It’s your first year at college. You have everything packed and ready to go to this new and unfamiliar place. There’s not a single person you recognize, and you’re about to attend your LC days riddled with nerves.
You’re in a building filled with strangers; it’s your first time living away from home, and you have no clue where your classes are! That’s where mentors like Sanai Castle come in.
The first steppingstone to mentoring
A sophomore early education major, Castle is a mentor for her first years in the Honors College community. The oldest of her immediate cousins and siblings, which means that throughout her life she has been surrounded by younger kids.
From working with her younger family members to volunteering at her mom’s daycare, she learned that she loves working with kids and helping others. “I used to work in the little kids’ room at my mom’s daycare, so that’s something I want to do forever and ever.”
One person stands out to her when she thinks of someone who inspired her on her journey to becoming a person who values spending time with people and helping others. Her mom.
“Hearing what she had to go through and then seeing the life that she gave me, so I didn’t have to go through what she did makes her one of my biggest inspirations.”
The decision to be a Mentor
Castle was halfway into her freshman year when she considered becoming a mentor. When taking into account her strengths, she knew it was something she wanted to pursue.
“I have always been really good at giving advice and being a role model, especially last year, which is why I thought of the position.”
Helping people is something that comes second nature to Castle. Sharing tips and tricks she had learned with the new students in order to smooth their transition to college was something she was excited to do.
“My transition was a little bit rough coming into college and the honors college, so if I can help make that smoother for somebody else, I did something good.”
Castle’s mentor is someone she could rely on throughout her freshman year. “She would send us emails very often about how we’re doing a great job in this stressful time, and it was honestly so nice to hear.”
Her mentor made sure all her mentees felt they could come to her for anything they needed. That reliability she had from her mentor meant a lot to her, so she wants to give her mentees the same reliability and comfort she was given.
LC Days vs Husky Days
LC days are a big part of helping first-year students at Bloomsburg with getting accustomed to college and giving them a chance to socialize with other people in their major. As a mentor, Sanai’s job is to help make her group of mentees transition into college as smooth as possible.
Across the freshmen, there has been talk of how similar the LC Days and Husky Days are. Is it worth going to Husky Days when you’ve done essentially the same for the LC Days?
“Just like us mentors worked hard for LC days, I know the HOWLS worked hard to plan and execute their Husky Days. I do remember both activity days being similar last year, but I went anyways. You were able to meet people outside of your LCs, which was a great plus for Husky Days.”
A piece of advice
A piece of advice Castle would give to everyone is to make the most out of their time here in college. Education may be the reason we are here, but it’s important to have fun; save time for making friends and meeting new people.
“These are going to be the people who are with you for the rest of your life, so once you meet people make sure you hold onto them tight.”
