What I got out of this summer...

We were asked by the students to write about what the LAKES REU means to us, as mentors.  The short answer is that it's the only way I'll get the research I want to do, done.  That's not the whole story.  In fact, it's become a minor part of the story, ironically.  The LAKES REU has become an avenue to both train just amazing undergraduate students in research and to connect my research to the community in consequential ways.  Both of these things I could go on and on about, but it comes across like a resume perhaps.  Instead, I want to dedicate this blog post to what I've received from my research interns this year, Alexis Econie and Clare Salerno.  From this post I hope you can all appreciate where this year's sociological work has come from.

How to Deal with Being Overwhelmed: Why LAKES REU Students are so Awesome

I get overwhelmed with so many important priorities in my life.  Most of you know how I feel.  I Co-Direct the LAKES program, which is a tremendous privilege I take seriously.  I have other priorities in life, like my family, teaching, exercise, involvement in civil society, friends, etc., etc., etc.  We really don't set ourselves up to deal with these things well in modern society, in spite of our efforts to improve "efficiency".  I will continue to criticize the modern political economy and the culture behind it for various, important reasons, but we all still have to deal with it on a daily basis nonetheless.  So how do you deal with being overwhelmed?  I argue that you surround yourself with awesome people (as I have discussed here and here and here before).  This summer I am proud to have many such students and colleagues I can lean on in the LAKES REU.  This blog post is a reflection on two of those students, Yanira Campos and Josh Herron (read on- I suspect you will fall in love with them, too).

On mentoring: Some sociological ruminations

I always dug Miyagi, of course.  Who didn't?  He created some sort of Zen-like coolness out of waxing the car.  But upon reflection, he kind of had it easy.  He had one person to mentor.  This is not the case for teachers (or other types of mentors out there).  I'm just saying. :)

Sometimes you meet a student who comes in and says, "I have the next three years figured out- I'm so excited!"  Sometimes you hear, "I have no idea what to do with my life; I just really like thinking deeply about stuff."  Then you have the student who is taking care of two kids, works two jobs, and has no time for schoolwork...but really wants a college degree and the ensuing job it (presumably) brings.  Your role as a mentor is to put each of their lives in your hands, as much as possible, and help them make their goals, however vague or improbable they may be, a reality.  No pressure, right? 

I'm loving every one of our LAKES students this summer.  They are all amazing people, but each in their own ways.  We had our first meeting with the LAKES students about six weeks ago.  When I gave my "let's change the world" speech I saw fuzzy warm excitement from some and skeptic eye-rolling from others.  [This was in an environment where every student was motivated to do research.]  I was reminded that even with outstanding students my "mentor" role would be many things, depending on the student and the moment: from cheerleader to facilitator to friend to teacher.  

We all mentor others at many times in our lives.  We want to make that time with them mean something.  We want to make our lives count, for theirs.  How can we do so much for so many different people??  Of course, how we do so is shaped by those who mentored us, and I think our effectiveness depends on the variety of people we globbed onto...