Takin' Care of Business #11

For the past week many of us grads in Student Affairs have been scheduling phone interviews to get a summer internship. I too have been on the boat trying to find a cool place to work at for the summer. This whole crazy busy time feels like when I was applying for grad school last year. It reminds me of when I went to OPE (Oshkosh Placement Exchange)...well, maybe not as nerve wracking. I mean...it is an interview over the phone, so it's not that bad.

When I was applying for assistantships last year at OPE, I let schools contact me. I never went and sought an institution out. I thought that with applying for Housing jobs with ACUHO-I and Orientation ones with NODA I would at least get like 20 e-mails from people wanting me to work for them, just like it had happened for me during OPE. Well...not so much. I've had a few schools contact me and so the search for a summer internship has been dwindling down.

What I've been trying to look for are things that I have limited experience in. I want to be a "Jack of all Trades" and I want to be well rounded in all areas of Student Affairs. That is why I chose Summer Conferencing, Summer Orientation, Parent Services, and community college experiences as practicum options. This past week I had 2 interviews...one school in Georgia for ACUHO-I, and a school in New York for NODA. I was going to have an interview with a school in Indiana on Thursday, but it got rescheduled for next week because they are without power because of the ice storms they had earlier this week.

On that note...I was ready at 3:30 p.m. Central Time, just as our e-mails had stated for Thursday, waiting by the phone in my office to have my interview. I waited, and waited. Then 15 minutes go by, and nothing happens. I'm staring the phone down, willing it to ring with my mind. I walk over to my Supervisor's office and ask "So when doing a phone interview, the school is supposed to call the interviewee, right?" My boss was like "Yes, why?" and so when I explained what was going on and how freaked out I was getting, he told me that myabe they were just running behind on their schedule. So I sat in my office, watching last week's episode of "Grey's Anatomy" waiting...4 p.m. comes around, I check my e-mail to see if I have an update from this school, but nothing is there. I checked my cell phone to see if they had called me there, but no missed calls and the volume is up at its highest. 4:15 p.m...still waiting...4:30 p.m. "that's why we're waiting--waiting--waiting for the world to change" (sorry, had a John Mayer moment). My office closes at 4:30 p.m. and so I grab my stuff and head out to get some dinner before class starts. I was so confused, and sad, and upset. I kept thinking "Oh my God, they forgot about me" and "What if they found someone else?" When I got to class, some of my peers were asking what was wrong with me, and I told them what had just happened. They all thought it was crummy if the school had forgotten about me. Some of my peers had experienced the same thing with other schools, who set a time to interview but didn't call until later. Well...everything was fine the next day when I saw my inbox. The person who was going to interview me sent me an e-mail through her BlackBerry explaining the electricty problem. So we are going to do this interview next week. Hopefully, this all works out.

My interview with the school in Georgia was bad. It was my first one of the season, and so I felt very anxious and nervous. My interview the following day with the school in New York went much better. I'm really looking foward to hearing from them next week to see if I make it to the second round of interviews. There was another school that I was highly interested in New York, but they haven't contacted me. To tell you the truth, the majority of the schools that I picked out for NODA haven't contacted me. Just the NY school I interviewed with, and another one in Illinois who happened to just send me a letter saying that they were NOT going to interview me. Something about they were only going to interview 5 people, and I didn't make the cut. You spent money on a stamp and paper to tell me you don't want to talk to me??? What the heck?! Couldn't you just send an e-mail? Way to go with their sustainability plan...and sorry if I sound bitter (I mean, hellooooo, 5 people--seriously?), but an e-mail would have sufficed. Tree killers.

Only time will tell...well, I'll know on February 11th. Hopefully, things work out. I have somewhat of a fallback plan. I contacted the community college I used to attend in Texas, and they have an opening for an intern in their TRIO/Passkey Program which works with first generation students and underrepresented groups. I'm pretty sure this internship is unpaid, so that might be a problem. The only bright side to going back to Texas this summer would be that I wouldn't have to pay for rent or food because I would be living at home with my parents. Downside is I'm going to have to take my car (at my house we have transportation problems)...and driving to TX is not a fun trip. I did it once when I first moved up to Iowa for undergrad, and I didn't drive that time because I didn't have a licence and I went with 10 other students in my scholarship program. But that was the longest trip of my life. I'm really hoping for the school in New York to offer me a job. I want to get an East Coast experience and leave the MidWest for a while. It's NY! Of all places, me going back to NY after a 14 year absence. Going back to where I was born. Trying to make a connection with that part of me that I don't have anymore. It would be so awesome!!!

Anyways, let's see if I took care of business well when February 11 arrives. Wish me luck :)

It's a residence hall NOT a dormitory - 10

I’ll be spending the next few weeks focusing on acronyms. ACUHO-I. NODA. OFYE. It may sound like teenage texter lingo, but to those of us in student affairs, those words mean so much more. Right now, I get to decide how I’m going to spend three months of my life this summer. I have to sift through information such as dates negotiable, travel reimbursed, meals provided, recreation center access.

So, let the phone interviews commence. If you’ve never done a phone interview, let me be the first to tell you it’s just a little bit awkward. I mean, I’m not sure I feel completely comfortable interviewing in person but it doesn’t get much better on the phone. Sometimes, schools interview me on speakerphone and I can just barely make out what they’re asking. Sometimes, I can’t judge when a person on the other end is going to speak and I end up interrupting. And, inevitably, I’ll get another call and have to cross my fingers that the interviewers can’t hear that annoying beeping.

My first phone interview this year was with a school on the west coast. The interviewers were very friendly and we even had a few mutual connections. Things were going swell until they informed me that it would be a behavioral interview. This means they would ask me six questions related to how I behave in specific situations. I was directed to explain a specific example of a related situation, how I handled the situation, and the results of the situation. For example:

West Coast Academy: Tell us about a time you felt like you’ve let someone down.
Me: Well, recently I’ve had scheduling conflicts with an RA and haven’t been able to meet with her one-on-one to complete her RA evaluation. I knew she was becoming frustrated because she wanted to get feedback from me and from her residents. I felt like I was letting her down. I have talked with her about the scheduling conflict, and we were finally able to find a mutually agreeable time to meet this week. I apologized and told her I understood her frustrations. She seemed happy that we would be able to meet.
West Coast Academy: How could you tell she was upset?
Me: She sighed and seemed disappointed. I also picked up on nonverbal cues. Just the look on her face made me think she was upset.
West Coast Academy: Can you be more specific?
Me: Uhhh….

I remember doing a behavioral interview in the past. I don’t remember sucking so badly. The interviewers kept asking me to me to be more specific even though I felt like I was being very thorough. Did they want specific dates and times? Should I just use another example? Should I expect a call on February 11^th? I doubt it.

My second interview went ok. Finally, today, a good interview. I guess the third time is the charm. This time, I talked one-on-one with the Director of Orientation. We talked for ten minutes before the interview even began. I felt like we had a lot in common and I like she genuinely cared about getting to know me. The school is doing second interviews so I’m just keeping my fingers crossed.

I have another seven interviews scheduled for Thursday and Friday and I’m hoping I feel like I have a good fit with some other schools. I already sent out apology emails to EIGHTEEN schools I felt uninterested in, so I’m really hoping that I’ll get at least one offer. For right now, IDK.

Takin' Care of Business #10

So here's the run down of what I did during Winter Break: went home to Texas, hung out with my parental units, slept, ate, and came back to Illinois. The most laid back 3 weeks I have ever had. It was glorious to take a break and go someplace warm. When I returned home (after a one year absence) a couple things were different like our house (it was a different color now), my sister's old car was gone, my brother and sister's kids were like 4 inches taller...small things that I noticed. Even I was different with my bad habits that I have retained from my college/graduate school lifestyle (like skipping breakfast and lunch) or using the theories of student development that I learned in the Fall in every other conversation with adults ("Why yes, that's what we call challenge and support"). It was weird. Look at what 2008 had done to me...I'm a different person.

And so I return back to IL early before all the students come back...and as soon as I get to my car at the airport--it wouldn't start. Father Winter decided to give me a hard time by killing my car's battery. Welcome to IL (insert me crying here)! Then after 2 1/2 hours of wandering around the airport and calling the few people I knew in town to come help me, a classmate came to my rescue. I returned to my crummy apartment, and I opened my mailbox...I got bills! Lots of them! :( Again...Welcome to IL (insert sarcasm)! I also have encountered some computer problems since my arrival back to school (my PC is 5 years old and is seeing it's last days alive). Welcome to IL (insert a sigh and a tone of defeat)!

Going back to work was weird the first week since there were no students around. It was so quiet. Then last week, they were all back...and you could hear the hustle and bustle of students swarming my office. It was great! 2 of my classes were canceled because one of my professors wasn't back from his Break yet. Then we had a snow day (which as a student, it makes me feel like it's Christmas morning again). I made it to a personal record in my "Walking around in cold weather" book with a low of -34 degrees with windchill. Yeah...welcome to IL (insert the sniffles and chattering teeth)!

I'm looking foward to my new classes this week. Excited. Nervous. Stressed. Freaked out. All of the above. Since the new semester began, I decided to make some life changes. Not like resolutions, but life changes...going about my day in a different manner. This includes eating and not skipping meals, and sleeping more, and making honest adjustments (like using a planner for once because I am the Master of Procrastination).

My assistantship had a training for the new semester, and we had to share our academic, professional, and personal goals with each other. I was not really up for sharing my personal goals (because that's why they are personal and should be kept to yourself). However, one of my personal goals was to make more friends. The coordinator for my office laughed at me. I don't think it was to make fun of my goal, but more of a "For real?" kind of laugh.

The other GA who works with me, and I, attempted to state our case on the issue of our friendships with undergraduate students. The other grad has been here since freshman year, and so some of her friends are still undergrads. I'm the new girl in town, and every time I meet a student at a function or event, they're undergrads. Even students that I work closely with are undergrads. Sometimes I get asked to go "Hang Out" at the local bar or go dancing or the occasional invite to a house party, and I have to say no.

I kept telling myself that "I need to go hang out with people my own age", and I realized...I'm 22!!!! People my age are still undergrads!!!! And although I have always been a big advocate of student involvement on campus: I can't get involved in anything because I work all day and go to class at night! There is no happy medium in this situation. So I proposed to everybody in my office to help me find a hobby. I need to find something to balance out school and work because that's ALL that I do. Nobody has come up with any good ideas yet. I'm hoping that I can find something soon where I can meet more grad students. If you...yes, the one reading this blog right now...if you have any good ideas of what kind of stuff I can do for fun or for the sake of learning or know of a place where I can meet people...please write a comment below. All suggestions are appreciated :)

I know, I know...it's the never ending battle of the dualistic grad student in transition. But I'm hoping 2009 will bring many good things my way. And I do hope to make more friends along the way. I don't care how silly it sounds. I got to find some reason to make the next year and a 1/2 more enjoyable. I need to take care of business if I'm going to enjoy this graduate school experience at all. I know, and everyone knows, that I don't like living here in this town where I am currently at. I've done all I can to befriend people in my program. My cohort is awesome! But I need and want to meet people outside of my program with other interests in life than to work with college students. I need to build my support system in order to have a more successful transition...and if you don't believe me, look up Nancy Schlossberg's Transition Theory. Situation: new environment (got that down--doing better in it). Self: still feeling a bit blue (but doing better because I'm being compliant with everything and getting motivated to make this situation work). Strategy: finding a hobby (put myself out there to meet people...see where I'm getting at?). Support: classmates (but that's it...I need to get more support going, with people that are different from me). Oh that Nancy Schlossberg! She sure knew what she was talking about when she came up with Transition Theory. It applies to every new change in your life, and that's why she is my favorite theorist :)

It's a residence hall NOT a dormitory - 9

Ever since a gentleman at a conference-sponsored mentor dinner asked me in November, “What risks have you taken lately?” I’ve been trying to reflect on how much risk I really take in my life and in my assistantship. Not the Johnny Knoxville wax-your-eyebrow-hair-completely-off type risks, but the kind that delivers new experience and new insight. I think because I’ve been so focused on learning this job, adapting to a new campus, forming good relationships with my RAs, I haven’t really taken a lot of risks. In other words, I haven’t taken risks to avoid the risk of failing or looking like an idiot. If this past week is any indication, hopefully that will all change this semester.

This week began with winter training for housing staff. The schedule for the first day included recreation time for everyone. A bunch of people, including many of my friends, organized a large dodge ball game. At first, I sat on the bench and cheered on my friends. They encouraged me to play but honestly, I’ve never really liked dodge ball. As a general rule, I don’t like people throwing things at me. I also don’t like looking like an idiot when I get hit by a speeding foam ball in front of twenty of my peers. So for a while I watched my friends play dodge ball, grateful that I never had to be the last man standing with ten balls hurtling at my midsection.

After a couple games, a RA from my building sat next to me and said if I played the next game she would, too. I decided to give it a shot. So I headed onto the dodge ball court with fear in my heart to the cheering of all my friends. I’m not going to lie. I sucked. I was out after about one minute in the first game. After about four games I was having fun. I was dodging balls and even caught a few to get teammates back in the game. And you know what? I had fun. I think I learned more from that dodge ball game than from any of the other training sessions. Hopefully in the future I won’t take myself out of the game before I’ve even given myself a chance.

That dodge ball game gave me the confidence to take other risks. I’ve tried very hard this week to speak my mind and voice my opinions which are often drowned out by the strong personalities I work with. I’ve also let my guard down a little more with my RAs and been friendlier and goofier. This week, I really felt like I was myself. I don’t know why it’s taken my so long to get there.

Also, I’ve decided to be a little more risky in my choices for internships this summer. Although I’ve had an internship away from home before, I haven’t ventured too far out of my comfort zone. This year, I’m pulling out all the stops. No location will be left unconsidered: Alaska, Qatar, Canada, even Alabama. I’m really up for anything. I just want to find an internship that sounds exciting and challenging. Hopefully, taking a few risks when it comes to internships will give me the best experience possible. Plus, it just makes me feel stronger to do things I think I can’t.

I’m encouraging everyone to take a few risks this semester. Dance while other people are watching. Join an organization you would not normally be interested in. Speak up in class if you’re usually quiet. Ask out that hot guy from campus activities. Yes, it involves some chance. You might find out you really do hate dodge ball. But you never know, it just might change your life.

It's a residence hall NOT a dormitory - 8

The first time I stayed in a dorm was my sophomore year of high school. I went to a journalism camp (yes, I was a huge newspaper geek) at the University of Missouri. The dorm was everything I had hoped it would be with its community bathrooms, uncomfortable twin beds, and bats (not the baseball kind). I was still dreaming of winning Pulitzers and had no idea the role this type of building would play in my life.

Two years later, I moved away to college and into the Honors/Scholars dorm. I lived in a room by myself and shared the suite with my RA. It turned out that I was the only honors student on a floor of late admit students. It was a year to remember. Everyone on my floor was either drunk or naked most of the time and I think I remember two programs that my RA did. One was a scavenger hunt and the other involved making quesadillas.

Everything would change my sophomore year. I became an RA and learned all about planning programs, being on duty, working the desk, and of course the difference between a residence hall and a dormitory. I also learned that in residence life, we have the best stories. I’ll always remember:

My first alcohol bust. The room had a tent set up in it and a cooler full of beer. I’m still friends with the guy I busted.

Floor feuding. My first year as an RA my residents feuded with another floor in the building and kept playing pranks like putting trashcans of water against people’s doors. They had a particularly nasty vendetta against the RA on that floor and loved to break policies while she was on duty. She had recorded a CD and some of my residents got a hold of it, played it very loudly, and called in their own noise complaint so she would have to confront them. In the spring, there was a lice outbreak on that floor and I returned home to find that my residents had made posters with louse drawings and sayings like, “Bitches get itches.” I tried very hard not to laugh as I scolded my residents and confiscated the posters.

Those crazy boys. My second year as an RA I had a floor of almost all guys. They were great and I got to be very good friends with several of them. One night, I got a call that there was blood all over the building. A minute later, two guys knocked on my door and asked if I had a band-aid. I put two and two together and figured out that my resident (obviously drunk) was responsible for the blood in the hall. He helped me figure it out by getting it all over my bedroom and bathroom. He had punched a glass door on the second floor because he was upset about a girl.

My staffs. Every year I thought I had the best staff and every year it just got better. From a silly initiation ceremony we made up one year in the laundry room to all-nighters and RA parties, a lot of the people I was on staff with are still my best friends.

My first semester as Hall Director has just given me more great stories. From crazy residents to my first real fire, I already have a lot of hilarious (and scary) memories. I’m seriously considering pitching a reality TV show to MTV. It could be called “The Dorm” and feature the staff of a residence hall. We wouldn’t even need to fake the drama.

It's a residence hall NOT a dormitory - 7

After seventeen years in school I guess old habits die hard. I mean, I tried to be a better student this semester. I started off strong, taking my Hello Kitty notebooks to class and keeping detailed notes. I even was up-to-date on the class reading for a while. But sometime between the first fire alarm in my building and the annual Christmas party at a professor’s house, I lost a little bit of that drive. So, of course, last week was the academic week from hell.

Against all the incessant urgings of my know-it-all (in an annoying big brother type of way) coworker, I decided to co-write a paper for my history class. I probably wouldn’t have written the paper with anyone else, but my best friend in the program asked me to so I decided to give it a shot. Honestly, we started earlier together than either of us would have started alone. Regardless, we stayed up until 5 a.m. on Saturday, slept, then got back up and worked for a whopping 29 hours straight finishing the paper. On the plus side: I learned a lot, I ate breakfast at IHOP. I can now say I’ve been up at 7 a.m. for a reason other than a fire alarm, AND our paper wasn’t half bad. Now I’m just hoping for that A so I can give my coworker a big, fat “I told you so!”

I was up again just two days later working on a paper for my Intro class. But, the worst of all was finishing a semester-long group project to build our very own college. I’ve never really hated group work. Until now. There was a non-traditional grad in our group who liked to butt heads with everyone, especially me. We would decide on an idea as a group and later, she would try and explain why it was a bad idea and her idea was better. She also liked to have input on everyone else’s ideas (usually negative). And of course, what would a great group member be without a little bit of a controlling streak? Anyway, at least she worked hard. And the professor has already turned in our grades so I’m happy to say my first grade in grad school is an A. I earned it in this class for sure. I’m just crossing my fingers for no more group work.

So the week was stressful and I probably gained about 10 pounds from all the pizza I consumed, but I still learned a lot. I learned that I can work really well in the right group or the wrong group even though one is way more frustrating than the other. More importantly, I learned where the library is on campus and how to navigate its 900 floors. I also learned that grad students can check out library books for four months at a time, slightly disturbing if you know my track record with overdue library books.

Despite having a better understanding of the Dewey Decimal System, APA style, and the local pizza scene, I’m still planning to put “be a better student” at the top of my list of goals for 2009. Maybe it will work this time around.

Takin' Care of Business #9

Oh finals week....
The most dreaded time of the year.

I know that a major in Student Affairs/Higher Ed Administration/Higher Ed Policy...the numerous names for what we do...we have lots of papers and projects. However, I didn't have any tests this semester. That is one of the weird things of this new academic adventure of grad school. I haven't had any tests. No more multiple choice, fill in the blanks, or True and False questions. Just lots of essays...short ones, long ones, research papers worth. It's odd. I am getting used to this writing a paper every week thing. And I'm amazed at my becoming a scholarly writer.

So my finals were pretty smooth this semester...2 major papers, and 2 presentations. The papers killed me. I stressed alot about it. Writing something, deleting it after, thinking that my ideas weren't good enough. But I pulled through. The grades for my 3 classes were posted today: 2 A's and a B. I was so proud of myself. I worked hard. I cried. I complained. I whined. I stressed. I prevailed :) and all harmony is restored in the universe and the world is as it should be once more.

Anyways, during Thanksgiving Break I worked on my papers, day in and night out, and as I was hyped on caffeine (and because lack of sleep makes me a bit delusional) I came up with a little song to describe finals week. It snowed that day and I got into the Holiday cheer, so I came up with my own version of "My Favorite Things" (a song made popular by Julie Andrews in the film The Sound of Music--which I always wonder why they make this a Holiday song, when in the scene where the song is performed it's not the Holidays). So enjoy my rendition called "Grad school things"...



Research, and essays, and Microsoft Word
Typing ideas that need to be heard
So in the library, now I will sing...
This is just one of those grad school things

It's snowing outside, and there's no more sun
I want to go play, it looks like it's fun
But back to my readings, a loud whistle rings
This is just one of those grad school things

(Chorus)
When this week's done, I'll go party
I won't feel so bad
I simply remember these dreaded things
and realize I'm a grad :)

Group work, and teamwork, and work just for me
Mountains of paper are all that I see
Check-out some books, a bell will go "ding"
This is just one of those grad school things

Projects, presenting, and just passing by
If I fail one class, I think I would cry
Finals are here, so cut off my strings
This is just one of those grad school things

(Chorus)
When this week's done, I'll go party
I won't feel so bad
I simply remember these dreaded things
and realize I'm a grad :)