After promising each other that we would get in touch in two weeks time, Colby and I managed to find each other on Twitter within days. I also managed to find Paul our head of 'Digitally Enhanced Learning', Kerry our Mentor Manager and also the Student Mentor's page, additionally a group of us 'Newbies' were contacted by Vikki to welcome us to the life of a Student Mentor.... Not bad I think for the first week.
There then ensued a 'flurry' of messages. Messages of support, messages of advice and messages just for fun. I really love the way in which I am being made to feel welcome and part of the team. I can honestly say I have never experienced such genuine encouragement and enthusiasm to help others get along. This is pretty cool.
Amongst the daily updates and messages I spy one email Student Mentor - Paperwork for HR' with a little ! by the side of it... Uh oh! I open and read...
'Hi Claire I have been advised by Human Resources that they still require your A&I paperwork and a copy of your NI number evidence. Without this paperwork you are not currently eligible to accept any work within the scheme or be added to the staff payroll system (this is a legal requirement).' ...
Eh?
I provided everything requested when I came for the interview and the nice lady on Student Services reception took copies... I don't understand. Email tennis between Kerry and I resulted in us discovering that a copy of my Birth Certificate hadn't been taken and me driving the twenty something miles in the miserable rain (I thought this was the Summer Solstice!) to Caerleon campus for HR to take a copy of my Birth Certificate, at least hubby came along to keep me company :)
After standing around for a few minutes the woman on reception in HR returned and handed me back my Birth Certificate and a thought dawned on me... "Are you aware this is my maiden name?"
"Oh... did you change your name by Deed Poll?"
"Uh... no... I got married, do you want my student number to check my record?"
"Umm... hang on I'll be back now" she disappears into another room. Hubby and I just look at each other and shrug our shoulders. A few minutes later she returns... here it comes... wait for it...
"We need a copy of your Marriage Certificate"
Ah pants!
Ha ha, but wait... not relishing the return journey home to Monmouth to retrieve said certificate (anyway Hubby and I needed to get to Ebbw Vale college to see our sons film installation), I remembered I had provided my Marriage Certificate when I applied for the Access course last year "There should be a copy on my records, here is my student number... you can check it out"
"Uh, OK then, if we need anything, I'll be in touch"
And with that, Hubby and I were off to Ebbw Vale to have our proud parent moment :)
I still can't wait to get stuck in to do some actual training and work!
By the way Happy Anniversary darling x
Awake before the alarm!! I hope Dylan is feeling better, I can't stay home today!! OK, no more temperature, Dylan is fine so it's off to school with him and I can start to think about how I feel this morning. Forget that, I don't have time to think about how I feel, I just need to concentrate on getting to the induction for my new role as Student Mentor at University of Wales Newport.
I'm used to going in to new situations and meeting new people on my own, but that doesn't stop the apprehension. I bet everyone will know each other, and I will be the one on my own desperately trying to find a common ground with someone, trying (and failing) to remember names!! What will the rest of the new Mentors be like? Will there be more women than men or a good mix of both sexes? Will I be the oldest there, will they be just like me? Why do I always feel like everyone will know much more than I? Why do I feel like I'm just winging it and I don't really deserve to be here... I mean... ME! After my garbled jibber jabber in the interview, they picked ME... what the heck like! I still think of myself as an immature-17-year-old-that-knows-absolutely-jack-s***-about-anything-trapped-in-a-37-year-old-body! At least I know where the room is so that's a bonus I suppose.
Yep I was right, didn't know a soul, tell a lie, I had met Kerry and Sarah... at the interview! The room is full of chatter, nervous chatter, friendly chatter and getting to know each other chatter. Maybe I'm not on my own after all.
We introduce ourselves after randomly catching a ball "Hi my name is Claire, I've just finished the Access course and I'm going on to study History. One exciting fact about me is that I ran the Cardiff Half Marathon in 2010 to raise money for a domestic abuse charity" affectionate and approving murmurings of "Aah" from a few of my new colleagues surprise me and produce an involuntary beaming smile across my face... OK, I'm feeling pretty good about this. I am surrounded by art, photography, drama, religion, integrity, honesty, nervousness, and many more greatly varying students, wow, what a diverse bunch of pretty cool people.
We move on to various activities with ever changing groups of people; what do we want to know by the end of the day, what do we think being a Mentor is all about, what are the 'should and should not' of being a Mentor and provide definitions of various identified 'buzz words'.
I now realise, after chatting to so many different people that we're all in the same boat, we all want to know the answer to the same questions, but most importantly, we're all really excited about our future as a mentor and what we can give back to the university and students around us by means of support. We all care.
Off to lunch, we all (my new colleagues and I) sit together in the canteen, chatting about what we have learnt about being a Mentor, what we are studying, where we come from, local tourist attractions, great tutors, languages we do or do not speak, religion, age... and on and on... I feel really happy.
The afternoon consisted of moving to a computer suite and learning how not to mess up on Facebook and discovering that we were to set up our own personal blog!! So here it is, my first attempt (how long are blog entries supposed to be?). I left that computer suite feeling energized, confident and with an inner sense of calm. I realised that as soon as I had opened my letter two weeks earlier, offering me the position of Student Mentor, I was not alone. I was not alone in my feelings of apprehension, I was not alone in my many questions buzzing around in my head, I was not alone in my feelings of excitement, I was not alone in my sense of wanting to help others, I was not alone. I am part of a team, a support network whose aim it is to help those who seek it. But not just to help others, Student Mentors are there to help me as well :)
Post script: Dylan was on the sofa wrapped up in his Marvel Comics duvet when I got home, he had been sent home poorly at lunch time! Hubby knew how important my day was and dealt with it all. Today I feel very fortunate.
