Stan State’s Faculty Mentor Program hosted a Zoom event on Friday, September 25th which consisted of Kahoot games and other social activities. The semester’s first meeting was filled with contagious laughter amongst the faculty and peers.
The purpose of the program, besides networking and creating friendships with faculty, is to bring focus on coping mechanisms and shed light on mental health. The Faculty Mentor Program encourages students to join their monthly events in order to socialize with others and gain a better understanding of people who may have the same experiences as one another.
Jason Pourtaverdi, director of the Faculty Mentor Program spoke about the purpose of Friday’s meeting. “We hope that you get the sense of family from our program. We are a tight-knit group on campus and it is unfortunate that we do not get to see each other in person,” Pourtaverdi explained. “For the time being, let’s enjoy each other’s company through Zoom.”
The Faculty Mentor Program utilizes Zoom to host their events, but it does not at all subtract from the engagement and camaraderie amongst the students and faculty.
Tyler Schafer, faculty mentor and professor of Sociology, explained how the meetings are a refreshing experience for him. “It is really cool that everyone has their cameras on. I am used to teaching to a class full of blank screens and getting zero feedback.”
The program is a welcoming environment for all students and faculty, even if this is their first time attending. In the meeting, the participants were encouraged to engage in conversation, play Kahoot games, and participate in other activities such as “Zoom Around the Room.”
In this game, the host told the participants to literally zoom around their rooms and find something that is a specific color or something that represents them. This game sparked conversation. Stories where shared among people who were happy to interact with one another.
The Faculty Mentor Program’s theme this year is, “Resiliency.” During the Kahoot game, there was a series of questions discussing what resilience means and how it is embedded into the program. The members shared how accepting change, making connections, having a growth mindset, having a strong friendship with faculty and peers, and having a positive outlook applies to their program’s theme of resilience.
“Our theme of resiliency reminds people that we are all in this together,” said Pourtaverdi. We are all dealing with different types of challenges and circumstances in life. We want people to know that it is okay to seek help and one mechanism of resiliency is coping effectively and healthily.”
For more information about Stan State’s Faculty Mentor Program, head to their official page on the Stan State website.
