Sample Mentor Log

There seems to be some confusion as to what a mentor log should look like. Here is an example to go by . . .

October 24, 2006
1:30 P.M. -- 3:00 P.M.

I visited Rafeal Martinez at the Rawlings Baseball Factory in Costa Rica. When I came into the door, I had to wait a while in a small office until Rafeal was ready to come get me. While I waited, a lady in the office got me a safety helmet and some earplugs. I also had to sign some paperwork that said I would not sue the baseball factory if I were to get hurt.

After about ten minutes, Rafeal knocked on the door and led me into one of the first rooms of the factory. In this room, there were giant spools of string. Some of them were taller than a house. Rafeal explained that this was the kind of string that is used to wind up the inside of a baseball, and that this string was specially made for this purpose. No one else is able to purchase this particular string. I asked him why this is true. He said he wasn't very sure, but he thought it was because Rawlings did not want other companies like Spalding or Wilson to be able to manufacture baseballs in the same way.

Next Rafeal showed me the room where they store the thousands of little cork balls around which the string is wound. I never knew the center of a baseball was made of cork. We did not stay in this room very long. Before going into the room where large rolls of leather were stored. The leather is for the outside of the baseballs. Rafeal explained to me how the leather is cut into hourglass-shaped pieces in the next room to be sewed together around the cork and string.

Rafeal and I planned our next meeting to be next week. Then he is going to show me how the balls are stitched together and quality tested. I discussed with Rafeal my product for this project, and he suggested I manufacture my own baseball once I understand the process and learn how to use all the machines.

Notice that I included the things I saw, learned, and asked. I will be checking you logs again soon. This is a major part of this project, and you should be putting as much effort into this portion as you put into your research paper.