Today we are introducing you Renke, our intern, and giving you a glimpse into her experience at Bridges by Mentors. We asked her a few questions, here’s what she shared:
- Your first encounter with Bridges by Mentors
How did you first hear about the Bridges by Mentors project? What made you curious or motivated to get involved?
In my second year of my bachelor Child & Youth studies, I had to start looking for an internship. I contacted multiple organizations, but none of these were looking for an intern. As a result, I received a list of possible internships my school was in contact with. One of these options was Bridges by Mentors, I’ve never come much in contact with international students, so this internship piqued my interest. The project sounded interesting and educational, which is why I chose to do my internship at Bridges by Mentors in Howest Kortrijk.
- Your role in the project
What are you doing as an intern in the BBM project? Share a small moment, activity, or experience that stood out to you.
As interns for BBM we are responsible for organizing various activities, training sessions and recruiting international students. After the students followed our training sessions and become a mentor, Hana—my fellow intern—and I will find local organizations to collaborate with and create mentoring activities.
An experience that stood out to me was the cultural activity last year and this year. We did a scavenger hunt through the cities of Kortrijk and Bruges. We were split into smaller teams which made it easier to get to know different people. After the city hunt, we went to a café together to meet the whole group better.
- Mentoring in three words
If you had to describe mentoring in three words, what would they be and why?
BBM puts a lot of emphasis on the fact that a mentor doesn’t need to have all the answers ready for their mentee. This makes the threshold of joining and becoming a mentor lower.
- Connection: Bridges by Mentors emphasizes the importance of building new connections between people, who without this project likely never would have met. This is also a great way for local youth to meet diverse people.
- Mutual learning: Mentoring isn’t a one-way street, both the mentor and mentee can learn a lot from each other. Mentoring stimulates growth of all parties involved; this is one of my favorite aspects of BBM. BBM puts a lot of emphasis on the fact that a mentor doesn’t need to have all the answers ready for their mentee. This makes the threshold of joining and becoming a mentor lower.
- Developing skills: By participating in BBM you can develop your soft skills; meaning skills like creativity, organization, communication…. Personally, I have grown a lot in the field of communication compared to before starting my internship. I used to be very shy and too scared to talk to strangers and though I still struggle sometimes, I find myself doing a lot more social things that I wouldn’t dare to do a couple of years ago.
By constantly being in contact with people with a different culture you become more open and considerate to different opinions/insights. I love talking to international students and discovering cultural differences. By being open to others’ experiences, you get to know the world and the people in it even better.