I'm registered! Yes! Boy, I am starting to get pumped up for this conference! Yosayra helped me to get funds and the department paid for my registration! It's so cool that they're helping me out! =]
Later on today, I'm going to do some more research on hotel rooms and flight info and see the best deals around. Michele said they might be able to help me out with that too! I just gotta stop by Monday.
Oh, I actually just remembered something I read last week! The NUFP Fellows have a group on Facebook where people post things and there was this one person who posted up a blog post dedicated to all the Fellows: http://futurestudentaffairsprofessional.blogspot.com/2012/01/nufp-fellows-community.html
She wrote about community and how we're supportive of each other. It kind of woke me up a little to how awesome the opportunity of being a part of this program is. These are people I don't even know and--just by reading this post--I already felt a connection as I have to constantly explain (not to mention, defend) what I'm doing all the time. It gets frustrating sometimes living in a household and having extended family who don't understand and--in some cases--think you're wasting your time with not only pursuing a career in Student Affairs, but education in general.
It affected me a lot in the beginning because they had more experience than I did and I figured I should just take their advice. Working in CAST has really given the confidence to stand by my decisions and be proud of them. I know I'm doing the right thing. Everything about it feels right.
So a big shout out to the people at CAST and the Fellows!!
Grateful.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Growing Up
I spent a large chunk of time this weekend looking through the Summer Internships, working on my application, and looking into the NASPA Annual Conference. In the middle of looking through these internships, I began to picture myself in these positions. I had to stop mid-way.
I'm growing up. It makes a little sad. Everything's happening so fast. I just started my second semester of Junior year. I have my list of graduate schools that I'm going to start researching soon. I'm applying for internships. I'm going to conferences.
Stop. Agh. Breathe.
It's just weird. It's exciting, but weird. I wish everything would just slow down a little bit, but I know that's not going to happen. *sigh*
It's just weird, that's all. Weird.
I'm growing up. It makes a little sad. Everything's happening so fast. I just started my second semester of Junior year. I have my list of graduate schools that I'm going to start researching soon. I'm applying for internships. I'm going to conferences.
Stop. Agh. Breathe.
It's just weird. It's exciting, but weird. I wish everything would just slow down a little bit, but I know that's not going to happen. *sigh*
It's just weird, that's all. Weird.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
NUFP Mid-Year Evaluation
It's the moment you've all been waiting for! So I had my meeting with Yosayra this week and I figured my response from it is actually a pretty good summary of it:
--
My reaction from my meeting from my mentor was definitely a positive one. I was surprised how reflective our evaluations of each other and the program were, but was content because it meant that we were on the same page. Two main things that my mentor mentioned I could improve on was learning to say no and improving myself academically and I can definitely agree with both. As my two roles in the office tend to overlap, I always find myself doing errands in between the projects I need to be focusing on and begin to feel frustrated when projects take longer to complete.
I constantly like to keep myself busy and learn things and that is most likely the reason why I am resistant to say no, but I understand where my mentor is coming from. I have to learn to have a stronger focus on my current tasks so I do not only stop feeling overwhelmed, but also so I do not rush through tasks to complete the next thing on my list. With the support of my mentor, I am learning to delegate any minute tasks so I can have a stronger focus on my bigger responsibilities.
Although I did well this past semester, I know I could have done better if I had a stronger balance between my academics and my leadership roles. Before I was heavily involved, I had been placed on Dean’s list my first year and my grades have been fluctuating a little bit since then. I have been maintaining my grades to be in good academic standing, but I know I have the ability to get myself back to being on Dean’s list again.
As for my evaluation, my main goal was to create more structure in my mentoring relationship as well as in my role as a student leader. As such, I have blocked out time in my schedule to dedicate towards the program and my professional development. My mentor and I have also agreed to have our conversations regarding the NUFP experience in more scheduled blocks of time as our most recent meeting was extremely productive due to this.
In addition, my mentor and I have been working on the institutions I am going to be applying for the Summer Internship Program as well as working towards obtaining funds from my institution so I will hopefully be able to attend the NASPA National Conference in March.
--
I was actually a little nervous about going to the conference since it's kind of far away, but now that there's an actual possibility that I might go, I'm getting pretty excited. There's a part of me that can't wait to meet other Undergraduate students who are interested in Higher Ed and I can learn about what cool things they do on their campus, which is pretty nifty!
After I finish up this post, I'm going to chow down on some dinner and then pick my top selections for the Summer Internship. This sounds like a really awesome opportunity and the only thing holding me back is what I have to give up if I am offered a position. Ergh. Well, I'll worry about it when the time comes. Everything happens for a reason.
--
My reaction from my meeting from my mentor was definitely a positive one. I was surprised how reflective our evaluations of each other and the program were, but was content because it meant that we were on the same page. Two main things that my mentor mentioned I could improve on was learning to say no and improving myself academically and I can definitely agree with both. As my two roles in the office tend to overlap, I always find myself doing errands in between the projects I need to be focusing on and begin to feel frustrated when projects take longer to complete.
I constantly like to keep myself busy and learn things and that is most likely the reason why I am resistant to say no, but I understand where my mentor is coming from. I have to learn to have a stronger focus on my current tasks so I do not only stop feeling overwhelmed, but also so I do not rush through tasks to complete the next thing on my list. With the support of my mentor, I am learning to delegate any minute tasks so I can have a stronger focus on my bigger responsibilities.
Although I did well this past semester, I know I could have done better if I had a stronger balance between my academics and my leadership roles. Before I was heavily involved, I had been placed on Dean’s list my first year and my grades have been fluctuating a little bit since then. I have been maintaining my grades to be in good academic standing, but I know I have the ability to get myself back to being on Dean’s list again.
As for my evaluation, my main goal was to create more structure in my mentoring relationship as well as in my role as a student leader. As such, I have blocked out time in my schedule to dedicate towards the program and my professional development. My mentor and I have also agreed to have our conversations regarding the NUFP experience in more scheduled blocks of time as our most recent meeting was extremely productive due to this.
In addition, my mentor and I have been working on the institutions I am going to be applying for the Summer Internship Program as well as working towards obtaining funds from my institution so I will hopefully be able to attend the NASPA National Conference in March.
--
I was actually a little nervous about going to the conference since it's kind of far away, but now that there's an actual possibility that I might go, I'm getting pretty excited. There's a part of me that can't wait to meet other Undergraduate students who are interested in Higher Ed and I can learn about what cool things they do on their campus, which is pretty nifty!
After I finish up this post, I'm going to chow down on some dinner and then pick my top selections for the Summer Internship. This sounds like a really awesome opportunity and the only thing holding me back is what I have to give up if I am offered a position. Ergh. Well, I'll worry about it when the time comes. Everything happens for a reason.
The Start of Another Semester
The Spring 2012 semester is underway. I'm taking Young Adult Literature, Ethics, Anthropology, and a Psychology course. My first PSYC class was actually cancelled today because of the snow, but who's complaining? So far, I've found my classes to not only be intriguing, but I know there are some classes where I'm actually going to have fun learning. (Yes, I just put the words "fun" and "learning" in the same sentence.)
The class I'm excited for the most this semester for is Young Adult Literature. I've been looking forward to taking this class since my sophomore year and wouldn't have been able to get in this semester if it weren't for the permit my professor gave me. There's a total of 12 books I have to read for the semester and it's pretty much a book a week. I actually just finished reading "The Lord of the Flies" a few hours ago!
Anyways, I'm not only looking forward to the class because of the books, but also because of the professor. The only way I can describe her is that she's the epitome of a teacher. I have never seen someone love literature as much as she does and she's so open to learning about and teaching to her students. It's just wonderful. I mean...we started the class off by clapping during her introduction because we were all so excited. What can be better than that?
Even if I never end up having a classroom of my own, all I want is to have that passion and energy that makes people excited and eager to learn and grow.
Well, one of my goals for this semester is to do better and have a stronger focus on my academics. I realized this weekend that might be a little harder than I thought it was going to be.
As I was reading, I couldn't help but think of the flyers to be put up or the programs that had to be created. I have no idea why. I really don't. I know there's nothing I can physically do, so I'm not sure why I think about it, but I just tell myself to focus.
Well, change doesn't happen overnight. Change happens over time. I know I'm getting better at focusing because I actually catch myself working on other stuff and then put it away to focus on my coursework. Well, the semester has only begun and I know it's going to be a good semester.
Next Post: Mid-Year Evaluation
The class I'm excited for the most this semester for is Young Adult Literature. I've been looking forward to taking this class since my sophomore year and wouldn't have been able to get in this semester if it weren't for the permit my professor gave me. There's a total of 12 books I have to read for the semester and it's pretty much a book a week. I actually just finished reading "The Lord of the Flies" a few hours ago!
Anyways, I'm not only looking forward to the class because of the books, but also because of the professor. The only way I can describe her is that she's the epitome of a teacher. I have never seen someone love literature as much as she does and she's so open to learning about and teaching to her students. It's just wonderful. I mean...we started the class off by clapping during her introduction because we were all so excited. What can be better than that?
Even if I never end up having a classroom of my own, all I want is to have that passion and energy that makes people excited and eager to learn and grow.
Well, one of my goals for this semester is to do better and have a stronger focus on my academics. I realized this weekend that might be a little harder than I thought it was going to be.
As I was reading, I couldn't help but think of the flyers to be put up or the programs that had to be created. I have no idea why. I really don't. I know there's nothing I can physically do, so I'm not sure why I think about it, but I just tell myself to focus.
Well, change doesn't happen overnight. Change happens over time. I know I'm getting better at focusing because I actually catch myself working on other stuff and then put it away to focus on my coursework. Well, the semester has only begun and I know it's going to be a good semester.
Next Post: Mid-Year Evaluation
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
The NUFP Handbook
Okay, so I focused a lot of the past posts on how I decided to enter in the field of student affairs and some of the things my mentor helped me with during the semester, but I'm going to shift it a little bit so it focuses a little bit more on everything I'm doing as a Fellow. Never fear--I figure I think all the other things also play into my personal and professional growth, so I'll continue to include it a little bit.
As mentioned, Yosayra is my mentor and we met a few weeks ago to further discuss all the components of the handbook and our expectations of each other so here is a brief overview:
Shared Components
-On-Campus Mentorship-
This mainly focuses on the relationship between the Fellow and the Mentor that there is an ongoing exchange so I can continuously learn about Higher Education. The good thing about this is that Yosayra supervises me under the both positions I hold in the office, so she's constantly an immediate resource for me. In addition, this gives me the opportunity to continuously observe my Mentor in her profession.
-Reading Assignments-
This is something ongoing that I'm going to be doing with my Mentor and it's going to be an exchange. So, if me or Yosayra find something that could serve as an interest, then we can discuss the topics and such.
-Mid-Year NUFP Evaluation-
We're currently working on this and we're going to meet in a few weeks to discuss everything so more information about this will be written about in a later post.
Individual Components
For this component, there are different things I can do to fulfill the Learning Outcomes of the program.
-Develop writing, research, and presentation skills-
Will keep a blog of my NUFP experience (as you can see here)
-Develop Ethical Decision Making Skills-
For this component, I am either going to present or co-present a presentation with the Executive Director of my department to the 2012 Peer Leaders during training. I've learned about ethics a little bit for the past two years through previous PL presentations and I found them intriguing, so I actually decided to take a class in Ethics next semester. I hope that I can use what I learn towards contributing towards the presentation in teaching the PLs about ethical decision making.
-Develop Cultural Competency Skills-
I am going to attend an ally training workshop on my campus, specifically for the LGBT community for SafeSpace training.
-Develop Professional Networking Skills-
I attended the NASPA Careers in Student Affairs Conference at PACE University in October and am looking towards attending the Annual Conference in March.
As of now, I'm only a part of NASPA in regards to professional associations. As an Undergraduate student, I'm an English major and am also a part of NJCTE which is the New Jersey Council of Teachers of English and I attended and volunteered in their conference last Spring. In addition, I will be joining ALAN which is the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents in the coming weeks as I will be taking a Young Adult Literature class in the Spring.
-Develop Ability to Identify and Develop Personal, Academic, and Career Goals-
For this, I am going to develop personal goals and create a plan of action for the semester. I will discuss this further will my Mentor the next time we meet.
-Develop an Awareness and Understanding of Engaged Citizenship and Service-
One of the things Yosayra and I are going to try to work to do in include a service component to the Peer Leadership Program through Relay for Life. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I think it's a good thing to include in the program.
The other example given was to enroll in a class that focuses on the meaning of citizenship. In the past semester, I have taken Historical Foundation in American Education, which can be see as learning about citizenship and the growth of it throughout history. This semester, I also completed my second service-learning course. The first service-learning course I took was Teaching Writing and I volunteered as a Writing Coach at a middle school where I worked with students in helping them to develop their writing. This semester, I completed my second service-learning course for Psychology of Leadership where I volunteered at an elementary school every week in assisting with the YMCA after school program. I actually really enjoyed the experience that I am going to try to continue going to the school next semester to help out a few hours as well.
-Develop an Understanding about Multiple Relationships to Power and Privilege-
For this component, I am going to define diversity, multiculturalism, social justice, and pluralism. Throughout some of my education classes, I had defined some of these terms but I'm sure that as a continue to have different experience, my definition of these terms will evolve.
-Develop an Understanding of the History, Mission, and Purpose of Student Affairs and the Various Institutional Types and Structures within Higher Education-
I will review my institution's student affairs mission statement with my mentor
-Develop an Understanding of NASPA's Organization and Structure-
Find the organizational chart of the NASPA Board and learn what each position does
-Other Components-
One of the things that my Mentor is strongly encouraging my to do is the Summer Internship. The postings will be fully up in a few days, so I'm looking forward to reviewing them with my mentor and see which institutions I will look into.
Things such as the Summer Internships and Annual Conference are two things Yosayra is really encouraging me to do. I think it's really cool how supportive and how much she's encouraging me to look into these opportunities. One of the things I wrote about during my leadership class was the effect of providing support. Throughout my experiences, I have been resistant to pursue opportunities sometimes because I don't see myself being successful in them all the time. Luckily, I've had people in my life who have always believed in me and have encouraged me to challenge myself. Even if I don't fully succeed in everything, I try to take everything as a learning experience. I can't say it enough, but I'm really grateful for all the encouragement and support everyone I work with provide me with, especially my mentor so I'm really looking forward to learning a lot through this program not only about Higher Education and Student Affairs, but about myself as well.
"It doesn't matter if I don't succeed in something, what matters is that I learn from my mistakes." -Linda Evans
As mentioned, Yosayra is my mentor and we met a few weeks ago to further discuss all the components of the handbook and our expectations of each other so here is a brief overview:
Shared Components
-On-Campus Mentorship-
This mainly focuses on the relationship between the Fellow and the Mentor that there is an ongoing exchange so I can continuously learn about Higher Education. The good thing about this is that Yosayra supervises me under the both positions I hold in the office, so she's constantly an immediate resource for me. In addition, this gives me the opportunity to continuously observe my Mentor in her profession.
-Reading Assignments-
This is something ongoing that I'm going to be doing with my Mentor and it's going to be an exchange. So, if me or Yosayra find something that could serve as an interest, then we can discuss the topics and such.
-Mid-Year NUFP Evaluation-
We're currently working on this and we're going to meet in a few weeks to discuss everything so more information about this will be written about in a later post.
Individual Components
For this component, there are different things I can do to fulfill the Learning Outcomes of the program.
-Develop writing, research, and presentation skills-
Will keep a blog of my NUFP experience (as you can see here)
-Develop Ethical Decision Making Skills-
For this component, I am either going to present or co-present a presentation with the Executive Director of my department to the 2012 Peer Leaders during training. I've learned about ethics a little bit for the past two years through previous PL presentations and I found them intriguing, so I actually decided to take a class in Ethics next semester. I hope that I can use what I learn towards contributing towards the presentation in teaching the PLs about ethical decision making.
-Develop Cultural Competency Skills-
I am going to attend an ally training workshop on my campus, specifically for the LGBT community for SafeSpace training.
-Develop Professional Networking Skills-
I attended the NASPA Careers in Student Affairs Conference at PACE University in October and am looking towards attending the Annual Conference in March.
As of now, I'm only a part of NASPA in regards to professional associations. As an Undergraduate student, I'm an English major and am also a part of NJCTE which is the New Jersey Council of Teachers of English and I attended and volunteered in their conference last Spring. In addition, I will be joining ALAN which is the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents in the coming weeks as I will be taking a Young Adult Literature class in the Spring.
-Develop Ability to Identify and Develop Personal, Academic, and Career Goals-
For this, I am going to develop personal goals and create a plan of action for the semester. I will discuss this further will my Mentor the next time we meet.
-Develop an Awareness and Understanding of Engaged Citizenship and Service-
One of the things Yosayra and I are going to try to work to do in include a service component to the Peer Leadership Program through Relay for Life. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I think it's a good thing to include in the program.
The other example given was to enroll in a class that focuses on the meaning of citizenship. In the past semester, I have taken Historical Foundation in American Education, which can be see as learning about citizenship and the growth of it throughout history. This semester, I also completed my second service-learning course. The first service-learning course I took was Teaching Writing and I volunteered as a Writing Coach at a middle school where I worked with students in helping them to develop their writing. This semester, I completed my second service-learning course for Psychology of Leadership where I volunteered at an elementary school every week in assisting with the YMCA after school program. I actually really enjoyed the experience that I am going to try to continue going to the school next semester to help out a few hours as well.
-Develop an Understanding about Multiple Relationships to Power and Privilege-
For this component, I am going to define diversity, multiculturalism, social justice, and pluralism. Throughout some of my education classes, I had defined some of these terms but I'm sure that as a continue to have different experience, my definition of these terms will evolve.
-Develop an Understanding of the History, Mission, and Purpose of Student Affairs and the Various Institutional Types and Structures within Higher Education-
I will review my institution's student affairs mission statement with my mentor
-Develop an Understanding of NASPA's Organization and Structure-
Find the organizational chart of the NASPA Board and learn what each position does
-Other Components-
One of the things that my Mentor is strongly encouraging my to do is the Summer Internship. The postings will be fully up in a few days, so I'm looking forward to reviewing them with my mentor and see which institutions I will look into.
Things such as the Summer Internships and Annual Conference are two things Yosayra is really encouraging me to do. I think it's really cool how supportive and how much she's encouraging me to look into these opportunities. One of the things I wrote about during my leadership class was the effect of providing support. Throughout my experiences, I have been resistant to pursue opportunities sometimes because I don't see myself being successful in them all the time. Luckily, I've had people in my life who have always believed in me and have encouraged me to challenge myself. Even if I don't fully succeed in everything, I try to take everything as a learning experience. I can't say it enough, but I'm really grateful for all the encouragement and support everyone I work with provide me with, especially my mentor so I'm really looking forward to learning a lot through this program not only about Higher Education and Student Affairs, but about myself as well.
"It doesn't matter if I don't succeed in something, what matters is that I learn from my mistakes." -Linda Evans
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
"What Am I Doing with My Life?"
My biggest struggle this semester was having too much on my plate. I went to school full-time and worked as a Peer Advisor and Commuter Student Assistant on campus. A month into the semester, I took on the role of Peer Leader Coordinator in addition to everything I was already doing. I thought I was going to be fine until I got a D on my English paper and reality had set in. I had spent most of my time at my jobs and--even when I wasn't at work--it would always be on my mind.
I think it was clear to the advisors and my co-workers that there was a part of me that was losing it. I was just so exhausted all the time. I had so many things to think about that my brain couldn't focus on one thing.
During my 1:1 with my mentor, Yosayra, we started talking about competencies and things I could improve on and one of the things I mentioned was role overload. Let's face it; I had taken on too many roles that they started overflow my brain and caused me to have stress. She made me realize how I had put my jobs in front of my classes and I had to not only re-prioritize, but refocus. I talked to Lindsay about this too and she was talking to me about putting 110% towards everything and I thought I was until she mentioned that I might be 110% into my jobs, but I might not be putting 110% into my school work or sleeping. And she was right. I kinda moved my classes to be secondary and my work to be primary, so I had to re-prioritize myself. School is what's important.
At the end of the semester, I left my job as a Commuter Student Assistant and remained a PA and the PLC. It was kind of difficult. I had to deal with the idea of not being able to do something--feeling like I had a limit to my abilities--when I had previously thought I was limitless.
The majority of my friends at school are student leaders like me and it seems we all sometimes struggle with juggling our roles, but we somehow manage. Giving up one of my roles was difficult because I felt I wasn't as good as my peers. I felt like I couldn't handle as much as they could.
One of my friends helped me think it through and I think sometimes I worry too much about what other people are doing and don't focus enough on what I'm doing. She was really good in helping me realize I'm doing just as much as everyone and to just worry about myself. It's true. Everyone has different responsibilities, different strengths and weaknesses, and different ways of handling things, so I really shouldn't compare myself to others because everyone's different in different ways.
I still found myself thinking about my jobs at random times, but Yosayra has been helping me a lot with not stressing out so much. I think the main thing I have to do is just focus on what I have to do during the time I'm doing it and not let it spill over to time when I'm suppose to be focusing on my classes. I've been working on it, especially towards the end of the semester and it's actually been helping me be less stressed out, so that's good. It's just something I have to continuously work on.
So, my main message is that I think this connects with growing as a professional. It's good that I'm learning all this now because I wouldn't want to just start learning how to manage everything when I'm a professional. One of the things that they mentioned at the NASPA conference and something that Yosayra tells me is how there has to be a balance of things and it's something I always try to keep in mind. Also, Lindsay told me that I have to learn how to say "no" and she's right. I always end up saying "yes" to helping people and adding on to the responsibilities I already have and, sometimes, I just can't do everything.
This was my "lesson of the week" a little while ago:
Sometimes, we have to realize we can't always be ninjas or rockstars, for we are only human. We have times when we struggle and we have times when we shine, but it never hurts to stay positive and have an open mind.
I think it was clear to the advisors and my co-workers that there was a part of me that was losing it. I was just so exhausted all the time. I had so many things to think about that my brain couldn't focus on one thing.
During my 1:1 with my mentor, Yosayra, we started talking about competencies and things I could improve on and one of the things I mentioned was role overload. Let's face it; I had taken on too many roles that they started overflow my brain and caused me to have stress. She made me realize how I had put my jobs in front of my classes and I had to not only re-prioritize, but refocus. I talked to Lindsay about this too and she was talking to me about putting 110% towards everything and I thought I was until she mentioned that I might be 110% into my jobs, but I might not be putting 110% into my school work or sleeping. And she was right. I kinda moved my classes to be secondary and my work to be primary, so I had to re-prioritize myself. School is what's important.
At the end of the semester, I left my job as a Commuter Student Assistant and remained a PA and the PLC. It was kind of difficult. I had to deal with the idea of not being able to do something--feeling like I had a limit to my abilities--when I had previously thought I was limitless.
The majority of my friends at school are student leaders like me and it seems we all sometimes struggle with juggling our roles, but we somehow manage. Giving up one of my roles was difficult because I felt I wasn't as good as my peers. I felt like I couldn't handle as much as they could.
One of my friends helped me think it through and I think sometimes I worry too much about what other people are doing and don't focus enough on what I'm doing. She was really good in helping me realize I'm doing just as much as everyone and to just worry about myself. It's true. Everyone has different responsibilities, different strengths and weaknesses, and different ways of handling things, so I really shouldn't compare myself to others because everyone's different in different ways.
I still found myself thinking about my jobs at random times, but Yosayra has been helping me a lot with not stressing out so much. I think the main thing I have to do is just focus on what I have to do during the time I'm doing it and not let it spill over to time when I'm suppose to be focusing on my classes. I've been working on it, especially towards the end of the semester and it's actually been helping me be less stressed out, so that's good. It's just something I have to continuously work on.
So, my main message is that I think this connects with growing as a professional. It's good that I'm learning all this now because I wouldn't want to just start learning how to manage everything when I'm a professional. One of the things that they mentioned at the NASPA conference and something that Yosayra tells me is how there has to be a balance of things and it's something I always try to keep in mind. Also, Lindsay told me that I have to learn how to say "no" and she's right. I always end up saying "yes" to helping people and adding on to the responsibilities I already have and, sometimes, I just can't do everything.
This was my "lesson of the week" a little while ago:
Sometimes, we have to realize we can't always be ninjas or rockstars, for we are only human. We have times when we struggle and we have times when we shine, but it never hurts to stay positive and have an open mind.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Thank You, Twitter
After the conference, I went home and looked through all the information I received during the conference. I noticed there was an opportunity for Undergraduate students under NASPA called the NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program. The deadline had just passed, so I figured I would just apply next year.
It was about midnight when I was scrolling through my Twitter Feed and I saw that an extension had been made due to Careers in Student Affairs month. I jumped out of my bed and grabbed my laptop to look it up. Yes, it was true. I e-mailed my mentor that minute telling her about the opportunity. This was something I was not going to miss out on. I was bummed about waiting a whole other year to apply, but things happen for a reason.
I spent a whole month working really closely with Lindsay, Yosayra, and Michele throughout the application process and I couldn't have asked for anything more. As Lindsay put it, "they like me! They really, really like me!" I knew the people in my department cared about me, but just the things they wrote about me and the amount of time they spent helping me was really amazing. I couldn't be more grateful for everything they have helped me with.
Decisions were made and I was accepted into the program. Okay, now my doubts of whether deciding to not be a teacher anymore have been put to rest. I'm really grateful for this awesome opportunity and I'm excited beyond words of what's to come. I'm really grateful of how helpful and supportive the people I work with are.
Higher Ed, here I come.
It was about midnight when I was scrolling through my Twitter Feed and I saw that an extension had been made due to Careers in Student Affairs month. I jumped out of my bed and grabbed my laptop to look it up. Yes, it was true. I e-mailed my mentor that minute telling her about the opportunity. This was something I was not going to miss out on. I was bummed about waiting a whole other year to apply, but things happen for a reason.
I spent a whole month working really closely with Lindsay, Yosayra, and Michele throughout the application process and I couldn't have asked for anything more. As Lindsay put it, "they like me! They really, really like me!" I knew the people in my department cared about me, but just the things they wrote about me and the amount of time they spent helping me was really amazing. I couldn't be more grateful for everything they have helped me with.
Decisions were made and I was accepted into the program. Okay, now my doubts of whether deciding to not be a teacher anymore have been put to rest. I'm really grateful for this awesome opportunity and I'm excited beyond words of what's to come. I'm really grateful of how helpful and supportive the people I work with are.
Higher Ed, here I come.
Getting My Feet Wet
Excited that I had finally made a decision on my career, I decided to take some action on learning more about the field of Higher Education by exploring different departments at school. In addition to continuing to work for the advising department, I also started working in commuter student programs.
I was talking to my supervisor for commuter student programs one day and she was talking to me about how I have people on this campus who can serve as incredible resources towards me learning about Higher Education. She mentioned that our VP for Student Development and Campus Life used to be the President for NASPA, but I didn't know what NASPA was. So I went home that day and did some research. I had taken a look at other associations for Higher Education professionals, but I had yet to find one that offered something for Undergraduate students and I was really excited when I saw the opportunities NASPA had to offer.
Later that week, I went into my mentor's office (probably for a piece of candy) and she asked me if I wanted to go to a conference. Immediately, I said "yes" and then took a few steps back and asked her what it was for and she told me it was conference for students interested in Student Affairs and it was from NASPA. I became really excited as I had just learned about NASPA a few days ago and now I was given the opportunity to not only learn more about NASPA, but the field of Higher Education as well.
My friend and I found ourselves in an adventure on our way to PACE University for the NASPA, Region II Conference which involved talking to random strangers and running across light rails. We soon saw one of the graduate interns in our department who was also going to the conference crossing the street and we found our way to PACE University.
The conference was eye-opening in that I didn't really realize how many different things I could do within the field. My biggest concern that was figuring out what part of Higher Education I was going to go into. I had been working a lot in the academic side of Higher Education and had just begun exploring the student activities aspect of it. During one of the presentations, there was a person named Josh who worked at Columbia University and we seemed to have similar experiences in that he was also a commuter student and an Orientation leader for a few years and his involvement on campus always grew. I spoke to him afterwards expressing my concern and asked him how he chose student activities and opposed to academics. I don't remember exactly what he said, but his main message was that it was the skills that mattered. The skills learned in one job could translate to other positions and they could fall in any aspect of Student Affairs and now that I think of some of the people I work with at school, it's true. I just think it's really cool how many opportunities there are in one field.
I went to a bunch of other workshops that involved graduate studies, figuring out if Higher Education is the right career path, resume development, and leadership. At the end of the leadership presentation, the presenter put up a list, which can kind of be seen as 10 keys to leadership and I thought it'd be nice to share:
1. Never lose sight of the ultimate goal, but focus anxiety on short term objectives
2. Set a personal example with visible, memorable symbols and behaviors
3. Instill optimism and self-confidence, but stay grounded in reality
4. Take care of yourself: maintain your stamina and let go of guilt
5. Reinforce the team message constantly
6. Minimize status differences and insist on courtesy and mutual respect
7. Master conflict. Deal with anger in small doses and engage dissidents
8. Lighten up! Find something to celebrate and something to laugh about
9. Be willing to take a big risk
10. Foster a spirit of tenacious creativity. Never give up. There is always another move.
To sum it up, I really enjoyed the conference and I've been even more excited to go into the field since then. Everything was great about it: the people, the energy, the dedication. I was happy.
I was talking to my supervisor for commuter student programs one day and she was talking to me about how I have people on this campus who can serve as incredible resources towards me learning about Higher Education. She mentioned that our VP for Student Development and Campus Life used to be the President for NASPA, but I didn't know what NASPA was. So I went home that day and did some research. I had taken a look at other associations for Higher Education professionals, but I had yet to find one that offered something for Undergraduate students and I was really excited when I saw the opportunities NASPA had to offer.
Later that week, I went into my mentor's office (probably for a piece of candy) and she asked me if I wanted to go to a conference. Immediately, I said "yes" and then took a few steps back and asked her what it was for and she told me it was conference for students interested in Student Affairs and it was from NASPA. I became really excited as I had just learned about NASPA a few days ago and now I was given the opportunity to not only learn more about NASPA, but the field of Higher Education as well.
My friend and I found ourselves in an adventure on our way to PACE University for the NASPA, Region II Conference which involved talking to random strangers and running across light rails. We soon saw one of the graduate interns in our department who was also going to the conference crossing the street and we found our way to PACE University.
The conference was eye-opening in that I didn't really realize how many different things I could do within the field. My biggest concern that was figuring out what part of Higher Education I was going to go into. I had been working a lot in the academic side of Higher Education and had just begun exploring the student activities aspect of it. During one of the presentations, there was a person named Josh who worked at Columbia University and we seemed to have similar experiences in that he was also a commuter student and an Orientation leader for a few years and his involvement on campus always grew. I spoke to him afterwards expressing my concern and asked him how he chose student activities and opposed to academics. I don't remember exactly what he said, but his main message was that it was the skills that mattered. The skills learned in one job could translate to other positions and they could fall in any aspect of Student Affairs and now that I think of some of the people I work with at school, it's true. I just think it's really cool how many opportunities there are in one field.
I went to a bunch of other workshops that involved graduate studies, figuring out if Higher Education is the right career path, resume development, and leadership. At the end of the leadership presentation, the presenter put up a list, which can kind of be seen as 10 keys to leadership and I thought it'd be nice to share:
1. Never lose sight of the ultimate goal, but focus anxiety on short term objectives
2. Set a personal example with visible, memorable symbols and behaviors
3. Instill optimism and self-confidence, but stay grounded in reality
4. Take care of yourself: maintain your stamina and let go of guilt
5. Reinforce the team message constantly
6. Minimize status differences and insist on courtesy and mutual respect
7. Master conflict. Deal with anger in small doses and engage dissidents
8. Lighten up! Find something to celebrate and something to laugh about
9. Be willing to take a big risk
10. Foster a spirit of tenacious creativity. Never give up. There is always another move.
To sum it up, I really enjoyed the conference and I've been even more excited to go into the field since then. Everything was great about it: the people, the energy, the dedication. I was happy.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Beginnings.
In the first grade, everybody in my class had to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grew up. I wanted to be a teacher and--to this day--I still remember my drawing being posted up against the yellow wall of my first grade classroom. Throughout the years, my interest in being a teacher remained with the usual random career changes of wanting to work for the FBI, being a film editor, or wanting to be a copy editor for the New York Times. Regardless of the changes I thought of throughout my life, I always went back to wanting to be a teacher. I was always supported and found comfort in my teachers and I guess--even in the first grade--I wanted to do the same to others.
Fast-forwarding a few years (okay, maybe 12 years...), I was going to make my dream a reality. I had uncovered my passion for literature and decided that I was going to teach others about the power and beauty of it. Throughout my first year of college, my education classes were my favorite. I absolutely loved learning about students, education, and the development of my personal pedagogy. I was getting ready to apply to the Teacher Education Program Spring semester of my sophomore year.
During the summer going into my sophomore year, I was selected to be a Peer Leader at school to help out with Orientations. I wanted to get involved on campus and this was a really good way to gain experience working with students. Plus, I had a pretty awesome Peer Leader at my Orientation (yay, Lisa)! I gained more out of the experience than I thought I would ever get and I was like...a better and stronger version of myself. I guess others noticed it too because I was one of the people who got the "Rising Star" awards for growing the most throughout the program. I really loved my experience and wanted to continue working for the department and I eventually became their student assistant.
Being a student assistant gave me a lot of time to learn about everyone and everything in the department and I really liked it. I was given projects at work where I did a bunch of things such as creating newsletters or researching other Universities and it opened my eyes. All this was a way of helping students, but in a different way.
As I had the chance to learn more about the people I worked with, I learned about their experiences as Undergraduate students and how they came to choose Higher Education as their career. It was interesting because everyone came from different schools and studied different things, but they somehow all ended up in Higher Education. This had me thinking--I loved everything I did for the department and what they did to help students, maybe I'll look into this.
During my winter break after my first semester of sophomore year, I was on my way to completing my application for the Teacher Education Program, but I had also found myself in a struggle. I was really developing an interest for Higher Education, so I wasn't even sure if applying to be a teacher was worth it. If I wasn't going to be a teacher, then why would I be in the Teacher Ed Program? Well, my decision to go into Higher Education wasn't solid, so I applied was admitted in the Spring.
I spent my Spring semester in a literal zig-zag up and down the hallway of Morehead Hall going from advisor to advisor seeking advice on what to do. Should I go into Secondary Education or Higher Education? I had worked so hard to reach what I had thought was my dream for almost my whole life and I was going to give it up, just like that. I couldn't believe how quickly things could change. This was different than the other careers I had pictured myself in and out of throughout my life. I was in the environment, I was playing a mini-role in the field, and I loved it.
During the summer, I reapplied to be a Peer Leader, but I was a PL for the Family Program this summer. I had the opportunity to work with hundreds of parents and sure learned a lot about understanding people's view from other perspectives. Throughout the program, I had parents tell me how they felt reassured about sending their students to MSU because of my conversations with them. I also had a few tell me they could tell how much I loved what I did and even said they saw passion in me. One day during lunch, one of the Deans came up to me and told me she loved how she saw how happy I was every day and, she too, mentioned the passion she saw I had for what I was doing. Now, when one of the Deans tells you she can see your passion about something, you have to be doing something right.
By the end of the program, I had the same type of feeling I had the first time, but it was greater this time. I felt I had grown even more and learned the importance of staying positive. I had grown to an even better version of myself--Giovanna M. Tello 2.0.
Towards the end of the summer, I continued to spend more time with the advisors on what I career path I should take and it was ultimately my decision. I had been debating this with myself for months and I had to make a decision. Deep down, I knew I had made my decision a few weeks into Orientations, but I wasn't sure if maybe I needed more time just to make sure. But, one day in August, I just did it. I actually made the decision in my mentor's office and later went to the Center of Pedagogy and it didn't feel wrong at all, so I knew I was doing the right thing.
I came to realize that I wasn't really giving up on my dream. I was still going to be doing what I love to do: helping people through education. I was just going to do it in a slightly different environment and in a different way than being in a classroom. I didn't really realize it until later, but this is exactly what I had been looking for.
Fast-forwarding a few years (okay, maybe 12 years...), I was going to make my dream a reality. I had uncovered my passion for literature and decided that I was going to teach others about the power and beauty of it. Throughout my first year of college, my education classes were my favorite. I absolutely loved learning about students, education, and the development of my personal pedagogy. I was getting ready to apply to the Teacher Education Program Spring semester of my sophomore year.
During the summer going into my sophomore year, I was selected to be a Peer Leader at school to help out with Orientations. I wanted to get involved on campus and this was a really good way to gain experience working with students. Plus, I had a pretty awesome Peer Leader at my Orientation (yay, Lisa)! I gained more out of the experience than I thought I would ever get and I was like...a better and stronger version of myself. I guess others noticed it too because I was one of the people who got the "Rising Star" awards for growing the most throughout the program. I really loved my experience and wanted to continue working for the department and I eventually became their student assistant.
Being a student assistant gave me a lot of time to learn about everyone and everything in the department and I really liked it. I was given projects at work where I did a bunch of things such as creating newsletters or researching other Universities and it opened my eyes. All this was a way of helping students, but in a different way.
As I had the chance to learn more about the people I worked with, I learned about their experiences as Undergraduate students and how they came to choose Higher Education as their career. It was interesting because everyone came from different schools and studied different things, but they somehow all ended up in Higher Education. This had me thinking--I loved everything I did for the department and what they did to help students, maybe I'll look into this.
During my winter break after my first semester of sophomore year, I was on my way to completing my application for the Teacher Education Program, but I had also found myself in a struggle. I was really developing an interest for Higher Education, so I wasn't even sure if applying to be a teacher was worth it. If I wasn't going to be a teacher, then why would I be in the Teacher Ed Program? Well, my decision to go into Higher Education wasn't solid, so I applied was admitted in the Spring.
I spent my Spring semester in a literal zig-zag up and down the hallway of Morehead Hall going from advisor to advisor seeking advice on what to do. Should I go into Secondary Education or Higher Education? I had worked so hard to reach what I had thought was my dream for almost my whole life and I was going to give it up, just like that. I couldn't believe how quickly things could change. This was different than the other careers I had pictured myself in and out of throughout my life. I was in the environment, I was playing a mini-role in the field, and I loved it.
During the summer, I reapplied to be a Peer Leader, but I was a PL for the Family Program this summer. I had the opportunity to work with hundreds of parents and sure learned a lot about understanding people's view from other perspectives. Throughout the program, I had parents tell me how they felt reassured about sending their students to MSU because of my conversations with them. I also had a few tell me they could tell how much I loved what I did and even said they saw passion in me. One day during lunch, one of the Deans came up to me and told me she loved how she saw how happy I was every day and, she too, mentioned the passion she saw I had for what I was doing. Now, when one of the Deans tells you she can see your passion about something, you have to be doing something right.
By the end of the program, I had the same type of feeling I had the first time, but it was greater this time. I felt I had grown even more and learned the importance of staying positive. I had grown to an even better version of myself--Giovanna M. Tello 2.0.
Towards the end of the summer, I continued to spend more time with the advisors on what I career path I should take and it was ultimately my decision. I had been debating this with myself for months and I had to make a decision. Deep down, I knew I had made my decision a few weeks into Orientations, but I wasn't sure if maybe I needed more time just to make sure. But, one day in August, I just did it. I actually made the decision in my mentor's office and later went to the Center of Pedagogy and it didn't feel wrong at all, so I knew I was doing the right thing.
I came to realize that I wasn't really giving up on my dream. I was still going to be doing what I love to do: helping people through education. I was just going to do it in a slightly different environment and in a different way than being in a classroom. I didn't really realize it until later, but this is exactly what I had been looking for.
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