Treptow – Week 12/13 – Environmental Collaborative Office

I can definitely tell that the end of my practicum experience is just around the corner!  As things are winding down, and projects are coming to a close, I've spent the last two weeks really reflecting on where to go from here.  The great thing about being involved in the student group that I advise, is that I will get to continue with a few of the projects I am working on.

Last week Housing, along with Students for a Sustainable Campus, put on a two-day energy carnival.  At eh carnival we gave out facts about energy conservation, water usage, and tips on how you can be more sustainable.  Students who stopped by were able to enter in a raffle, where we gave away 10 energy packs.  It was a successful event and a great learning experience working so closely with Students for a Sustainable Campus.

I am also embarking on a new adventure of getting the opportunity to present at conferences some of the great things we are doing here at State to be more sustainable.  This Thursday will be the first presentation that Jason B. and I will be doing, at the Mississippi Association of Housing Officers conference (MAHO).  From here, we will go on the present at the regional conference, SouthEastern Association of Housing Officers (SEAHO) in February.

I am greatful for the experience I've had, and as I excitedly move forward, I can see and appreciate the contacts that I've made with Jeremiah and things I've learned.  I definitely see him as a future resource!

Week 11 Alumni Office

Practicum is finally slowing down. I feel like I have met everyone on this campus who touches the Alumni Office in any way (which is a GREAT Thing). Within the last two weeks I met Mike Richie from Athletics and Anthony Lowe from Academic Outreach and Continuing Education.  

Both meetings were very informative and I was able to apply what each of them taught me to the Practicum experience. The meeting with Mike Richie was a real eye opener on Athletics and how football affects the university from an Athletic department standpoint. I don’t think the football players realize how much other people rely on them to win.  Mike Richie stated if the football team loses at the Egg Bowl it will decline enrollment. I don’t know how much of this is true but he also stated that the culture of Mississippi State University depends on football. In addition to speaking about football and how winning games, increases enrollment, he spoke on the connection between the BullDawg Club and MSU Alumni Association. He stated that, most university Athletic department and Alumni Office lack collaboration due to lack of trust, lack of relationships, and not respecting the coach. The Alumni Office at MSU does a wonderful job maintaining relationships with the Athletic department and continues to build on those relationships.  MSU’s Alumni office understands why their partnership with the Athletic department is one of many additions to the success of the department.

My visit with Anthony Lowe was great! I learned so much about his department and he also helped me with my job search. Anthony had an idea of reaching out to the Alumni office to brand their department and as a result of that, their participation rate has increased. Anthony Lowe is a forward thinker and displayed how one idea can spiral and turn into action. He is very compassionate about his job and I hope to one day display that same compassion after years on the job.

Week 10 Alumni Office

This past week has been great. Preparing for the business meeting with Grad Images and then being able to sit down with representative from Grad Images was a wonderful experience.

Even though, the decision has yet to be made if the Alumni Office will change photography companies.  I really think Grad Images products/ images were feasible and they looked great.

I was fortunate that Michael allowed me to play a major role in researching the difference between Zap Images and Grad Images. Throughout the meeting I was able to ask questions and really get a feel for Grad Images products and how they conducted business. It was good to know my opinion during the process was valued by Michael and the representatives from Grad Images.

 After reflecting on the meeting with Grad Images last Wednesday, I realized how much about business meetings I learned. Grad Images did a great job selling their products but with anything there were areas for improvement. Each representative responded differently in regards to how they conducted business. It was very evident who the season professional was.  Dr. H also sat in on the meeting and was able to observe how Grad Images conducted business as well as how the Alumni Office conducted business meetings.

The more I thought about the meeting, the more I was able to relate the business meeting back to Student Affairs. As a new professional I never want to forget the quality of building relationships. Establishing relationships allows for a better partnership and an easier transition. If the Alumni Office decides to accept Grad Images offer they will be building a new relationship with new faces.

I look forward to the decision of Grad Images vs. Zap Images, I will keep you all posted.   

Treptow – Week 11 – Environmental Collaborative Office

Whoa! Am I exhausted!!  I just got back from running the Nick Bell 3.6 mile race, and I have to admit that I did quiet well for not having ran that far in over a year!

Me ready for the race! 

After the race I had two meetings with Students for a Sustainable Campus.  We are working on our Energy Carnival that will be put on next week, and trying to finish up the Energy Wars Competition.   The Carnival is going to be held next Wed and Thurs, outside of Perry, from 10-2.  They are planning to have 3 tents set up talking about water conservation, energy conservation, and how to reduce your carbon footprint.  I’m excited to see how it goes! I have loved working with this group because they are so open and invited, and purely excited about sustainability!!

Tomorrow night the Housing Community Service and Sustainability – Community Outreach group is hosting a interest session for residential students who are wanting to get involved in service opportunities.  This group that I supervise, has been working hard on getting to this point.  Their vision all along has been to create a “student group” of residential students, to give them a network of people that they can get involved in service projects with.  So far we have over 80 students, which is amazing!  I am excited to see how many come out tomorrow.

I am also meeting with Jeremiah tomorrow to go over the assessment that I’ll be sending to all of the custodial staff.  I am very interested in getting their input as to how the recycling is going.

But for now I am off to bed!  Who knew a race could be this tiring!!

Week 8/9 Alumni Office

Just when I think things have slowed down they pick right back up. These past two weeks have truly been a learning experience. I had the pleasure to meet the National Board Members of the Mississippi State Alumni Association. In class I stated several times that networking was not my thing but the Board meeting forced me to network and it was great. I was able to meet Board members who lived in Cresswell years ago as well as Board members who started their first career job as an Admission Counselor for MSU. I sat around the table with some very prestige Alumni members. I was able to hear the President of the University speak about Leadership and the Role Alumni members play in recruiting students. The President also spoke about making Mississippi State’s degree worth more. Throughout the SEC MSU is the only institution without Phi Beta Kappa, which is a highly ranked Honors Society. He also stated professors haven’t had a pay increase in 4years. He said, how can we want distinguished professors if we can pay them? He asked Alumni members to continue to give back and support MSU initiatives.  

I also learned in the state of Texas they are now selling MSU car tags and all processed go towards out of State tuition to Texas residence who attend MSU.  MSU is also raising the bar for recruitment. Starting at the age of 12 they send out Birthday cards to children whose parents are MSU Alum.

The Board meeting was very interesting the Athletic Director spoke as well as a professor from Bowling Green, Kentucky who is a graduate of WKU GO TOPs, she has been teaching at MSU for 10 years now, Dr. Abraham, and the SA President.

On Wednesday I met with Dr. Tommy Stevenson who is the director of Diversity and Equity. He spoke about crafting your language, being intentional about the things you want, consistency is key to building relationships, and being transparent.  Dr. Stevenson gave really great advice he told me I needed to learn how to play golf because all major decisions happen on the golf course not in the office. He stated, “You don’t want to be the only one at the table that doesn’t know were making cuts and your office needs to let go two people.”  I also asked him about the African American Alumni Association and if he thinks if should exist.

He’s reply was very political listening to him made me realize sometimes the higher up you are in Student Affairs you don’t get to the real issues due to politics. 

Treptow – Weeks 9/10 – Environmental Collaborative Office

It was nice to have Jeremiah back last week and to be back to working full time! I got the opportunity to attend a campus operations staff meeting this morning and it was fantastic.  Not only was in interesting to interact with all of the people in the room, but they were so friendly and took the time to introduce themselves and explain their involvement.  Tim Muzzi, the campus architect event came up to me after the meeting to ask about my schooling, which was really neat to make that connect.  I would love to sit down with him, and possibly Amy Tuck too (she's the Executive Director of Campus Operations!)

In preparation for another class, and for an upcoming presentation, it was interesting to do a little research about sustainability and to get the feedback of other classmates about the topic.  I feel like sustainability is something that is talked about a lot but rarely is talked about as if we can really do anything.  I know I’m only one person, but I hope to slowly make some changes.

I also was asked to do an assessment this week of how our recycling program is doing in terms of volume, and how the custodial staff thinks that we can better it.  I think it will be fascinating to find out, and even a little fun to use my assessment skills =]

As promised from two weeks ago, here is the website for SSC: http://ssc.org.msstate.edu/ 

Alumni Office Week 8

This past week in the Alumni office has been pretty relaxed. I can’t believe were at the halfway mark! The semester has been full of learning opportunities. Last Wednesday I was able to see another side of the Alumni Office. I viewed contracts and saw how the Alumni Office collaborates with the graduation ceremony.

Wednesday I researched the difference between grad images and Zap photography. The Alumni Office is having a hard time deciding which company to commitment to. The Alumni Office has developed such a strong relationship with Zap photography, 20 years to be exact and breaking that rapport is challenging. What the Alumni Office is looking for is a company who offers more. Even though they have a relationship with Zap, they still have to consider other options and what company offers the best deal.

This past Monday I worked with Alumni Delegates during Fall Preview. The crowd wasn’t as a large as the Scholars Preview Day but we still continued to engage students and encouraged them to consider Mississippi State University.

Upcoming events that I’m excited about is the National Alumni Board meeting held on Friday. Attendees of the Board meeting include the Alumni President, Vice President, and other Executive Board members. I’m still unsure of the agenda for the meeting but I was told to be prepared to take notes.

See you all Thursday

Gretchen

Treptow – Week 8 – Environmental Collaborative Office

The results are in!!  After much waiting the results of the Energy Wars for September are in.

It's great to see results of all of the work that's been put in.  Now we are pushing to make this initiative more widely known and get students really involved. Since Jeremiah is gone all of this week, a lot of my time will be spent working with the 2 student groups, Students for a Sustainable Campus and Community Service and Sustainability, on coming up with a strategy and implementing it.  I've been looking at what other SEC schools are doing and hope to use some of the information for my presentation  in November at MAHO.

Treptow – Week 7 – Environmental Collaborative Office

This week has been interesting to me.  For Practicum on Monday, I got a lesson about Old Main and it was really interesting to discuss what it would be like if it were still standing.  I can’t even imagine a hall that big!  How would it function and how would it look?  What would the community be like?  Here are a few pictures (finally!) so that you can imagine with me!

Outside of Practicum I’ve had a particularly hard week.  I’ve really been doing a lot of thinking about what I want professionally and personally.  After Dean Bourgeois came to talk to our Intro class today I was left wondering about balance, professionalism, and connections.  I’ve been reflecting a lot about the conversations we’ve had in class and about my experiences over the past 3 years.  I feel that it is important to reflect every once in a while but it really struck close to home this time with graduation so close.  I have to say though that I am grateful every day for the friends and loved ones that I have around me, that help me keep my focus.

But… back to Practicum!  This next week I will be finalizing details of the recycling program for each building.  And have also submitted a program proposal for the SEAHO conference and can’t wait to hear back!  Jason B., Dante, Joe and I are doing a presentation about the sustainability efforts that have been taken here at MSU and are hoping to gain insight about what others are doing too!

Alumni Office week 7

This past week was full of information. As I stated last week in class I visited with Dan Coleman Associate Director of Admissions and Scholarships. The conversation was based on the topic how the Alumni Office is connected with Admissions and Scholarships. Dan informed me that the recent connection with the Alumni Office is a major contribution to the increase of enrollment. He also gave a little insight on Housing and Residence Life and the challenges they face daily with bed space with enrollment increasing.

With the latest MSU football record the Alumni Office is trying to remain in high spirits. One valuable lesson I learned during my 1:1 with Michael when the football team is down its hard to one get Alumni excited and when there not happy people start to point fingers. The last thing the Alumni office wants is upset Alumni members. Angry Alumni members don’t give back. Even though a great majority of Alumni members are faithful, there is enough who are not, that may affect the amount of money the Alumni office raises each year. Not to say Alumni members only give back when the football team doing well but it does help when they are. After sitting in on a conference call I began to understand, even though the football team plays a role in  Alumni members giving back, there are other reasons why faithful Alumni members continue to give back.

The conference call took place Monday morning.  Michael spoke to members of the Pearl Co. Alumni Chapter. This Alumni chapter is currently inactive. They are in the process of revitalizing the chapter and I am helping them create a facebook page to find past members. While listening to the phone conversation one of the Alums stated, “we have to get this chapter back after, I remember when I was a little boy and my father brought me to meet the head coach of the MSU baseball team. That same day I knew I was going to be a MSU student.” Those words spoke life into other listeners and influenced other members to get back active and help keep the chapter alive.

See you all Thursday
Gretchen

Treptow – Week 6 – Environmental Collaborative Office

This week has been a week of doing a lot of footwork.  To really get a understanding of the recycling process in each building I really felt that I needed to go a check each building out.  From there I am creating a manual for each staff about procedures, along with providing individualized educational advertisements for each building (Pictures hopefully soon to come!)  In addition to that I am excited to get our Housing Community Service and Sustainability group more involved in the educating side.  They’ve had a few ideas for youtube videos so I’m excited about the ideas they’ll bring to the table.

Because of everything that has been going on with Students for a Sustainable Campus, it’s been relatively quiet when it comes to the Energy Wars competition that they are sponsoring.  I spoke with Jeremiah about it this week and we both share the concern that this project may have been slightly swept under a rug.  I think it will be a “special” learning experience for me to find out what’s been going on with them and possibly step-in to revive the idea.  I’m used to helping guide the RA staff that I have, and even helping them through struggles with a program or idea, but I feel like it will be much different for a group I don’t work as closely with.  Being that I want to learn more about student involvement, I think that this will be a great opportunity to put myself in a position like this.

I’m also working on a program submission, and possible research opportunity,  for MAHO and SEAHO about sustainability.  I have a fellow RD and AC that would like to help present.  Right now we been working on what area of the topic to cover but I’m excited to share my passion with others that I work with, and can’t wait to get to see their perspectives!

Alumni Office week 6

Last week Dr. Tommy Stevenson asked the Alumni office how they were attracting African American Alumni. No one had a direct answer. Wednesday I spent time researching other SEC schools African American Alumni Associations. The University of Florida African American Alumni Association stood out the most. They have their own magazine, web page, conferences, and events. This association mission did state that the AAAA did collaborate with the National Alumni Association at the University of Florida but separate events were held to raise scholarship money for minority students, as well as remain in contact with outstanding African American Alumni.

Yesterday I traveled with Dr. Abraham and Michael Richardson to Amory for dinner with Amory Alumni members. The chapter in Amory is currently in a transition phase. Coach Stansbury spoke to the Chapter about the importance of remaining active and giving back to the University. Stansbury told Alumni members that without your support Mississippi State University would not thrive. During Dr. Abraham speech he described Mississippi State as being electric. Both Dr. Abraham and Coach Stansbury are very passionate about MSU and they try to spread that same passion into Alumni members. Stansbury also gave an update on the basketball team without providing too much information. It was very interesting how he described his role as a Coach. He’s not only a role model but a father figure to some of the players that unfortunately did not have a father in their lives. Before dinner I and Stansbury spoke and I had no idea he was from Kentucky, we shared a few common interests and he knew a lot about my High School cool right.

Overall great week in the Alumni Office

See you all Thursday

Gretchen 

Alumni Office week 4/5

Alumni Office Week 4/5

The Alumni Office has been crazy busy with events. A couple weeks ago I attended a lunch at the Starkville Country Club with board members from the Starkville Alumni Chapter. During the meeting they discussed new ways to raise money for scholarships and upcoming events. I was able to interact with Higher Administration on campus and observe how a board meeting, is ran.

This past week I also attended breakfast with the Provost and the Alumni Office. The Provost Dr. Jerome Gilbert spoke about current updates involving the Department of Student Affairs and the Department of Academic Affairs. He touched base on service-learning and the difference between extracurricular activities and co-curricular activities. He also addressed concern about the lack of African American professors. Stating that Mississippi State has the highest percentage of African Americans in the SEC. The African American student population is at 20% however, the percentage for African American professors is 4.3%, the Provost along with his leadership team wants to increase this number to 7.5%. I asked Dr. Gilbert, what efforts is his staff taking in order to increase these numbers. He stated it is very challenging to recruit African American professors. He said this summer he along with others attend conferences and presentations to learn how to recruit African American professors and retain them. He’s also working with the Alumni Office as well as the Office of Diversity and Equity to come up with solutions and ways to promote Mississippi State to African American professors. Dr. Gilbert also stated that students learn better when they are in a conducive, learning environment and sometimes when they are able to relate to someone who looks like them.  

Attending the breakfast was very informative and I look forward to seeing these improvements. This week in the Alumni Office I have been visiting with Jackie Hudson who is the Coordinator of Scholarships for the Alumni Office. Jackie works close with Alumni Chapters in creating Scholarships and endowments. Jackie is very passionate about her job. Listening to her, speak about the Alumni Office and having the privilege to award scholarships was intriguing.  I enjoyed my conversation with her and learning about the process of awarding scholarships. 

Treptow – Week 4/5 – Environmental Collaborative Office

The busy life continues as I had a conference in Birmingham last Friday, the game and my birthday Saturday and driving back Sunday!  I also went home to Minnesota this weekend to see my family and friends and got in a wedding too!

I feel like things have really picked up and slowed down as well!  Unfortunately a green roof on a residence hall will not happen, at least for a few years, but we’re not giving up and finding another location!  Housing also announced the architect for the new Aiken apartments last week and Fred Mock has mentioned allowing me to meet with them to talk about sustainability issues.  It’s always great to have the opportunity to work with both of my interests and I really hope that this meeting happens!

The brighter side of my last two weeks was that I had a few meetings with Jeremiah, Fred and our custodial supervisors. It really feels like we have set up a process for recycling in the res halls finally.  The big thing now will be to focus on educating students, which I’m actually really excited about!  I’ve also been looking into sustainability issues on campus in general, just to have some insight.

GO DAWGS!

Treptow – Week 3 – Environmental Collaborative Office

I feel like nothing new has happened this week – and sorry no pictures yet!  Wednesday I met with Rob and found out a lot about green roofs.  I’ve been trying to read the material that he gave me so that I can have a better understanding before trying to sell others on the idea.  I’m hoping to meet with Fred Mock this week to discuss the possibility of using a residence hall as the test site for this project.

It was great to have a long weekend off, especially since I was coming down with something.  It’s moments like this when I realize how important it is to have balance and to realize where I’m spending my time.  I love what I do so it is easy for me to overextend myself, but in moments when my body physically tells me to slow down, it’s a nice reminder!  So lesson of the week is – Take care of yourself!!

Alumni Office Week 3

Alumni Office

This past week in the Alumni Office was crazy busy. As you all know I attend the Memphis game and assisted with the Alumni Tailgating tent. The Memphis Alum, were eager to see the BullDawgs win and eager to give back to the BullDawg Club. My duty as a practicum student was counting the money from the BBQ plates. Each BBQ plate was $ 5 and proceeds go towards scholarships. I also assisted Dr. Jimmy Abraham with door prizes and greeting alumni members. This event was one of many important programs that the Alumni Office hosts in order to keep Alumni members actively involved.

Throughout the week I learned a lot about the connection between Student Affairs and the Alumni Office. The Alumni office has started to build a relationship with Admissions and Scholarship in order to recruit future Alum. The Alum Office works heavily with Admissions and Scholarship during fall and spring orientation. During the summer months they also host send-off parties and events.

It’s imperative for the Alumni Office to become Student Affairs oriented in order to improve recruitment strategies and promote traditions of the university.

Working with the Alumni office is also helping me gather thoughts about my future in Student Affairs and what that may look like.

Treptow – Week 2 – Environmental Collaborative Office

I can’t believe how well things are falling into place for my practicum!  My focus has shifted a little but it completely integrates architecture into what I’m doing!  It’s sometimes frustrating for me to find practical opportunities because what I want to do doesn’t quite fit into a “normal” path, and so I get very excited when I can get some hands on opportunities!!

I am going to be trying to implement a green roof on campus, and hopefully on top of one of the residence halls!!  How cool is that?  The other graduate assistant I am working with, Rob, has been doing research the last 2 years on green roofs, and so when I brought up the idea (not knowing that was Rob’s thesis), he lit up!  With his knowledge and my connections to Housing, I am really hoping that this is something we can implement this year.  The key spots Jeremiah suggested is Herbert and Hull Hall because their flat roof space is visible to the public.  Rob and I are sitting down tomorrow so that he can teach me a little more about green roofs before we schedule a meeting with the administration.  I’m really excited to learn more about green roofs and see where this goes!

My other focus is still working with Students for a Sustainable Campus student organization, along with Housings Community Service and Sustainability group, to develop and implement a recycle strategy and other conservation efforts in the residence halls.  One of the big things I will be working on is Energy Wars, which is a competition between residence halls, to help students lower their energy consumption.  Liz, the SSC president is very energetic and just great to work with.  Interactions with students like her, who are passionate about something an work hard to see it implemented on campus, are what motivates me to continue working with college students.  Their energy and drive is just amazing!

Here is a link to the SSC website.  They’re still updating it but it has some great links!  http://ssc.org.msstate.edu/

Week 2 Alumni Office

It’s week two and already I feel like I’ve learned so much. Working in the Alumni office is allowing me to stop, listen, and learn. Michael my direct supervisor truly provides me with the knowledge needed to successfully work in the Alumni office and in Student Affairs. Even though Michael is not a Student Affairs professional he still has the knowledge base because of his experiences. This past week the office has been preparing for the upcoming game as well as revitalizing chapters in Mississippi. There are 66 active chapters in Mississippi but Dr. Abraham would like to increase these numbers and revisit chapters who are no longer active.

I sat in on a conference call, with a, Alumni from Lee Co. The Lee Co. chapter is inactive and Michael was encouraging this particular Alumni member to get back involved and recruit other Alumni members in the area. Data showed 706 Alumni in Lee Co. and 107 of those actively give back to the university.

Before I get too far ahead of myself last week I signed legal documents pertaining to privacy rights of the Alumni members including their job title, financial status, and other information that may be revealed. The Alumni office contains a lot private information and if revealed members of the university may violate the privacy of Alumni members.    

This upcoming Thursday I will be attending my first Alumni event in Memphis. I’m really nervous but excited at the same time. Unfortunately Michael will not be attending due to family issues but Janet who also works along side with Michael will be instructing me throughout the event.

I can’t wait to tell you all about the game and my first Alumni experience next week.

Gretchen

Treptow - Week 1 – Environmental Collaborative Office

Reflection:

This week I feel like it has all hit me!  While I'm very excited to get started, I'm even more interested in finding out how all of this will fit into my already VERY busy schedule!  After meeting for our first class last week, I realized how much more work it will be to have our small class of two.  There is not really a chance to have an off week or be behind at all!  

After that realization, I knew I wanted to meet with Jeremiah Dumas, my Practicum supervisor, to find out more about what I'd be doing and how all of my hours would work.  Although I don't have a concrete assignment, I actually appreciate the flexibility and room for me to contribute my ideas.  I will mainly be working with ECO Paw, where I will be helping to advise a group of students who assess energy usage and sustainability of different offices and departments across campus.  While I often get frustrated with the green movement, because people don't really have a true understanding about what it means, I am excited to be doing a practicum that helps tie my architecture and student affairs experience.  I think that this experience will help me to learn about sustainability and the efforts that our campus is making, along with helping to advocate.  I'm still nervous to see how this will all work, similar to most people, I want to make an impact and be doing something.  Jeremiah seems to be very passionate about what he does, so I'm excited for the chance to do something a little different and hopefully get my hands dirty!!

 Here's a little more information about ECO Paw!!  http://www.eco.msstate.edu/index.php

Week 1 Alumni Office

Reflection

Gretchen Lynum

Subject: Week 1 – Hunter Henry Alumni Office

Activities:

·       Discussed practicum hours, how to achieve 40 hours of direct contact during practicum

·       Discussed goals and objects for the semester

·       Reviewed learning contact as well as expectations of me during the semester

·       Introduced myself again to the office staff and toured the building

Reflection:

The activities of the week helped me to grasp a better understanding of my purpose this semester at the Alumni Office. I never want to be just a spot filer, after the meeting I walked away knowing my role. I still have a lot to learn but I’m excited about the journey. Michael Richardson has assured me that his office is very open and willing to guide me through the next step of Graduate School. I have a lot of uncertainties about my career path and I’m hoping this experience will assist me in my future career decision.

Reflecting on the reading for the week, chapter one is everything that runs through my mind working in housing and being a Graduate Student in the profession of Student Affairs. The transition from student, to GA, then new professional is frightening. After reading chapter one I realized I wasn’t the only person in the field who felt this way. I’m still at a place where I feel too connected with the students and my staff. Reading the section on transiting and not allowing students in that space helped me to define the space I want students to stay out of. This past year I learned quickly to separate personal and business but when you live where you work sometimes it collides.

VanHorn-Week 7- University of Utah Recruitment

I am finishing up my last day here at Utah. The last few days I have been leading the information sessions for the campus visits. I have really enjoyed it but it has also been somewhat of a challenge that I have never experienced before. I have been at Mississippi State since I was a freshmen so I have no problem “talking up” MSU but it can be difficult to sell an institution that you attended and have only been on campus for a few weeks. There are no personal experiences to tell about “when I was here”. It took me some time over the last few weeks to learn to relate my experiences to the prospective students. Some questions I simply can not answer because I did not go here but I can use examples about my experience with living on campus or my experiences in Greek life.

I have really enjoyed working off campus this month and would highly recommend it to future students in our program. I think it is especially valuable if you have been at the same school your entire college career. It is helpful to have a different view on the way things operate and the different cultures. This experience is something that I feel will help me greatly as I begin job searching over the next few months. 

VanHorn-Week 7- University of Utah Recruitment

So, I’m finishing up my last few days here in Utah. I have really enjoyed being off campus and seeing and experiencing the differences in the institution and the overall culture.

This past week I have worked a good bit with the assistant directors. They are trying to begin a program that is similar to Miss. State’s Roadrunner Program. Last year was the first year they did the program and it went pretty well. They are trying to enhance and grow it from currently 8 students to 20 students. Their plan is to have half of the students stay on campus at the U and do strictly on campus visits and torus. The other ten will go off campus to area high schools and do off campus recruitment. It is an unpaid position and that is obviously one of the biggest struggles so we have spent a lot of time talking about how you make an organization, such as our Roadrunners, something that students want to put time into without pay. They are also working on a new name for the program, which is currently called Recruitment Intern Program. (Real catchy….RIP). They are wanting something that is special to the U and not something like “Ambassadors”. So, if you have any ideas of a marketable name let me know.

Thursday, I was able to join two of the counselors in going to a high school counselor meeting. High school counselors meet with Univ. of Utah admissions and recruitment for an afternoon before school starts to talk about any changes in the process and what their students are going to be required to have to attend the U. It is the same basic presentation that is given to the students but of course with much more in depth questions. One thing we talked about on the way back to campus is that there are very few audiences of twenty that you will every present to that everyone is truly interested and high school counselors is one of those groups. It is also somewhat disheartening thought he number of high school counselors encourage students not to take college prep courses in high school because they believe certain students “just can’t make it”.

I have really enjoyed this last week because I have been able to be involved in some of the behind the scenes of the office and see things that I never knew or understood went into the recruitment process.

Thompson - Week 7

Team Practicum,

Hello hello! I am up and running with my computer. I accidentally spilled Gatoraid on it and needless to say, it stopped working.  Thanks to the Geniuses at the Apple Store they fixed me right up.  Anyway, last week was a very interesting week for me because I used the time for a significant amount of personal reflection.  I also managed to finalize all the details for the mascot policy manual.  Lastly, I assisted in Saint Leo's final orientation.

As far as the personal reflection goes, I walked outside one night to the sunset pictured.  The sunsets here are phenomenal! -- jaw dropping, if you will.  The sunsets also have had the ability to make my worries, concerns, and fears drop by the wayside.

Sometimes in student affairs we need to find our sunset.  Don't get me wrong, we need to be proactive and accomplishing our goals as professionals.  However, the less we are consumed by our pressure to succeed and the more we embrace our desire to serve the better we will be both professionally and personally.  I challenge each of you to find time in your life to sit back, relax, and reflect on why we got into student affairs.  Find your sunset!  I'd love to read or discuss with you what you discover.

Moving forward, I'm loving my experience at Saint Leo.  I have been privileged to work with some great people.  The students, staff, and faculty all have a desire to see this school succeed.  This was very apparent while I assisted in developing the mascot manual/policy.  Some of the most interesting and productive conversations I have had at Saint Leo have dealt with the mascot.  The student leaders know they have a duty to represent the student body's  opinion, and the staff/faculty know they have a duty to ensure that the students' ideas align with Saint Leo's core values and mission.  This cooperation can be related to any school regardless of the size, demographic, or history of the institution.

Working with both sides during the policy development has allowed me to see what student affairs professionals undergo while working with students.  Yes, student affairs practitioners want to provide students with every resources available.  Yes, they want every students'  event to happen.  And yes, they want to carry out all student idea.  However, they must keep in mind the institution that they serve.  Every institution is different.  That's what makes higher education so unique.  Each institution has their own mission, their own values, their own purpose, and their own culture.  Professionals must know this information in order to fully serve their students.

At Saint Leo, their core values are rooted in every aspect of Saint Leo life.  From their orientation (community style), types of water fountains they install (promotes reusable water bottles), to the relationships they have with their students (my supervisors are called mom and dad).  It has been an interesting 4 weeks, and I hate that my time is drawing close to an end.   I'll take what I have learned here and apply it to my both my professional career and personal life.  Because I really believe that this experience has shaped me into a better professional and person.

Week 7-Hall-Close to the end

Hi!

So, it’s Monday night, and I am blogging once again. This is the last week of my practicum, and I am very close to completing my hours. I have settled into my practicum site and a huge part of what I do now, is working with the TracDAT software. The process by which individual units on campus complete their institutional effectiveness reports has long been a paper process. This process is very slow, yet effective. The dilemma that the OIRE is facing is how we streamline this process without losing the effectiveness.

Since I have been working here, I have had the opportunity to convert many of the Institutional reports from word documents to pdf files. By converting these word files to pdf files, the OIRE will be able to load all files onto the j: drive and give each department access to their individual report. By giving these departments access to the j: drive with their reports, it cuts down a lot on the paper process which gives some efficiency to the process.

 I am also responsible for inputting every degree offered into the TracDAT software, this is a somewhat tedious process, but it does allow me to see every degree that’s offered on campus, and in what unit/department it is housed in. The information that I am inputting will be used in years to come as each department logs into their TracDAT software account and accesses their degree program.

Jeremy.