1.31.2008

fa or ta?

last semester i took american heritage and loved it. i spent a lot of hours in the review room, working with various teaching assistants. and at the end of the semester, realized how amazing the material for the course was and how much i was going to miss reading + attending lecture + discussing + going "oh my gosh, that is so cool." i really loved the material, and my friends came to me for help with it. so i decided i wanted to be a ta. hence taking econ 110 + political science 110. it is basically a repeat of american heritage--but a lot harder. i am excited about it.

but today, i had a follow-up interview with my former peer mentor from freshman academy. at the end of the interview, he mentioned that they were accepting applications for new peer mentors and encouraged me to...become one. i loved freshman academy. it is almost identical to being an ambassador, which i did all through high school, but more intense.

so now, what do i do? both are jobs. you get paid. both require that you work about 15-20 hours a week. both include paperwork + 'office hours.' both are 'leadership positions' and both probably look good on a resume.

fa peer mentor : much more personal. i get involved in the lives of freshman. guide them, tutor them, mentor them. i get to teach them a little about whatever they are studying, but more, teach them how to live and grow and learn. as a peer mentor, i would build good 1-on-1 relationships with freshman, attend their classes (that my community of students all have together), and provide socials with each other and professors. if i applied and made it, i would be able to start this fall.

american heritage ta : much more academic. i get to rehearse the material (that i love) and be a sort of tyrant over students of all ages. i hold my own 'labs,' basically i have my own class (possibly even more than one). i also hold review sessions in the review room, grade papers and attend lectures. i get to help them love america--hate school-- but love america. i would not be able to apply until i'm done with this semester. if i made it, i wouldn't be able to start until winter 2009.

ideally, i would be able to be a peer mentor for a community studying american heritage. this would mean that i would do all the mushy stuff, but still be involved in the great material. i think i would be happy with either option, but i would like (need) your genuine advice. what do you think?

3 comments:

megan said...

no advice. but amy my dear you are brilliant.

Jake said...

I absolutely adored my American Heritage class 19 (yikes!) years ago. Truly that class changed my life. I cried the last day. I have been remembering all I learned during this election cycle.

I am a little jealous of you. I miss my college days. So much learning to stuff into the brain. I wished I had stuffed mine a little more instead of worrying about boys and clothes.

Robert Kinghorn said...

I am currently a peer mentor at Freshman Academy. It's a great job and if you got an A in Am. Htg. (sounds like you did) there's a good chance you would be with one of those communities. The only con about FA might be that the girl-to-guy ratio is skewed: there's about 4 girls for every one guy. But it really it a stellar job; We celebrate birthdays with cake and ice cream, all the people that work here love learning and are totally legit.