[nfhammes]

A lot of good advice is already here, especially that you really need to make sure you keep your priorities in line (put your education first), and being cognizant the effects of a mentor being missing.

Definitely be thoughtful planning your class schedule. During the spring/winter term, you may want to have a block of time free on a day or two a week that the team has build. But you should also have enough time for homework, any job you might have, and a little time to decompress on the weekends. This is a tough balancing act. Since you're mentoring a house team at your college, there are probably upperclassmen whose advice and experience you can ask about. Ask a bunch of them, especially any in your intended major. They don't know everything, but they're less lost than you, and have probably made mistakes you're trying to avoid.

This ties in, but planning skills and setting expectations are key. Once you've planned your schedule, make sure the team knows when you'll be there. And then be there. Other mentors, and key students, will generally plan their schedules to mesh well with one another, those with more flexible schedules planning around those whose are less flexible. If you have to miss a day you would ordinarily attend, make sure people have as much advance warning as possible, to minimize adverse impact. Over-communicate.

I don't know if you're on the technical side, or non-technical side, or where you specialize, but also think of things you can do to help students when your schedule doesn't permit you to be at the build space. That might look like collaborating on CAD, giving feedback on documents, any sort of strategic discussion, and probably other things I'm not thinking of right now..

These things are all skills that you'll very much want in the real world too. Good communication skills, planning, and using your resources well are all vital skills for working on any team. Remember that while you're a mentor, who knows FIRST, and has been through a few seasons, you're also still very much a work in progress. If you're going to do it, make sure you have the maturity and skills necessary to put the students first, the time to do it right, and the drive to do all of this without harming your education obligations. But if you do, not only will you contribute to the students' growth, but you'll also grow a lot in the process.