Mentoring smooths the transition to tertiary
The value-adding PROTEC post-school programme includes mentoring for first-year students by senior students. First of all, potential mentors go through a careful selection process to ensure they can take responsibility for their own studies while also assisting first-years.
Mentors attend training workshops in November and then they host workshops for Grade 12 learners to prepare them for the transition to tertiary education. At the start of the academic year, mentees (first-years)
are linked to mentors at the same tertiary institutions, and they are guided through all the new experiences of registering, NSFAS, and other demands of campus life. The aim of this programme is to enable first-year students to have a smooth transition into tertiary studies.
Here we hear from two mentors and two mentees about their experiences.
Mentor Nomathemba Ntiwane
I am a third-year student at North West University in Potchefstroom. My mentee is Bongiwe, who is at the Mafikeng campus. I help her with how to use North West University website, how to add and drop modules, and how to select the correct modules. I also send her past question papers since I did some of the modules that she is doing, and I give her tips on how to pass her modules.
Mentee Bongiwe Manda
I am studying BSc at the Mafikeng campus. The mentorship has been good and very helpful. Thank you PROTEC, for assisting first-years with this programme. My mentors, Nomathemba and Zilyah, have been helping me to navigate university life and how things are done around here and I am getting familiar with a lot of things. I like it that they are easy to talk to and very kind.
Mentor Rotondwa Mavhungu
Being a mentor has been a fun and exciting experience. Right from our first interaction with the mentees at the workshop, it has been inspiring to see how much assistance we as mentors could provide. Mentees need to feel comfortable to seek assistance when things go bad, when they are unsure or need more understanding about something, and it is the mentor’s duty to show them where to go, where they could seek assistance from at Wits University, and so on. I believe the programme will help a lot of first years in this transition to varsity.
Mentee Khutadzo Rambuda
I have benefitted greatly from the guidance and support from my mentor who played a significant role in shaping my personal and professional growth at Wits University. Each interaction has been invaluable in helping me navigate challenges, set goals, and develop important skills. I am truly grateful for the continuous support and guidance provided by the mentor in the programme, and I look forward to further growth and learning in the future.
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