Lightning Talk: 10 Reasons You Would Make a Great Youth Mentor

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10 reasons you would make a great youth mentor Lacey Williams Henschel DjangoCon US 2022 ! @laceynwilliams

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Big Sister to my Li.le "Alex," for the last 8 years with Big Brothers Big Sisters @laceynwilliams

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We need more mentors. As Drew said in his opening remarks, volunteer par7cipa7on all over has declined over the course of the pandemic. And the pandemic has hit children especially hard in lots of ways that I'll let you Google. @laceynwilliams

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The beneﬁts of mentoring for both kids and mentors is another thing I'll let you Google. But I talk to a lot of people about mentoring, and I hear one thing all the =me: some varia=on of why THEY can't be a youth mentor. But mentoring isn't paren=ng, it's not teaching, it's not counseling. It's just being a friend. In fact, kids and teens already have a lot in common with the coders in this room. @laceynwilliams

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1. Kids appreciate the design process @laceynwilliams

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They don't just match you with the kid at the top of the list. The people in charge of most mentoring programs try to matcch adults and kids that will get along. So you and your match get to decide how you spend your ;me together. @laceynwilliams

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2. Kids engage in risk analysis @laceynwilliams

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COVID made mentoring hard. I didn't see Alex in person for months, and then we were masked un>l we were both vaccinated. You and your match will work TOGETHER to decide how to spend your >me -- are you thrill seekers or no? Are you only spending >me outdoors, or can you go to the movies? @laceynwilliams

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3. Kids take joy in discovery @laceynwilliams

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Kids like novelty. They want to learn about you, and they want you to learn about them. And they are respec;ul of spoilers when you get into one of their favorite shows. @laceynwilliams

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4. Kids like new tech @laceynwilliams

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I didn't even know iOS 16 was out when Alex was bugging me to update. Wanna do something weird with a Raspberry Pi? I guarantee there is a kid out there who wants to help. @laceynwilliams

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5. Kids understand project tradeoffs @laceynwilliams

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We have all had to make that -me/quality/cost tradeoﬀ, and kids get that, too. Just like in any so

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6. Kids ask for help and appreciate it @laceynwilliams

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This is literally one of my favorite moments as a mentor. Alex is doing a workstudy through her high school at a local architeture ﬁrm and for a 15-year-oild in complex design mee?ngs, this is a lot! Mentoring a young adult through their ﬁrst big-person job is just... awesome. @laceynwilliams

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7. Kids are great teammates @laceynwilliams

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When you BECOME a friend, you GET a friend. My sister Alex is truly a great friend to me. She's caring and generous and a lovely person. @laceynwilliams

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8. Kids like refactoring @laceynwilliams

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Alex loves to bake, and she is not shy with her feedback on our crea8ons! She and I together improve at the skills we do together. @laceynwilliams

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9. Kids test ...you. @laceynwilliams

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She's wrong. This is a ba1le we've fought for eight years. @laceynwilliams

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10. Kids celebrate @laceynwilliams

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Just like you love to ccelebrate your ﬁrst deployment, or new job, or whatever, young people want to acknowledge those too! @laceynwilliams

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Come chat with me! @laceynwilliams