I live in one of those big, dirty, loud, in-your-face residence halls. Recently, when I was interviewing a candidate for a desk position, he described my building as the bottom deck in the Titanic. The rooms are cheaper, the people are diverse, and there's always a party. One of the other grads in my building recently referred to our building as the center of the universe. I lovingly refer to the building as my beautiful mansion on the hill. And for the 1,000 students who live here, it is simply home.
It has been a tough month in my building. Seven of the 18 fire alarms we’ve had this year happened in April. We had one student assaulted and robbed and another mugged at gunpoint in our back parking lot. We’ve had flooding, vandalism, and lots and lots of noise. I’ve had more than 30 judicial hearings in the past two weeks.
Unfortunately, many students, staff, and administrators will only remember that these things happen in my building. They will not remember the outstanding staff that does a lot of its bonding at 3 a.m. fire alarms but has a crazy amount of spirit, dedication, and pride for this building we live in. They will not remember the outstanding programs in our building including the traditional program in April that more than 450 people attended. They will not understand that our staff works harder than any staff on campus.
Last week, we had an end-of-the-year banquet and awards ceremony for housing. Of course, because of budget cuts and limited resources, dinner was not served at this year’s award’s ceremony. Still, all 31 staff members dressed up and attended the event. We carpooled to the Union and sat for an hour and a half while we received zero awards. None. For the second year in a row.
I was completely surprised, disappointed, and well, pretty furious that the department would let an entire building go unrecognized. Surely the largest staff on campus must have some outstanding employees, right? It was even more disappointing that at the end of a long, hard year my staff was unrecognized. A night that was supposed to be celebratory ended in disappointment.
There’s a big part of me that wants to have a we-don’t-need-no-stinking-badges attitude but it’s really tough. I hate to be a sore loser but I don’t understand how you can require a building to attend an awards ceremony in which they are completely ignored. So, our senior staff is working it’s hardest to make our own futile attempt at recognition.
All year, I’ve been hearing that our building has a bad reputation and is never praised by the department. I guess I’ve just never really understood until this month. I’ve never had so much pride in something that’s greatness has been so invisible to others. And it’s tough. But we’ll keep fighting the good fight in our building because I know that despite what anyone on the outside says, there are many people who have called and will continue to call this big, dirty, loud, in-your-face building, home.
3 comments:
Hello!
I just came across your blog and I was wondering if you could be of some help.
I have recently committed myself to working in student affairs. Residence Life seems like fun...
I digress.
The point: Do employers really care about where you attended graduate school?
My state has two colleges that have master's programs that would help me in a student affairs career BUT I doubt they are nationally known.
It would make financial sense and logistical sense to stay in my state for grad school but I may not live in my state forever and want a school on my resume that is a standout and can open doors.
ALSO if you don't mind my asking, what was your undergraduate degree?
I am considering Sociology with a minor in Public Administration.
I think it could be beneficial to you, your staff and the department if you sent your DRL a letter naming all the accomplishments your staff has made this year. Emphasize the fact that they have overcome many obstacles to form a positive community. They have obviously demonstrated that they are very skilled at the work they do AND you have shown that you are a strong leader by creating a cohesive staff unit in the building.
Be careful not come off as a sore loser in your letter, but it is important that the administrators in your department are made aware of their unjustified prejudice against your building.
Hi! I can try my best to help...
My undergraduate degree is in English and journalism but student affairs professionals usually have very diverse bachelor's degrees. I think sociology and public administration would probably benefit you more than mine has. Really, the best thing you can do in undergrad is make sure you're involved on campus.
As far as master's programs, I would say the university you attend is not incredibly significant (although some may disagree). To most employers, the experiences and opportunities you pursue will be more important. If you're interested in a doctoral program, it might also be slightly more beneficial to attend a more highly recognized university.
As far as attending an in-state university, I would encourage you to look around. Many student affairs programs offer tuition remission, tuition waivers, or in-state tuition programs that would make just as much sense financially. If you have a background and interested in Residence Life you could also receive free housing. Some universities even offer housing for all student affairs grads.
ACPA has a great listing of graduate school programs. It's not exactly complete, but it's a good head start for a grad school search. Here's the link to the directory http://www.myacpa.org/c12/directory.cfm
I hope that was helpful!
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