Big / Little Info Guide — Littles Edition

written by ACM [Eric Fan]

Welcome to the Allen School! We are thrilled to have you join us in the ACM Big / Little Mentorship Program, and we hope your first couple of weeks of school have been phenomenal. Transitioning into a new learning community can understandably be challenging, especially with the virtual education setting we’re all facing. Our goal for this program is to ease your transition into the Allen School with help from your Big, which we hope will also make your college experience more fun and memorable! To help you to make the most out of this program, we wanted to offer some of our tips and guidance for being a Little!

Getting to know your Big

One of the most valuable parts of having a Big is their experience of already being in the Allen School! As a new admit, there can be several things you are uncertain about, so we would highly encourage you to ask as many questions as possible to your Big. Don’t be afraid to also talk about any of your concerns or hardships, as your Big has also likely encountered similar experiences and can offer some useful advice to overcome these worries! We recommend asking questions that aren’t a yes / no question to prompt discussion. Here are some examples of questions you can ask your Big to help stimulate some ideas, but the questions you could ask are practically endless!

• What were some of the challenges you faced as a new admit to the Allen School, and how did you overcome these challenges?
• Within the CSE field, I’m interested in X, Y, and Z. What opportunities do the Allen School offer that I could potentially become involved in?
• I’m struggling to keep up with the X class, and I feel like I fall behind. If you’ve taken X class, do you have any suggestions for succeeding in this class?
• What are some of the most effective practices you’ve found for doing well in CSE classes?

Communication

Remember that your Big is there to support and help you to the best of their ability, but it would make their responsibility much more manageable by sharing your expectations for what you aim to get out of this program. One way you can achieve this is to find a specific focus for the quarter — this could be improving your academic performance, becoming more involved in the Allen School, or jumpstarting your career preparation. This will help your Big better prepare advice and resources to empower you!

It might feel like your Big is taking the lead in this mentorship program, but your contribution and communication back to your Big is equally as important for the relationship. If you’re meeting with your Big less frequently (which is totally alright), it would be great to send weekly or biweekly updates to your Bigs regarding any updates or action items you’ve taken since the last time you met with them! For example, if your focus is on academics and your Big encouraged you to form study groups with your peers, you can give them updates on whether you’ve found a study group and if studying with peers has helped your academic performance. This is also a good opportunity for you to reflect on what works and doesn’t work for you (it’s normal for things to not work out sometimes)!

• On the topic of being communicative, if there’s something that you would like to change about, such as meeting with your Big more frequently or less frequently, do not be afraid to let your Bigs know! They respect your time and needs. It may feel intimidating, but remember that the purpose of this program is to support you!

Being prepared before you meet up with your Big will make your and your Big’s time much more productive! For example, before meeting up with your Big, jot down any questions you would like to ask, brainstorm topics you would like to talk about, and be prepared to give any updates to your Big (if applicable). If you’re unsure how to prepare, you can try to visualize a conversation with your Big the night before!

Activities to try with your Big during a virtual quarter

Attend ACM events — especially Big/Little events!

• We’ll be hosting social events like game nights, debate offs, virtual escape rooms, virtual Fall Fest, and more, so keep on the lookout for these announcements!

Online board games! These are super easy to learn and mostly free to play, so it’s a fun option to try as you get to know your Big. Here are a few popular ones:

• Skribbl.io
• Codenames
• Drawphone
• Mad Libs
• Secret Hitler
• Battleship
• Collaborative crosswords
• Jackbox Games ($25 on Steam for each party pack with 5 games)
• Tabletop simulator ($20 on Steam, lets you play basically any board game)

Multiplayer video games — a bit more commitment than the online board games, but also a great collaborative option!

• Among us (Free on mobile app stores, $5 on Steam)
• League of Legends (Free)
• Super Smash Bros (Nintendo Switch with Online Play)
• Animal Crossing (Nintendo Switch with Online Play)

Watch a movie/show together

• https://potato.land/ — lets you stream Youtube and other videos together
• Or the old fashioned way of video calling while simultaneously starting a video always works as well :)

Start a book club

• Pick a book to read every month and talk about it during your meetings

Final notes

Sometimes things won’t always go as planned in the relationship, such as your Big being unexpectedly far busier than anticipated and not committing as much time as you had hoped for. If any issues like this arise and you are not able to resolve the issue by communicating to your Big, please reach out to ACM! We don’t want anybody to be suffering in silence. In the example above, we can find another Big to pair you up with. Hopefully, cases like these will be rare, but ACM will always be there for you when you need us!

Lastly, remember to have fun! Remember that your Big is a friend first and foremost, and they want to help you succeed — that’s why they signed up to be a Big! Although most of our tips here were about how to get the most out of a mentorship, you should also try to cultivate your friendship with your Big and talk about non-academic / non-career related topics. Depending on your goals in signing up for the Big / Little program, you may not even want to focus too much on academics / career topics with your Big, and that’s totally ok! Just be open about your interests and encourage your Big to share theirs as well, and your relationship will become one that’s meaningful for both of you. :)

We hope this pamphlet gives you a better understanding of how to make the most out of your time as a Little! We’re so excited that you’re joining us on this program, and we hope you have a wonderful experience with your Big!

As always, feel free to reach out to ACM at acm-officers@cs.washington.edu with any questions that you may have!