5 Benefits of Individual Advising for both Students and Counselors
Looking back, many of us can attest that we got where we are today because someone older and wiser along the way believed in us; they saw potential that no one had seen before. Whether that was a teacher, a parent, or someone else, mentors played (and may continue to play) a key role in many of our lives.
At Summit, we realize that the best way to engage a student and help them reach their greatest potential is to give them a mentor to look up to. During the Summer Olympics, each student is on a team of 10 - 12 students that is led by a Counselor, who is a college student. Counselors meet with each student on each team for 10 - 20 minutes each week for Individual Advising. By building one-on-one time into the program, students are able to befriend their Counselor and receive insight and advice from a trusted role model. Counselors focus on developing a friendship with each student on their team in order to get to know them, learn their strengths and weaknesses, and encourage them to set and reach goals.
Mentoring received from a role model has a huge impact on the lives of our students. Here are the 5 benefits of Individual Advising for both Summit students and their Counselors:
1. Getting to Know Students Individually - According to Martha, who is working her second summer as a counselor at Summit, "Advising is great, because I get to know the students on my team individually, not just in a team setting. This is when I talk to them about anything they are struggling with that they may not be comfortable sharing with me in class around their friends. Then I make sure to help them with that!"
2. Putting Virtues into Practice - "Advising is a great opportunity to talk to the students on my team about what is going on in their personal lives, with their families," says Martha. "I come from a large family, so I can share my experience with them if they need help! Also, we talk about the virtues we are learning about in character class, and how they are practicing them at home. It's great, because it's not just something that they learn and leave at Summit, it's something they can take home and integrate in their day to day lives."
3. Students Gain Insight from their Counselors - Mentors help students gain insight from their own experience - both successes and mistakes - both in their school career and personally, with family members and friends. They share these things to help students make the right decisions and take on similar challenges in their own lives. Students see their counselors as someone who is older and has more experience, and can help them step away and look at situations with a different perspective.
4. Friendship and Trust - Natalie, an incoming Freshman working her first summer as a Junior Counselor, has been a part of the Summit Summer Olympics for 4 years. She loved the friendship she built with her counselors, and being able to share what was going on in her life. "I remember last year I told my counselor that I got in trouble in school and my principal gave me detention and said things that made me really mad. But Miss Tatiana helped me see that the things she said were to help me become a better person, and that helped me see her side of things. My counselor helped me not to take things like that personally, but to use them as opportunities to grow."
5. Growth in Character - "Last year, I was able to talk to a couple of girls on my team that were not getting along. They were having a 'power struggle,' and it was causing some drama among the other girls," recalls Martha. "I was able to talk to them individually in Advising, let them know that they were both leaders and that the other girls on our team look up to them. They had a responsibility to lead those girls and be a great example for them. Over the summer, I watched as they gradually were able to settle their differences and live up to being leaders of our team. They even became friends, and wanted to spend time with each other during the Six Flags field trip!"