FIRST after Highschool

[Carol]

Originally Posted by 4throck

I would recommend not mentoring, at least not for the first year. If you really want to, either find a new team or limit your contributions considerably. Remember that this is a new team now, with new leadership, and nothing undermines new leadership like an omnipresent old leadership. Switching from student to mentor isn't an easy transition, and the last thing that a team needs is a bunch of college kids doing everything. You are there to advise now, above all else keep that in mind.

There is another issue I have seen with former team members who come back to mentor their former teams right away. When they were a team member, they were a friend with all of the students (hopefully at least). When you are a mentor, yes you should be a friend to the students as well, but you also must be able to be a disciplinarian when needed. This isn't easy to do with, say, your buddy that last year you hung around with at the mall. I'm not saying it isn't possible but it isn't easy.

Helping out with a former team who may be short on manpower and needs another pair of hands is one thing. Being a full fledged mentor is another.