The Personality Development Unit aims to enhance communication, confidence, leadership, and interpersonal skills through structured programs, workshops, and training sessions.

Mentoring

Mentoring is aimed at helping students to manage their own learning in order to maximize their potential, develop their skills to improve their performance and become the persons they want to be. Thus mentoring is a fundamental form of human development where the tutor invests time, energy and personal know how, assisting the growth and development of the students. Mentoring originated from the Greek word meaning “enduring”. It is defined as a sustained relationship between a youth and an adult. Through continued involvement the adult (usually older & always more experienced) offers support, guidance and assistance as the younger person goes through a difficult period, faces new challenges, or works to correct earlier problems. Mentoring is thus a development oriented initiative.

Mentee’s Role

• 1. Be honest
• 2. Regard everything as confidential
• 3. Express ones wants clearly from the beginning
• 4. Do not expect to get all problems to be fixed
• 5. Be flexible in making appointments

Responsibilities of the Mentees

• 1. Utilize the possibilities of mentoring
• 2. Be prepared to divulge all relevant information about particular issues.
• 3. Regard all conversation with the mentor as confidential.
• 4. Ensure that you make known what help you want from your mentor and seek clarifications whenever necessary.
• 5. Be flexible in meeting arrangements if mentors cannot honor prior arrangements and changes have to be made.
• 6.Ensure that the documentation of the mentoring sessions is done regularly, and periodic review is done with the mentor to assess the progress that is achieved.

Benefits for the Mentees

• 1 Enhances confidence and offers challenges to set higher goals, take risks and achieve at higher levels.
• 2 Individual recognition and encouragement.
• 3 Psychosocial support.
• 4 Advice on balancing range of academic and personal responsibilities.
• 5 Provides role modelling for professional life and facilitates the development of increased competencies and stronger interpersonal skills.
• 6 Access to a support system during critical stages of your academic and career development.
• 7 Exposure to diverse perspectives and experiences.
• 8 Direct access to powerful resources within the academic environment.
• 9 Provides a welcome point of stability during a time of change.
• 10 Provide guidance on areas the student is unfamiliar with, such as facing life in the campus, preparing for exams etc.
• 11 Provides opportunity to sound off ideas with mentors in a safe space.
• 12 Increases personal knowledge and awareness.
• 13 Develops an environment that supports constructive criticism Gives wisdom, advice, help and encouragement
• 14 Provides an effective learning atmosphere Stimulates thinking about potential future employment options. Benefits to both mentors and mentees Mentoring helps both the mentee and the mentor recognize their abilities and limitations, thus highlighting areas for future development. It helps prompt thought about academic development and come to a realistic conclusion about their career potential. It can help increase the motivation of both the mentee and the mentor. The mentee gains a new direction or perspective while the mentor feels a sense of achievement when the mentee succeeds.

Counselling is a provision of professional assistance and guidance in resolving personal or provisional problems. It is a talk therapy which allows people to discuss their problems and difficult feelings that one encounters in a safe and confidential environment. It is a process people seek when they want to change something in their lives, or simply explore their thoughts and feelings more in depth. A counsellor is not there to set you down and tell you what to do, instead they will encourage you to talk about what is bothering you in order to uncover any root causes and identify specific ways of thinking. The counsellor may then look to create a plan of action to help or reconcile your issues, or help you to find ways of coping. Counselling is tailored according to the individual's needs. There is flexibility within therapy that allows for variety of ways to access the service.

Who can go for Counselling ?

Counselling can be useful for anyone who wants to explore the ways they are thinking or feeling further, as well as for anyone experiencing a problem or an issue they are keen to resolve. People may meet a counsellor because they feel they cannot speak to others like friends, family, opposite gender etc, or any personal issues, career planning or simply wish to speak to a professional with an objective viewpoint.

How Counselling can help ?

The way counselling can help will depend on the person receiving the treatment. For many, the fact that counselling offers a safe and confidential environment to speak is all it takes. In life what we say to others can sometimes have a knock-on effect, altering relationships and the way people see each other. Counselling eliminates this problem and offers you the space and freedom to explore your own thoughts with an unbiased party. In many cases a single session will not be enough to help overcome any issues. Counselling is a journey and it takes time and consistency to work effectively and for this it may require that one goes for regular sessions.

VALUE EDUCATION

Value Education is the process of moulding and developing a person’s physical, emotional and spiritual aspects. It provides a basis for the growth of one’s attitudes, habits, values, skills and interests keeping in mind of the society one lives in. C.V. Good defines: “Value-education is the aggregate of all the process by means of which a person develops abilities, attitudes and other forms of behaviour of the positive values in the society in which he lives.”

Some of the objectives of Value Education are:

• 1 Full development of child’s personality in its physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects
• 2 Inculcation of good manners and of responsible and cooperative citizenship
• 3 Developing respect for the dignity of individual and society
• 4 Inculcation of a spirit of patriotism and national integration
• 5 Developing a democratic way of thinking and living
• 6 Developing tolerance towards and understanding of different religious faiths .
• 7 Developing sense of brotherhood at social, national and international levels.
• 8 Enabling pupils to make decisions on the basis of sound moral principle.

LEADERSHIP TRAINING

The College offers input sessions, both theory and practice, on leadership skills. Public speaking, group interaction, chairing a meeting, guiding a discussion, problem solving etc are integral ingredients of the course. SILOAM, the Center for Psycho-Spiritual Experience and Leadership Training, located at Umsawkhwan, Barapani, Meghalaya is an extension of the College which offers specialized program in Leadership Training. Students are given opportunity to participate in programs conducted at SILOAM