Interested in becoming a student mentor? Former student mentors share their experiences
Helping new students find their way at our faculty, organising visits to the court in The Hague, perhaps even teaching a course for a group of new students about the ins and outs of their study programme. The faculty is looking for new student mentors for the academic year 2024/2025. What does it mean to be a student mentor? Former student mentors share their experiences:
What does it mean to be a student mentor?
Mathilde: ‘For first-year students, our faculty can be quite overwhelming. As a student mentor, you're available to answer questions and help new students find their way during their first semester. This is usually done by organising seminars and fieldtrips to, for instance, the court in The Hague or Rotterdam.’
Laurens: ‘You teach students basic study skills – how do you use the collection of legislation? How do you get used to all the legal terminology in a ruling? And how do you prepare for an exam? You’re also an informal point of contact for a group of students so that it’s easy for them to get in touch with you.’
Karlijn: ‘They’re having to deal with so much all at once, so the goal is to create order out of chaos. An additional bonus is all the new friendships that are created between the students during the social outings, which means that they’re also able to help each other.’
What's it like to be in front of a class?
Karlijn: ‘Being in front of a class was a new experience for me, but I really enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. It got easier with time and now I feel really confident and enjoy doing it. I also learned to divide my attention between 26 different students, because every student is different and has different needs. Those are the experiences I take away from this.’
Laurens: ‘I noticed that the group felt comfortable asking questions because I’m also a student. Especially when I told them about my experiences as a first-year student and how I also struggled at times. I noticed that it seemed to reassure them. I also got asked lots of things during the exam period, and it feels really good to be able to relieve some of the stress by doing something as simple as sending an app message.’
Would you recommend becoming a student mentor?
Mathilde: ‘I think it’s really worthwhile to be able to help students based on your own experiences. That it looks good on your CV is an added bonus, obviously. I was also able to gain experience in presenting and getting my message across. So, if your courses allow for it and you like being involved at the faculty, I’d definitely recommend it!’
Laurens: ‘You can really make a difference in how students experience their first year. We organised a seminar where students had to argue cases in small groups. Several students came up to me afterwards to admit that they had been nervous at the beginning to stand in front of a group in a more formal setting. But, in the end, they really enjoyed the experience and were happy with the personal feedback they received. It even persuaded several students to become lawyers. Which was exactly what I’d secretly hoped for at the beginning of the year when I saw the group for the first time: being able to leave them with even more enthusiasm than they already had at the beginning of the year.’