Newsome- Office of Admissions and Scholarships/Student Recruitment- Week 5

Activities:

-          Attend the staff retreat in Biloxi, MS.

-          Participate in the MSU Extravaganza in Jackson, MS.

Reflection:

Wow, this past week has been wonderful! I literally cannot express how excited I was to be invited to this year’s staff retreat.  I knew this opportunity would provide me with the chance to see developmental approaches in student affairs because of the recent addition of a few Admissions Counselors.  Though we did not know what to expect, the newcomers and I were eager to gain a feel for student affairs. 

As I glanced over the itinerary for the week, I noticed that the time allotted for staff meetings were 3 hours long!  I was told to bring a cardigan to our meetings because it will be cold and I just prayed that I would not get distracted or sleepy.  I had a feeling that the meetings would be tedious and that I would be lost because I am just the intern student, but luckily, I was wrong.  Dan Coleman and Dr. Bonfanti are great people and passionate about their jobs which causes it to be contagious for others to be passionate as well.  They did an amazing job of reviewing terms to make sure everyone was on the same page which was extremely beneficial for me. 

Our room for the staff meetings.

The retreat allowed the staff to assess the year, examine numbers of enrollment, reflect on experiences, make a plan for next year, clarify job tasks, and so much more.  We talked about opportunities for incoming students and I was tickled at how excited everyone was.  For example, when Dr. Bonfanti discussed scholarships the Admissions Counselors talked about how great the changes could be for increasing enrollment and for the students in general.  Someone stated, “This is just like Christmas!” and another said “Ashley, we might seem like nerds but we get excited about things like this.”  I could tell the staff was determined to identify ways to get better not only for themselves but as a team as well.  We participated in team building activities and discussed how to improve communication and organization skills. The meetings definitely did not seem like they were 3 hours long and there was no quite moment when the floor was open for discussion. 

Some of the staff and I.

To conclude the staff retreat, we attended the MSU Extravaganza in Jackson, MS.  It was almost like a college fair because individuals worked around from table to table to get information on different entities at MSU.  Overall, I was happy to be a part of the team and share in this learning experience.  I learned that it is a necessity to be passionate and invested in what you do.

At the MSU Extravaganza.

Keep up the good work everyone!

Ashley