Working with the students was very rewarding. I worked with a wide variety and would have long periods of time on trips to mentor and speak with them about their issues with school or problems at home. I was put in positions of high responsibility: being an escort to court appointments, taking students to work on time, or taking them home if they were dismissed from the program. This provided me with many situations where I honed my interpersonal skills and learned how to respond to people from different backgrounds.
What I wish was different
There was a bit of favoritism among some of the departments, and sometimes it came down to talking to the right person only when someone else wasn't there. They reorganized the command structure multiple times in the short amount of time I was there, which seems like a sign of bad things happening behind the scenes.
Advice
Try to go in with an open mind, some students are finally in a safe place for the first time and don't know how to be anything but defensive. Being in a leadership role for these students was very rewarding to see them respond to your help, and be more open to discussing things in the future with you, as their mentor.
