Week 1 - Thomas - MSU Admissions

Practicum countdown: 2 days…

Even though I have two days left before I begin my practicum internship, I have been busy preparing for the experience.  After meeting with Molly last week to discuss my goals and responsibilities, I have gained a better understanding of exactly what I will be doing this summer.

For the beginning of the summer, I will be assisting with Orientation. There are five sessions left for the summer: three freshmen sessions which will be held June 16-17, June 24-25, and June 27-28; and two transfer sessions which will be held June 23 and June 29. As you and I can only imagine, it will be hectic but also extremely rewarding.

While discussing Orientation and my duties, Molly reinforced that the experience isn’t always easy or glamorous. I will not have one specific job throughout the sessions; I might be scooping ice cream or even directing traffic or lost freshmen! This reminds me of something we have learned throughout the past year – the importance of being flexible. As Student Affairs practitioners, we never know what we will be faced with throughout our professional careers so we must always remember to go with the flow.

While discussing goals for the summer, there is one I am particularly excited about. In addition to Orientation, I will also be helping with the campus visits program. This consists of meeting with families and providing them with tours of our campus. Before the summer’s conclusion, I want to be able to meet with families for campus visits without the assistance of any staff members. I am nervous about accomplishing this task but I cannot wait to get started.

Before I report for my first day of work on Wednesday, Molly has supplied me with plenty of materials to review. These documents include Orientation packets, as well as handouts full of numerous random facts about our university and campus that are given to admissions counselors and the Roadrunners in preparation for campus visits.

With that said, I have decided to add a new section to each of my blog entries – a random fact about MSU. I’m sure many of you will already know these, but hopefully some of you (me included) will learn more about our precious university.

Fact of the day: MSU is the 7^th largest employer in the state of Mississippi.

Looking forward to the week ahead and reading my classmates posts… :)

-Megan