This year, WJC trained more than 100 new peer mediators in schools across the Greater Los Angeles Area.
As we look ahead to preparations for National Mediation Month in October, we'd like to share our recent interview with one of those mediators: Yatziry Ochoa.
Yatziry Ochoa is a recent graduate of Gladstone High School in Azusa Unified School District. Over the last two years, Yatziry trained with WJC to become a peer mediator and during the last six months alone she successfully completed more than 20 mediations!
Yatziry, who will be attending Azusa Pacific University, sat down with WJC conflict resolution educator Arturo Magana to talk about her experience as a peer mediator and see if she had any advice for middle and high school students who are thinking about becoming mediators.
ARTURO: So our first question, how did you learn about the peer mediation program?
YATZIRY: I learned about the peer mediation program from Gladstone’s vice principal, Mr. Oscar Oyama. He noticed that I had some leadership skills and that I was interested in taking initiative. I had been in a leadership program at my middle school but felt that I didn’t find my actual calling until Mr. Oyama introduced me to peer mediation and introduced me to WJC.
WJC gave me an understanding of what peer remediation is and how it could help our students solve their conflicts. I got really interested and told them: Sign me up!
ARTURO: So being part of a peer mediation program that was new to your school, what would you say was the impact that it had on you and your fellow students?
YATZIRY: At the beginning of the school year, we didn’t know if there was going to be much of an impact. But once we started having pep talks with other students and doing mediations, we were able to minimize the amount of arguments and conflicts happening at school. The mediations really minimized the chaos at school and helped everybody enjoy their education and their time together at Gladstone.
ARTURO: That’s great! Can you tell us a bit about how you going through peer mediation training impacted your personal life?
YATZIRY: Getting trained as a peer mediator changed me a lot. I learned about how to handle conflict at school, but also about understanding the emotions behind the conflict. How the other person is handling a situation, including body language, tone and everything else. This gives you a great perspective of all your other types of conflict including conflicts with family members, friends, and even at work.
Peer mediation training with WJC taught me how to have an open mind about conflicts and understand that it's not just my feelings that are taking place in the situation. It helped me think about how my friends or family might be feeling when we’re having a disagreement and have better communication with them. Because of that, I’ve been able to grow our relationship.
ARTURO: Amazing! My last question is what advice would you give students, no matter the year, that want to become mediators?
YATZIRY: Well, the biggest advice is that nobody really does know a hundred percent what to do in every situation. But through the training you learn the tools to figure it out. Every situation is different, so my advice is to not be afraid. Just take it little by little, and remember all the time that it's helping someone else.
You can’t solve every problem for everyone. Sometimes students won't come out as friends, but they'll make an agreement that they won't bother each other anymore. Or sometimes you did everything you could and it is time for the administration to be involved. Either way, we are here to help.
Another thing to know is that this process can be emotionally draining because you're trying not to get involved in the situation yourself and avoid being biased. So take care of yourself! Stay hydrated, eat snacks, and take breaks to get your energy back up.
ARTURO: Thank you for joining us today and congratulations on getting into Azusa Pacific University. You know we’re ready to have you back as a college intern as soon as you’re ready!