Cherry - Week 3 - Center for Student Activities

Activities:

-Met with Jackie to discuss mid-term practicum evaluation
-Worked at the orientation booth for CSA, SA, & MMP
-Met with the College Ready Program to finalize programming calendar

This week was slower due to my supervisor leaving on Wednesday for a conference. However, I did get a lot of experience on Monday meeting with the directors for the College Ready Program which is a combination of both Early Start and Math Plus, two groups that allow incoming freshman to get a jump start in the college experience. The College Ready Program begins next week and I'm excited to say that the CSA has been proactive in program planning and we are ready to hit the ground running.

Some of the events we have planned range from Are You Smarter Than a Faculty Member, which is trivia between students/faculty in the College Ready Program, to something as simple as a movie night at the local theatre. The CSA is also in charge of the opening and closing banquets for the College Ready Program. I obtained experience in making reservations when I had to reserve the patio at Little Dooey's for the closing banquet.

This week I was also allowed to deliver some promotional items to the University of Missouri, the conference that my supervisor is attending. I was deemed responsible enough to use the CSA's pro-card to make the delivery.

Each week at the CSA, I find myself learning something new, but I really get to see the big picture of how important the community is compared to the MSU campus itself. Shades of Starkville, the student group and business showcase, is one example of the CSA using outside resources to benefit the students and local economy.

Thanks,
Jerry Cherry

Avenmarg - Week 3 - Dept. of Housing and Residence Life

Activities: 

- RLT

- BCD preparations

- Decoration research

Reflection:

This week was very behind-the-scenes. We have crunch-time coming up with deadlines to meet for the next few weeks before training kicks off. I've been doing a lot of research regarding the Behind Closed Doors training. I've also been helping research how we'll decorate for the beginning and ending banquet in Harry Potter-themed decor (about which I can hardly handle my enthusiasm). Last week, I spent a solid 4 hours working on BCD's and trying to wrap my head around training. I think it'll be really great after all of this is done for me to be able to look back and see both the hands-on experience I gain as well as the independent work I accomplish. 

One of the most important things I've learned thus far is really centered on just how much students who work in Housing (RA's and RD's) have to deal with on a daily basis. Although I won't have the chance to really see them in action during the school year, preparing for training has opened my eyes to all of the situations that RD's and RA's must be ready to encounter. Even though they are students, they must serve as extensions of the university. This is a lot of responsibility for students, especially undergraduate students, to bear. That motivates me to try to make training as effective as possible so that they feel prepared for the year ahead.

Until next time, 

Noelle

McLarty - Week 3 - Mississippi University for Women, Office of Student Life

Activities

-Scored evaluations from parents and students for Transfer I Orientation and Freshman I Orientation

-Composed an executive summary from the results of the evaluations from orientation

-Continued working on the letter to community businesses asking for their participation in Involvement Palooza

-Took a campus tour to learn more about the individual building on campus and the different activities and academics offered at the MUW campus

Reflection

This week I got to help in analyzing the first two orientation sessions to determine what, if any, changes should be made to ensure that July orientation sessions would run even more smoothly than June sessions. All of the evaluations were scored by hand, then put into an Excel file on the S drive for all professional staff to see. I then worked on compiling the information into an executive summary. This was the first time I worked on an executive summary. This is basically a summary of the results I had scored from the evaluations. This made me feel like I was really making a difference in the Office of Student Life! Jess trusted me to analyze the results and give my opinions of what, if anything, should be changed or left the same. I was so excited to get to participate in this! I created a detailed summary that entailed specific numbers and generalizations regarding satisfaction of the orientations.

One thing I noticed when scoring the evaluations was the difference in needs of parents and students. Parents, in general, prefer a more structured, detailed orientation. Students enjoy the enthusiasm from Orientation Leaders and flexibility. Although both are concerned with academia, the way in which the information is presented to the separate groups may be different. This was a very interesting conceptualization I encountered when scoring and analyzing the results of the evaluations.

The campus tour was extremely beneficial, especially regarding the next orientation session I will be working. I learned so much information about the school with regard to academics, housing, student organizations, and extracurricular activities. Although I work in Campus Visits at Mississippi State, I sometimes fail to realize the importance of the tour itself. Learning this information can help determine a student’s fit at that particular institution. The history behind the institution is also extremely beneficial. I have learned that this is one of my favorite parts of giving and receiving campus tours – the history of the institution. History and traditions make you realize how the institution came to be what it is today. Not only is this a selling point in recruiting individuals to the institution, but it can also create emotional ties to the institution and promote student engagement through involvement in different organizations and campus activities.

Brittany Clark - Week 3 - Office of Housing and Residence Life, Mississippi State University

Activities:

• Attended a meeting with Sirena and another vendor selling fabric
• Attended a meeting with Sirena and a vendor selling mattresses
• Attended a meeting with Sirena and the ITS representative redoing the MUW Housing website
• Attended staff meeting
• Assigned room assignments
• Worked with student workers to mail out housing assignment letters
• Attended a meeting with Sirena and a student who was having a conflict with another student
• Met the Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Myles
• Checked student’s admission status in the computer to determine whether or not we could assign housing

Reflection:

This week, I attended a lot of meetings with Sirena. Sirena’s meetings with all of these vendors have been so interesting to me. I never took the time to think that Housing is responsible for picking out mattresses and fabrics for the furniture. It makes perfect sense now. We met with a second fabric vendor to compare fabrics and pricing. The vendor also took measurements of the Housing and Residence Life office because Sirena wants to redesign it. The mattress vendor was very interesting as well. The vendor brought a mattress with him, so Sirena, two of the RDs (Dante and Stephanie), and I went out to their car to take a look at the mattress. Dante laid on the mattress and started giving Sirena feedback on the mattress talking about how it has good support in the middle section. Sirena asked the vendor if they had mattresses with inverted seams because the exterior seams are not as durable. We also met with the ITS representative who came and talked to Sirena and I about what changes we wanted to see on the Housing and Residence Life website. We viewed other housing websites from other schools (VA Tech, Florida, University of Delaware, University of New Mexico, etc.) to get ideas of what Sirena wanted their site to look like. We ended up deciding on a format very similar to the way the MUW Admissions webpage is set up. Sirena and I also discussed how The W is rebranding, and how the logos are all changing.

Additionally, something that was really interesting for me to experience was the meeting with a student who was having a conflict with another student who was living in the residence hall. I was able to see Sirena’s counseling skills come out during this session because she would ask the student a question and not elaborate on it so that the student would answer the question she asked without any assistance. Sirena handled the situation really well, and I was really impressed by how objective she was in the situation.

Finally, Sirena had intended for me to go on a residence hall tour with her and an outside consultant who was going to determine what needed to be repaired, worked on, etc. While Sirena and I were waiting on the consultant, Sirena informed me that the VP of Student Affairs would prefer for me to not go on the tour of the halls. I felt so bad for Sirena because I knew she felt bad and that she was so embarrassed, but I completely understood and was not upset about it.

I have had such a great experience working with Sirena in housing. She is such a great leader in that office and has the best interest of the students always in mind. I have enjoyed getting to interact with different MUW students and am excited about the knowledge regarding housing that I have received!

-Brittany Clark

This is the new logo design for The W! 

Fletcher- Week 3- Undergraduate Academic Advising

Activities: 

• Organized student files and materials for the daily orientation sessions.

• Met with future students during orientation and discussed their upcoming goals while attending school at Mississippi State University.
• Made a "Strengths & Weaknesses" lists with students who were truly undecided in what they wanted to major. 
• Sat with and encouraged confused, undecided students and helped demystify the major and minor selection process.

• Instructed future students on the course registration process and how to fulfill the core course curriculum while deciding on a major.

• Troubleshot during orientation sessions by communicating with command center about registration errors during academic advising portion of orientation.
• Met with supervisor and went over the Evaluation Form. 

Reflection:
       Orientations are complete and we all survived! YAY! The last few academic advising sessions were rougher than the rest, but not as bad as they could have been. Students were surprisingly understanding when we strongly advised them to keep the schedule they were given. Only a few changes needed to be made for a few students. To my knowledge, everyone left with a decent schedule and a positive outlook on the fall semester. My supervisor and UAAC staff are all encouraging and helpful when I ask questions about registration errors and conflicts. There were many times when I did not know the next step to take when helping students swap or add courses. I was always able to call on someone (once they had a free moment) and figure out the issue collaboratively. Working mass academic advising sessions and my graduate assistantship's summer camps at the same time was one of the biggest challenges of my life. However, I survived and learned more than I ever could in the classroom setting. Hands-on learning experiences are priceless and my summer, so far, is packed with them! 
      I am exhausted, yet anxious to see what July has to offer. There are plenty more things that I will be learning in the UAAC. According to my supervisor, students will come in during July without schedules for a multitude of reasons. It is my job to sit with the student and academic adviser and learn as much as possible about how to deal with these situations. With this information, I will be even better prepared for a future in academic advising.

-Kimberly

Hartfield: Week 3 - Dean of Students' Office - East Mississippi Community College

Activities: 

- Provided feedback regarding improvements on the JourneyEAST Orientation session 

- Created a spreadsheet of the survey results from JourneyEAST

- Started on the Off-Campus Apartment Guide

- Meeting with staff and VP of the Golden Triangle campus to discuss JourneyEAST and future projects

- Started on the planning of the "Back to School" bash for the fall 

Reflection:

I spent majority of the week off-site researching the different ways to make a Orientation program successful. Since most of the research is on bigger universities and colleges, I brainstormed some of my own ideas and how JourneyEAST can improve for the July session.  The survey results had great feedback but I suggested that the survey have a question that forces the survey taker to be constructive. Instead of saying, "Did you enjoy JourneyEAST, why or why not?" we could put "What areas of improvements can we at EMCC make for the next JourneyEAST?". 

One project that I am excited about starting is the Off-Campus Apartment Guide. Since the Golden Triangle campus is a commuter campus, Michael, the district recruiter suggested that we start on providing a handout or brochure that list all the contact information of the surrounding apartments. Based on assumption, we decided to just focus on Starkville apartments because they never hear of students asking about Columbus or West Point apartments. I began to doing research and found that MSU provides a website that includes all the Starkville apartments contact information, pricing, amenities, mileage from campus, etc. This website also provides a section where you can look for a roommate and post on the message board. After discovering this, I started working on a brochure for EMCC that will outline all the Starkville apartments but also plug the website (I'm hoping that the administration will be interested in creating a website on their school page so the students can utilize this). I am excited about this project but I am interested in finding out the numbers of students who commute from an apartment and not their parent's home. I am hoping to find that information out next week!

Until then please watch this awesome Orientation video that they show students at the beginning of JourneyEAST..... the basketball coach (MSU alumni) dancing is my favorite part. 

(FYI: Video might be a little blurry because I had to compress it)

Baxter- Week 3- Career Center, Mississippi State University

Practicum Journal #3

Activities:

• ·         Advised undeclared freshmen orientation students to set up class schedules
• ·         Discussed with undeclared freshmen orientation students what career path they want to pursue or interested in
• ·         Talked to undeclared freshmen orientation students about what the Career Center at Mississippi State University has to offer
• ·         Advised some undeclared freshmen orientation students to take the Career and Planning class to figure out what they want to major in while in college
• ·         Discussed with many undeclared freshmen orientation students that it is important for them to get involved with an organization on campus and feel included in some way

Reflection:

This week has been very similar to last week in the Career Center because of all the freshmen and transfer orientation advising sessions I have been helping with for the past month. This week I have been focusing on undeclared freshmen orientation students and discussing with them what major they are interested in and helping them pick appropriate classes. During this process, I have come to realize that most of the students I have been working with this week have some idea of what they are interested in studying while in college, which is great if the major they chose fits who they are as a person. If the students did not know what they wanted to major in, I discussed with them to do some research on what majors they might be interested in learning about and visiting the Career Center at Mississippi State University to further explore what majors they might think are interesting to them. Overall, I love my practicum experience so far because I get to advise college students and help them decide what career path they want to pursue for their future!

Kristie Baxter

Liz Moak (2 posts in one- better late than never!)

Multicultural Student Affairs at Southern Methodist University



Activities:
Developed and collaborated on Learning Contract
Successfully utilized multiple means of communication to complete tasks



Reflection 1:

  Over the past week, I have worked with my site supervisor on my learning contract. I was
very comforting to see how quickly he responded to emails and phone messages so that I could get
this task completed in a timely manner. This is hopefully indicative of a strong working/
professional relationship once I arrive on campus. While talking this week, we also got some
housekeeping things taken care of. My housing has been confirmed, and I was please to find out
my apartment will be completely furnished. We also confirmed my dates on SMU campus. I will
arrive on campus on July 13, and report to the office on July 15 (a Monday). I will stay through
the end of July, return to Starkville to take care of some personal business, and return to Dallas
around August 10 if needed for a few days. This addendum is not set in stone, but the dates are
available should I be needed to help with anything I might have been working to implement.
I feel as though I will have to make mountains out of molehills until I actually get on campus because there is only so much I can do from Starkville in regards to my practicum experience. Since I do have this time, I will do what I can to become familiar with campus culture, how the Student Affairs office is structured, and increase general familiarity with the university. That way I won’t be overwhelmed when I arrive on campus.



Reflection 2:

When developing my learning contract, Steven informed me that I would be working on learning community research efforts and implementation, and I am beyond excited about this. I've worked with learning communities throughout my entire higher education experience: observing one in my building freshman year, being an RA for LLC students sophomore-senior years, creating an assessment project for the MSU Engineering LLC, and now I'm embarking on a state-wide research study on LLCs. Although Steven and Creston are not aware of this yet, I already have a good deal of research done on LLCs, so hopefully I will be able to walk in the door with useful information.

McAbee - Week 2 - Career Center

Activities:
-Attended Freshman Orientation and gave important information out regarding the Career Center and what we do: Resume Critiques, Mock Interviews, Co-Op Opportunities, Internship Opportunities, and Off-campus/ On-campus Work Opportunities.
-Conducted Mock interviews for English as a Second Language students as well as students enrolled in the Organizational Communication class participating for class credit\
-Met with Scott Maynard (Site Supervisor) to discuss Learning Contract
-Met the Career Services Department from University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)
-Updated and reviewed the "What Can I Do with a Major in...?" Information lists with the assigned career counselors of those majors
-Became more familiar with the Connections page on the Career Center website

Reflection:
This past week really opened my eyes up to how career services at a university can benefit those of other cultures. It never occurred to me how much more difficult it would be to provide professional development to those born outside of the United States and are only here for their education. Many of the English as a Second Language (ESL) students were actually very good in their English speaking skills, others were not. For some of the questions I asked during the mock interviews with ESL students, I was asked to restate the question because some of the terminology I was using was not familiar to the students. I had to think of another way of making the question easier to understand or finding another way to translate it to them. You think you have everything figured out when working with students, but then the multicultural aspect gets introduced to you.
Shaking the ESL students hands before and after the interview greatly differed from one another. Many cultures, firm hand shakes are not custom. Other cultures, it is required. There was one hand shake that I did not even think they were touching my hand it was so soft. You never think about these things until they actually happen. I wish I could have known what country each student was from to see what kind of introduction and salutation gesture was most appropriate. However, this information was not given to me until after the interview had already started. I got to interview students from China, Jordan, Mexico, Japan, and Taiwan. I got to experience a wide range of cultures and the English speaking capabilities of each student. It was definitely an eye opening experience for me for sure.  http://www.eslc.msstate.edu/
You know, people like to give Ole Miss a hard time because they are "The School Up North." However, they are very nice people, well from who I got to meet from their career services department. They were very passionate towards career services and they really felt like they could get along with our Center here at State. I wish I could take a field trip out to their Career Center one day to see how it differs or is similar to MSU.

Kalata-Week 2-G. V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans

Activities

-Transfer Orientation

-Freshmen Orientation
-Veterans' Affairs job search for career opportunities
-Shadow a staff member
-Interview a staff member
-Research veterans services and awareness programs across the country
-Learn the military alphabet http://www.militaryalphabet.org/

Reflection

This week has been enlightening! The first item I want to discuss is the “Veterans Affairs Benefits Claim Assistance Issues Drop Box” the Center has. This box, which is located in the student computer lab, allows students utilizing the Center to give feedback on the process and report and issues. This box is locked so that others may not have access to it. I feel this one item encourages feedback and promotes growth. I am so happy to see this!

The second noteworthy item is the fact that Mississippi State’s G. V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans and its own Colonel McRae were highlighted by Aurora Foundation. The Aurora Foundation is a foundation dedicated solely to aiding and supporting veterans. This article (found via the link) reflects highly on our center and personnel. It also made me realize how much travel in necessary when working in a reputable and progressive center. Veterans Affairs is not standardized at each campus. Discovering Mississippi State is a model was exciting. I also found out that Mississippi State is now earning the respect of other centers within Mississippi due to this press and is being invited to attend and lead Veterans Affairs sessions at professional gathering. Read more about it!

http://aurora4vets.org/blog/2013/6/14/highlight-our-heroes-success

With interviewing the staff, I found that the perception I initially had of the G. V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans, based wholly on the reputation of the military personnel offices, was completely wrong.  The office is a collaborative, cooperative, familial place. They work together to combine governmental paperwork and deadlines with a holistic, student-centered customer service approach. This balance is difficult; it means there is always a “To Do” list, especially since they are audited once a year.

I feel fortunate having my first experience with Veterans’ Affairs in such a progressive and student-centered office!

Bankhead-Week 2- Holmes Cultural Diversity Center

"We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams." - Jimmy Carter

Activities:
- Drafted, discussed, and signed learning contract with supervisor
- Met with representatives from several MSU departments, such as the English as a Second Language (ESL) Office and the International Institute to plan International Student Orientation
- Updated HCDC postcard to send to International Students
- Compiled tentative itinerary for "First Day as a Bulldog" International Student Orientation
- Met with Director and Assisstant Director of HCDC to discuss research initiatives for the fall semester
- Updated Pre-Departure Guide and Resource Manual for International Students

Reflection:
This week was a great learning experience! I realized how important it is to collaborate within a Student Affairs Division. Since we have begun to plan the International Student Orientation, we have communicated with several different offices via email to either see if they would like to join in our efforts or whether they were already planning a similar activity. For example, ESL provides immigration workshops twice a week leading up until the international students arrive. (Fun Fact: One interesting thing that I learned is that an international student is not permitted to be in the United States until it is within 60 days of their enrollment at MSU.) Another office that hosts a similar activity is the Graduate School Office; though their event is only geared towards graduate international students, it encompassed several of the components that we planned to incorporate into our International Student Orientation.

To get a clearer picture of the ideas that had been floating around via e-mail, we held a meeting with several representatives. Prior to the meeting, I had shared my ideas with my supervisors, and they allowed me to speak on behalf of HCDC in the meeting. At first I was intimidated because I was the only person in the room who was not a full-time professional, except for the student worker who happens to be my former RA. As I shared my ideas and input, I was pleasantly surprised at how receptive and supportive they were of my vision. It made me feel really good that professionals outside of HCDC respected my knowledge and actually considered me to be capable of leading this initiative. So empowering! This experience taught me to really trust my knowledge. I think we, as graduate students, never really realize just how much we know until we interact with other professionals and realize that we are fairly competent in comparison to them. It definitely gives me confidence as I proceed through the rest of this practicum.

The BEST is yet to come!!

- Tekita Bankhead

Clark – Week 2 – Office of Housing and Residence Life, Mississippi University for Women

Activities:

• Completed comparing spreadsheet information (roommate name, residence hall, and room number) and Floor Charts to ensure they matched up
• Updated housing spreadsheets
• Began updating the Residence Director Handbook and the Residence Assistant Handbook
• Assigned rooms and roommates
• Worked with Sirena to contact students regarding their current housing assignments
• Checked student’s admission status in the computer to determine whether or not we could assign the student their residence hall, room number, and roommate
• Reviewed the RHA Constitutions and made necessary changes to it
• Attended staff meeting
• Discussed the RA/RD Retreat with Jenn Kay and Sirena

Reflection:

This week, I worked a lot on checking and double-checking the housing assignments. In comparing the spreadsheets and Floor Charts, I noticed several inconsistencies that I needed to discuss with Sirena. Since she was out of town at the conference still, I had to make a note of all the changes and then sit down with Sirena once she got back in town to fix the inconsistencies. Something that was really interesting to me was how everyone really respects Sirena and her decisions. When I would find an inconsistency in the spreadsheet and Floor Charts, I would ask one of the full-time staff members their opinions, and none of them would feel comfortable making changes without Sirena’s approval.

I also spent a great deal of time working on updating the handbooks for the RDs and RAs. Since the office is transitioning from being called the Office of Community Living to the Office of Housing and Residence Life, all of the handbooks and paperwork need to change (Community Directors are now called Residence Directors, etc.).

Additionally, at MUW, students cannot be given housing assignments unless they have reached a Level 400 Admission Status. Once they reach Level 400, we can assign them to their rooms and roommates. While Sirena was gone, we were still accepting housing applications, so I would go into the EMAS system to check the admissions status for the new applications and determine whether or not we could give them their housing assignments. I have also been given the opportunity to interact with student leaders and students seeking housing or asking questions.

Sirena was back in the office on Thursday, and as soon as I got to the office that day, she gave me fabric swatches to choose from that the vendor from last week had sent. Sirena indicated that she wanted my opinion on the fabric that was going to be used in the office. Following this, we went to the Housing Staff Meeting. I was really encouraged to see Sirena interact with her staff. She allows them to make decisions on their own and supports them in the decision that they make. She also had us all go around the table and share something that we wanted to celebrate with each other, and she celebrated with each of us.

After the staff meeting, I met with Sirena and Jenn who were talking about the new RHA organization that they were starting on campus. Sirena asked me to review their constitution to make sure everything sounded good. After reviewing this, I discussed my suggestions with Jenn who appreciated my feedback.

Finally, I sat down with Sirena for about four hours to fix all of the inconsistencies in the spreadsheet and the Floor Chart. We then began to assign the new applications to rooms and roommates. I was really impressed with Sirena when she would go through these applications. While it was a very tedious job to complete, Sirena would go above and beyond to ensure that students were in the residence hall of their choice with the roommate of their choice. Since they do not have a computer system to assign roommates, this took quite a while, and we were not even done by the time I had to leave.

I have really enjoyed working with both the students and full-time staff members, especially Sirena. I have learned so much about being a good leader and a boss from her. It is really exciting to work in this office. There is always so much going on, and I know that I will learn so much from my time here!

-Brittany Clark

Baxter- Week 2- Career Center, Mississippi State University

Activities:

• ·         Assisted with organizational fairs this week for transfer and freshmen orientation
• ·         Discussed what the Career Center offers to students and parents at the organizational fairs
• ·         Helped set up orientation room for advising freshmen undeclared college students
• ·         Helped advise freshmen undeclared college students on what classes to take for fall 2013 semester
• ·         Made sure undeclared students felt confident with their class schedules to help them decide on a particular major

Reflection:

This week while working in the Career Center I got the opportunity to work three organizational fairs with a few staff members from the Career Center. While working the organizational fairs this week, I got the opportunity to discuss with parents and college students how important it is for students to get connected to the Career Center and learn what services are available to the students. Many of the students that I talked to this week were thinking about majoring in some type of engineering so I discussed with them what steps they need to take to get accepted into the Co-Op program at MSU. Also, I talked with several students how to set up an online profile through the Career Center website and upload their resume to look for different jobs that are available to students. While working the organizational fairs, I have learned that patience is needed in order to reach the students and let them know how the Career Center can help them become successful in multiple ways.

In class recently, we have been talking about what kind of environment we would like to work in when we get our first job. Since I have been working at the Career Center for my practicum, I have noticed that when I get offered my first job I would love for the environment to be like the Career Center at MSU because everybody gets along well and helps each other out in times of need. All of the staff members in the Career Center work as a team to help college students become successful in finding a career they enjoy. After I graduate from MSU, I could see myself working at a university or a small community college. I have had different experiences at both institutions and have enjoyed both of them. I just want the opportunity to work with college students on a daily basis and help them discover what career is best for them.

Kristie Baxter

General Counsel 201

General Counsel 201
Kyle P. Mitchell
6/23/2013

Activities
- Attended meeting with MSU administration, Local Architect, and Construction developer regarding the Cooley building renovations and additions
- Attended meeting with International programs to discuss VISA procedures for international students
- Researched and compiled Student Organization Handbooks regarding non-discrimination policies


This week had more meetings, and one meeting I was not prepared for at all.  The meeting regarding the Cooley building was very overwhelming, but a very interesting meeting.  Seeing on all these key MSU administrators come together to make decisions on a campus renovation and addition was very interesting.  I saw how General Counsel facilitates these huge campus initiatives.  There was a Board of Alderman that joined in the meeting, and they were there to represent Starkville as the city.  Seeing all of these questions opened my eyes, to the meetings that I might be attending when I am a university administrator.  Though it is slow in preparation, it is helping me to think like an administrator. 

I was not anticipating the meeting at all, but it just reinforced on how important the Office of General Counsel is with the university and its goals.

McLarty - Week 2 - Office of Student Life, Mississippi University for Women

Activities:

-Discussed materials needed for Orientation and Orientation Leader training

-Reviewed budget for Orientation

-Attended local store to retrieve supplies for Orientation

-Reviewed Orientation Leader presentations and gave feedback

-Led team building activities during Orientation Leader training

-Assisted in checking students and parents into Transfer I Orientation

-Assisted in escorting students and parents to sessions

Reflection:

This week has consisted of preparation for Orientation season that began Friday with the first transfer session. I learned a great deal about budgeting regarding Orientation. Analysis is used to determine which items are of most importance when determining what to purchase in order to not go over budget. Katie Corban, Bre (head Orientation Leader), and I went to a local store to purchase all the materials needed for Friday’s orientation session. We discussed what type of snacks would be best for the students and their parents and determined exactly what we could spend without exceeding our budget. In the end, we were three cents below budget. Talk about close! This really helped me see the importance of a budget. Though extra materials were on our list, we had to determine what not to get because we could not exceed our budget.

The rest of my week consisted of working directly with the Orientation Leaders. When listening to their presentations for orientation, I learned a great deal about MUW including involvement on campus, residence life, etc. I also learned the process of Orientation Leader selection and training which all happened in the spring semester. Feedback was given to the Orientation Leaders from both staff and the other members of the group. I was very inspired with how well the team worked together. Katie and Jess, the leaders of the Orientation Leaders, provided great examples of how to be a positive impact for students. This made me realize the importance of being an example for the groups being led. As a leader, the students in the group I may work with will look to me as an example. I have to be mindful that negativity can be contagious, especially when working with Orientation Leaders. Jess and Katie made a great impact on these Orientation leaders by being professional, yet personal and encouraging them through this entire process.

The orientation session itself was a great learning experience. I thoroughly enjoyed gaining insight into smaller orientation sessions. When I first realized that only around 30 students were attending, I thought that the Orientation Leaders might lose their energy. This was not the case at all. Their energy was incredible. They were so passionate about their institution, as were Jess and Katie. I could tell the impact this had on the parents and students that attended this session. Also, the session was extremely personalized to each student. The parents got to break into sessions in which they got to meet with faculty in their students’ departments. Regardless of whether only one parent went to that department’s discussion or ten, the energy and dedication was still present. I love the personalization that each parent and student received.

All in all, this experience has been amazing. I am learning so much and am constantly inspired by the positivity in this office. A passion exists within this group that is unexplainable. I can only hope that one day I present this same passion for the institution at which I am employed in the future.

This is a photo of the Orientation Leaders preparing their grand entrance for the day. Bre was giving a pep talk to everyone to start them with a positive attitude.

Looking forward to this next week! Hope all of you are enjoying yourself as much as I am!

Nici McLarty