{"id":402,"date":"2024-10-08T17:08:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T17:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/gregory-thomas\/?p=402"},"modified":"2024-10-09T17:10:24","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T17:10:24","slug":"reflection-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/gregory-thomas\/2024\/10\/08\/reflection-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflection #3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Over the past semesters, I\u2019ve focused on essential principles that drive meaningful action\u2014coordinating meetings with my team or contacting organizations to collaborate on mentorship. The goal has always been to find common ground, ensuring we respect boundaries while making a positive impact. One fundamental principle stands out: actively engaging with the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In my second year of college, peer mentoring brought this to life. Instead of just talking about mentorship, we took action. Throughout the year, my team and I worked with the Boys and Girls Club, mentoring kids who came after school. This was their chance to study, connect with us, and build lasting relationships. It became more than just mentorship. It was about creating bonds and making a real difference in their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We organized teams and activities beyond surface-level interactions, allowing mentors and mentees to understand each other. What we learned is that effective mentorship isn\u2019t just about giving instructions\u2014it\u2019s about sharing experiences and building trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While I\u2019m proud of what we achieved, there\u2019s still so much more I want to accomplish before I graduate. One goal I have is to improve how we communicate through images. Visual storytelling can open perspectives, helping people understand the importance of mentoring\u2014even those who may not be familiar with it. Capturing moments from our work with the Boys and Girls Club, with diverse backgrounds and stories, can highlight how mentorship is a shared journey, open to anyone willing to lend a hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This semester, our focus has been on sharing more powerful stories. Whether you\u2019re a mentee, mentor, or someone interested in learning more, our use of visual communication will help us effectively share our experiences. These stories are not just narratives but valuable insights that can inspire others to get involved in the transformative power of mentorship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the past semesters, I\u2019ve focused on essential principles that drive meaningful action\u2014coordinating meetings with my team or contacting organizations to collaborate on mentorship. The goal has always been to find common ground, ensuring we respect boundaries while making a positive impact. One fundamental principle stands out: actively engaging with the community. In my second [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sb_is_suggestion_mode":false,"_sb_show_suggestion_boards":false,"_sb_show_comment_boards":false,"_sb_suggestion_history":"","_sb_update_block_changes":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spacekid_greg","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/gregory-thomas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/gregory-thomas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/gregory-thomas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/gregory-thomas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/gregory-thomas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/gregory-thomas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":403,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/gregory-thomas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402\/revisions\/403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/gregory-thomas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/gregory-thomas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eportfolio.siue.edu\/gregory-thomas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}