Volume 3
Issue # 3

February 26, 2003

"Learning from Experience - The ACSA Mentorship Program"

Pairing fresh blood with senior co-op students, the incoming students can learn from the co-op and work-related experiences of their more senior counterparts. The official mandate of the ACSA Mentorship Program is “To match incoming Co-op students with senior Co-op students for support and advice [with] tips on everything from applying for jobs, to succeeding in the workplace, to finding good lunch spots downtown.” Mentors and mentees are paired on a number of variables, ranging from academic specialization to career aspirations to preference for a certain type of contact.

On January 31st of this year, mentors and mentees met one another for the first time at a kickoff party, exchanging pleasantries and contact information. We had a big room in the Scarfe Building all to ourselves, munching on brownies and sipping on iced tea. Now, no one knew with whom they were going to paired prior to this party. Upon arriving to the party, each mentor and mentee was given a specific little item to hold, such as a bit of string, Popeye candy, and a white eraser. The game was to find the only other person who had an identical item, and that person would be your partner . . . of course, these items were given out strategically.

Now that the pairs were formed (a little last minute shuffling was needed as a number of people who said they would show, no showed), some time was given for them to get to know one another. Some people are naturally a little better at this than others, so for a little guidance, a set of five questions was written on the chalkboard: What is your name? What is your major? Where have you worked? What career areas are you interested in? What do you hope to gain from the Mentorship Program?

As a large group icebreaker game, we were all told to hold hands and form a large circle. Seven hula hoops were randomly placed around the circle on people’s arms. The game was to get all seven hula hoops all the way around the room without ever letting go of your neighbours’ hands. It was quite a sight with over 50 people holding hands, twisting and turning to move the hula hoops along. Thank goodness no one was wearing a skirt!

Next, mentor-mentee pairs paired off to make groups of four for some team-building. Groups were given a handful of toothpicks and mini marshmallows and were instructed to construct a specific object. The catch was that each person in this foursome had a very specific job, and so communication was key. One person was the ‘manager,’ and this was the only person who could see the sample object but could not physically participate in the construction. Two people were the ‘builders,’ and these people would be responsible for building the actual item, but had to do it blindfolded, led on by the manager’s instructions. The remaining person was the ‘helper,’ and this person could guide the builders in their construction, but with only one hand and could not speak. So, what was this object? It is best described as a square pyramid with a tetrahedron sticking out one of the sides.