BP614: Using ex-students as mentors Survey of Students
1. Describe the type of contact you have had with the mentors?
• Vidur – Year 12: The emails give students like me an idea of what programming out of school and in the real world is actually like.
• Nathan – year 12: MSN, email. Daniel has also come to school and my house to help me out with programming problems
• Bob – Year 12: When I was down last term it helped being able to read about other guys who were into programming when they were my age, see what Uni degree they did, and what jobs they ended up doing – programming video games, programming for IHUG, etc.
• Renee – Year 13: Daniel came to school and helped me solve programming problems in C++. I was also able to read emails in our shared area from other students who left last year. Their emails told me what they’re doing at Uni and about courses they’re doing and they gave me other tips about ICT and Uni
2. How would this type of contact be useful to you?
• Vidur – Year 12: It would help me adjust my technological practice to those of experts or other programmers in the IT industry
• Nathan – Year 12: It allows for easier debugging and a second opinion and ideas and methods of implementation
• Bob – Year 12: It is good because the emails are anonymous. I can learn from others who were just like me, without having to actually talk to anyone and embarrass myself.
• Renee – year 13: It gives a realistic view on what each course at Uni actually involves, rather than just reading the course booklets. It also provides an opportunity to become aware of things that are important and you need to know but you aren’’t usually told or made aware of
3. Would you be keen to offer to be a mentor when you leave school? Why ?
• Vidur – Year 12: Probably; I would be keen to help other students who will be soon leaving school and joining the workforce. Give back to them, as gratitude for receiving mentoring in the first place.
• Bob – Year 12: Yes; it is good to learn from others who remember how it feels to be a teenager
• Nathan – Year 12: Yes, to aid others.
• Renee – Year 13: Yes, because it has helped me, but it would depend on time availability. I think it would also encourage more girls to continue with computer science