[Katie_UPS]

Mentors need to be aware of their students, and I believe that mentors set the standard for teams. I have little experience with bringing in students, but I have experience with maintaining students.

One thing I learned from my mentors was speaking up for a student when they won't speak up for themselves. There are two distinct examples in my mind, the first being when I was a student.

Person: So, [Mentor that Katie worked with], what is the status on the claw?
Mentor: Well, ask Katie... She's the one who did all the work.

You could argue is was a simple mistake on Person's part, and it probably was. But it sucks to have your accomplishments accredited to another person. It was nice that my mentor didn't answer and instead acknowledged my work and passed on the question. I may or may not have corrected Person, but I didn't have to because Mentor did it for me. I learned and used this method for my own mentoring.

Person: The robot needs to be wired up when we get in. One of our pre-loaders needs to be able to wire.
Person 2: Well [male student] could learn how.
Katie: [Female student] has already wired the robot up twice. She can do it.

This resulted in [Female student] being a pre-loader for the event and she became in instrumental player in our pit until she graduated.

Little things have a big impact. I'm sure [Female student] would have been a rock star no matter what, but its important to not let your students be shy about their abilities (or their need for help). And it is important to do this for all students, not just non-male and/or non-white and/or LGBTQ etc. students.