on that team. Many teams do little things for certain reasons, or based on tradition. Just because its different than you are used to, doesn't mean its wrong. Pick your battles as well- it can sometimes become irritating hearing about how XXXX used to do something all the time.

Who or what was your inspiration to mentor after high school?
FIRST is a great program. It helped me tremendously (and still helps me as a working professional). I view it as a way to pay it forward while having some fun on the side.

-Brando