[dachickindapit]

I did the student-to-mentor transition on my team. I definitely agree with what Brandon said about the switch not flipping. It's taken me almost my whole college career to really "get" how to be a mentor, in the capacity I originally imagined I would be. I've been perfectly capable of teaching and helping with the system that I knew very well, but there's more to mentoring than knowing a system and being able to show someone how it works and how to put it together.

At the same time, I have set an example for our students. Many of them have seen how I learned from the team activities, took my learning to the next level by going to college and getting my degree, and am now a successful engineer in industry. As I am closer to their age, many of the students seem to be able to talk to me more easily about lots of topics, especially college. The parents have also taken advantage of that, asking someone who has JUST been there, how things are at college, what their student can expect, etc. Also, several of the students have seen me go through and be successful at my now-alma-mater and decided to attend the school myself.