![\"Kirsten](\"https:\/\/cah.ucf.edu\/womengender\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/26\/2021\/08\/Cherry-Photo-201x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWe spoke with former Big and Facilitator, Kirsten Cherry, on her experiences with Science Leadership and Mentoring. She graduated from UCF in Spring 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Forensic Science with minors in Chemistry and Crime, Law, and Deviance.\u00a0Kirsten started out as a Big with the Young Women Leader’s Program (SLAM’s predecessor) in fall 2016 and worked with YWLP and SLAM until her graduation.<\/i><\/p>\n
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What prompted you to first join SLAM (formerly YWLP)?<\/p>\n
I wanted to find a way to get involved on UCF\u2019s campus. I also wanted to make new friends and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do both.<\/p>\n
You spent five years dedicating your time to SLAM and YWLP. What kept you coming back year after year?<\/p>\n
What kept me coming back was the long-lasting friendships I was building with the mentors and mentees. And the fact that I saw a huge positive\u00a0impact on the mentees’ lives over the course of the program each year.<\/p>\n
What is your favorite memory from your time at SLAM?<\/p>\n
My favorite memory was my first year as a Big; I formed such a strong connection with my Little. It was a struggle at first, but with time I finally got my Little to open up to me and we both had positive impacts on each other\u2019s lives. It was a wonderful experience.<\/p>\n
What advice would you give to new SLAM mentors?<\/p>\n
Advice that I would give to new\u00a0SLAM mentors is to trust the process. Being a mentor is certainly not easy and it takes time to build authentic relationships with your mentees. Also take the time to remember what it was like to be a 7th grader, and use those personal experiences, whether good or bad, to help you connect and relate to your mentee.<\/p>\n
How did your SLAM experience help prepare you for life after graduation?<\/p>\n
I believe that SLAM has prepared me for life after graduation by helping me build upon my leadership skills. Starting out as a Big, I used to be terrified to speak in front of people but as I progressed and became a Facilitator, I gained the confidence to be able to publicly speak and lead lessons within the program.<\/p>\n
What are your future plans?<\/p>\n
My future plans are to become a Forensics Crime Scene Investigator and find different ways to give back to my community focusing on young girls interested in STEM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We spoke with former Big and Facilitator, Kirsten Cherry, on her experiences with Science Leadership and Mentoring. She graduated from UCF in Spring 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Forensic Science with minors in Chemistry and Crime, Law, and Deviance.\u00a0Kirsten started out as a Big with the Young Women Leader’s Program (SLAM’s predecessor) in fall…","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1826,"parent":421,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1838","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n