Radke - Week 5 - Dickinson

After a whirlwind week of being thrown into a completely new environment and comfort zone I can successfully report that I adapted pretty quickly.  My supervisor warned me prior to arrival that they were "throwing me into the deep end" during the first week and hoped that I was ready for it.  The overwhelming feeling of a need to learn everything as quickly as possible has started to subside as I start to work myself into the office dynamics.  Their staff has been wonderful and all but one of them were hired at the same time during a restructuring of their Student Affairs division which leads to great chemistry in the office.  I can see that they not only work well together but are invested in each others lives outside of the workplace.  I know that this is not something that you can really base our next job decision on, but I can tell how much it helps with productivity on work related projects that cover several differnet offices.

I had my weekly wrap up with my supervisor on Friday afternoon and institutional fit was a topic that we spent a lot of time discussing, in addition to my transition into the office.  It was really helpful to talk with someone who has worked all over the country and spent time at large public institutions similar to Mississippi State and also worked at small private.  She was very open and honest about how she is still formatting her personal fit over 10 years in the profession.  Priorities become different and we discussed how certain jobs can help shape that fit for you.  I tend to get nervous when talking about what institutional fit looks like for me as I draw nearer to graduation and job searching because I don't want to narrow myself to things that I only know.  There are many things that are surprising me about a small private liberal arts school that look much more of an option than I ever gave it before.  In addition to working in the office of Campus Life, I'm so glad that I'm going to be able to look at the institution as a whole.

This upcoming week I will start spending considerable time working with the assistant directors on the projects that have been given to me in the office.  I will also be pulled out of the office much more this week as I am really beginning my time meeting with university administrators.  Prep work for questions has already begun to make sure that I can make the most out of the time with the people that I am meeting with. I have been challenged by my supervisor to not be afraid to ask the hard questions and really make the most out of my meetings.  Dickinson blew out my expectations in the first week and I'm really excited to see how the rest of my four weeks progress.

Missing everyone!
Carrie