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Mentor / Mentee Interview

INTERVIEWER: How do you feel about working with a mentor?

Student: I feel good because it’s helped me a lot.

INTERVIEWER: How has it helped you?

Student: It’s helped me by getting me to attend lessons instead of skipping them and to produce better work.

INTERVIEWER: What is the best thing about working with Mrs Bibi?

Student: The best thing is getting phone calls home every week. My mum gets happy when she gets the phone calls because she can see how much progress I am making. My mum has seen a big change in me.

Mrs B: It’s a partnership between home and the school that helps to make a big difference. We know what is happening at home and their parents know what is happening for them at school.

INTERVIEWER: Why do you do this job and what appeals to you about this role?

Mrs B: I’ve always worked with children of different ages and I was always interested in their pastoral care and helping with their emotional social and intellectual development. There are children who need the extra help, not just with their schoolwork but with their self-esteem. For example, with the right support and guidance, {student} has been able to access resources that she can use to help with her schoolwork. She now knows she has access to a lot of resources. It’s about helping a child who doesn’t know  where to start, to find the right starting place.

INTERVIEWER: What difference has mentoring made to you.

Student: Before I found it hard to get to my lessons. When I first started working with Mrs Bibi, I didn’t like that I had a mentor because it was new to me. But then everything changed. Before I used to find ways to mess around but now I listen in class, I don’t shout and I do the work I’m supposed to be doing.

INTERVIEWER: Do you think mentoring has made a difference to your future aspirations?

Student: Yes, it has made a difference. Now I want to go to college, educate myself and train as a nurse. Before working with Mrs Bibi I didn’t really know what I wanted to do because I kept messing about.

Mrs B: Now that they know how much hard work going into becoming a nurse, they are  willing to work harder.

INTERVIEWER: As a mentor, what do you get out of doing this job, how does it benefit you?

Mrs B: It’s about seeing the children change for the better and flourish. Seeing them smiling, enjoying their lesson and seeing them realise the positives that come from doing the right thing. It’s very rewarding and makes me feel content that I’ve made a positive difference to a young person's life.

INTERVIEWER: What would your advice be to students who don’t yet have a mentor or are at the beginning stages of their mentoring journey and feel reluctant about being mentored?

Student: I would say having a mentor is good. If you don’t have a mentor you might not know what to do with your life. My advice would be to work with the mentor and accept their guidance.