Hartfield - Week 6 - Dean of Students' Office - East Mississippi Community College

Activities:

• Continue to work on the FERPA project
• Meeting with campus administrators about Back to School Bash

Reflection:

This past week was a extremely laid back. Most of the time was spent on editing the different projects I have been working on over the past month because it is tedious work. Wednesday will be offical last day but I plan to return for the Back to School Bash on Aug. 28th. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at EMCC because it has shown me that smaller institutions work just as hard to have a successful campus environment. I will miss EMCC because I have personally gotten to know my supervisor and the other professionals within the office. It was such a humbling experience because for so long I kind of forgot about my community college roots and it was good be back "home" for the last month. I encourage future students within the program to seek their practicum at a community college because it is extremely important to understand the differences among the institution type.

Avenmarg - Week 6 - Dept. of Housing and Residence Life

Activities:
- RA training
- video taping for RD introduction video
- opening banquet shenanigans
- preparation for new and returning RA BCD's

Reflection:
This past week has been a whirlwind. I have been up to my ears trying to figure out how to schedule not only the new but also the returning RA's so they get a refresher. We also had the opening banquet for when the returning RA's joined the new ones. I have been very overwhelmed and have dropped some minor things here and there. But looking back on the past week, I've really been working hard and I'm proud of what I'm accomplishing. There were times when I looked around and felt like the only one still working on some particularly tedious task, but it was  false sense of self-righteousness. The RD's and professional staff members have been blurs this past week, running from place to place to meet the many obligations they have.

I've certainly learned a lot about how to communicate with a large number of people in a way that is efficient but not rude (darn you, GroupMe). There were times when I thought that I was going to pass out from running all over the place, but then I thought about how much work the Housing staff puts in all year round. It really is a 24/7 job, especially when you're on duty. I have such a more profound respect for the Housing department, the RD's, and the RA's. They all really go above and beyond to do what they can to make living in the residence halls a meaningful experience for MSU students. I have a new appreciation for the importance of Housing.

- Noelle

Week 6- Moak: Multicultural Student Affairs @ SMU

Activities:

• AARO events (Resource Fair and Lunches)
• KIPP outreach
• CONNECT Mentor/Mentee pairing
• Assessment Presentation development
• Dallas Faces Race Webinar

Reflection:
Pairing mentors and mentees is much more difficult than I ever thought it could be. I was able to create the guidelines for matching, and my theory was very simple: separate everyone out by school (Business, Engineering, Humanities, etc), then match them all by interests. The other caveat was only 2-3 people from the same school could be in a group. Groups have 4-5 members each. I didn't create a stipulation for sex/gender because it was not on the application, and the girls GREATLY outnumbered the boys, so I decided not to worry about it too much. After several false starts, I finally got groups set the way I wanted them. The other concern I had was the groups not being culturally diverse. I didn't want the groups to be all Asian American, or all Latino/Latina. I thought that might make matching even more complicated, and my bigger concern was making sure all the business kids weren't in the same group or all the humanities kids weren't in the same group. (SIDE NOTE: there is a big loyalty/spirit issue at SMU. Students tend to say "Oh, I go to Meadows (Arts)" or "I go to Lyle (Engineering)" even though they all go to SMU. Students are more loyal to their specific school, so there is a big push within the division to mix things up, for lack of a better term) Luckily, all the groups ended up very balanced in regards to self-identified race.

The KIPP kids have been wonderful. Last week I didn't really know too much about the program, but I had lunch with them the other day, and I got to learn a lot. KIPP stands for Knowledge Is Power Program, and its a network of charter schools in poorer neighborhoods that was started in Houston. KIPP is having a summer college program here at SMU for rising seniors. Since I've been here, Creston and I have been doing diversity workshops with them, and generally hanging out with them to answer any questions they might have about SMU or college in general. They are all so smart, determined, and insightful; and they give me hope for future generations.

Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to attend the Dallas Faces Race Webinar. It was a presentation about the different manifestations and definitions of racism in the workplace. We had really great conversations about how racism still exists today and ways that we can address it. The conversations were particularly interesting for me because in my practicum site as well as my assistantship, I'm the minority. I'm still processing some of the conversations, but I hope to take those perspectives with me over the course of the next few years.

The last thing I'm working on right now is an office-wide assessment presentation. Program assessment is something new OMSA is going to try this year, and I have the lovely task of explaining what assessment is, why it's important, and how to get started on that process. I'm extremely grateful for the assessment class from the fall right now.

This is my last week at SMU (I leave the office at 12:00 on Wednesday). It's been such a rewarding experience working here for the past 2 weeks, and I know I have good connections to fall back on during my job search in the next few months.

-Liz

Smith - Week 6 - Holmes Cultural Diversity Center

Activities:
- Attended staff meeting
- Continued working on PAWS Program Scavenger Hunt
- Emailed departments on campus about participating in scavenger hunt
- Attended Fatherless Son Initiative meeting

Reflection:
This past week I spent a lot of time working on the scavenger hunt. In the past, the focus of the scavenger hunt was to familiarize students with campus and MSU history. This year we thought it would be a good idea to help students locate resources on campus to help them throughout their college career. Once students locate a certain department on campus, we are hoping that a representative from the department will give the students a brief explanation of the services they provide. Students face many challenges, and some simply do not know where to go to find help with their challenges. With this program, we are hoping to familiar students with the location of the resources and what each resource can provide the students. This way, student will know exactly what department to seek out and the exact location when problems arise.

Something new the HCDC is trying to do this year is to reach out to male students who lacked some kind of father figure in their life. These students will include those who never had a father, lost their father in some way, or had a father but he was no there for his son in some way. Last week, Cedric, Tim Fair (Student Coordinator in the office), and I met with some male student representatives from a few student organizations to gather their thoughts on the program. The ideas and thoughts for the programs from the students were very eye-opening. These students and their perspectives are going to make this program special. We asked to the students to go back to their respective organizations and gather more ideas and thoughts from their peers for the program. I am really excited for the direction this program is headed in after only having one meeting about it. We are looking to invite more organizations to participate in the meetings to add more diverse perspectives on the issue.

Fletcher- Week 6- University Academic Advising Center

Activities:

Observed and aided 6 advising sessions

Aided in advising for Summer Developmental Program participants

Administrative tasks (i.e. making copies, sending faxes, filing, and greeting students)

Continued work on instructional pamphlet for academic advising during orientation

Wrote a chapter in the instructional document that will help future practicum and internship workers with the necessary tasks during this job.

Discussed observations and thoughts with academic advisors and my supervisor

        In this past week, many continuing education students seeking to apply to graduate programs visited the UAAC.  These students have very different wants and needs when compared to undeclared undergraduate students. Most of the pre-graduate program students that came in have already completed a degree and had a career. These students needed to register for classes that would fulfill the requirements so they may apply to a graduate program. Most of the students had earned their degrees in the past year, but a few earned their degrees many years ago. This made me appreciate the level of persistence each student had. The students we saw the past week could have easily taken their diplomas and started applying for jobs. However, they wanted to go back to school and obtain a higher degree of education. It fills my heart with joy to see individuals strive for higher learning.

        Another wonderful opportunity I had this past week was to advise a Summer Developmental Program (SDP) student on my own. SDP students participate in an intense, ongoing 9-week program during the summer. The purpose of this program is to better prepare students with low ACT scores for admission to MSU.  After an entire summer of reading, writing, English, and math courses, the students must pass a standardized test in order to gain admission to MSU in the fall. The students who passed this exam were to meet with an advisor at our center and register for Fall Semester classes. One of the academic advisors was out for the week, so my supervisor instructed me to take her office and assist students in course registration by myself. After a few minutes of deep breathing and slight panic, I was ready to do so. I was only needed to see one student, but that was plenty for my first day flying solo. Our major issue was getting her banner holds lifted. After that was settled, I looked up her RAC number and began counseling her on what major she may be interested in pursuing. After a few minutes of conversation about the future for her career and her environmental motivations to get a degree, we began forming an academic plan. She is now registered for the fall and plans on pursuing a business management degree. I could not be happier with the outcome of the session. Most of all, I discovered there is no better feeling than seeing a student’s face brighten when he or she sees her class schedule. As the student said to me, “It’s like it is all real now. I have my classes and everything. I am going to college!”

 Here’s a look at the office I occupied during SDP advising. I will never forget my first moment of spreading my academic advising wings and flying solo:

This past week blessed me with insight and even more drive to be the best academic advisor I can possibly be.

-Kimberly

Bankhead - Week 6 - Holmes Cultural Diversity Center

Activities:
- Attended planning meeting for International Student Orientation
- Attended weekly meeting with Site Supervisor meeting
- Attended weekly meeting with Director and Assistant Director of HCDC
- Completed Pre-Departure Guide

Reflection:
It seems like my time at my practicum site has truly flown by! So much has happened this summer, and I'm so surprised at how much I have gotten accomplished. One thing that happened that had a particularly significant impact on me is a meeting I had with the Director and Assistant Director this week. My schedule has picked up dramatically in the past few weeks with classwork and RA training with my assistantship. They called me in to inform me that they were lending a helping hand to me as I finished up my practicum experience. They assured me that I was doing an outstanding job, but they wanted to help me out so that I would not become stressed with all I had going on. This was extremely meaningful to me that the two people who have the most responsibilities in the office were so willing to be supportive of me and see that my needs are being met. This is something that I have seen with the other HCDC staff members as well as with me and Cody. I think that says a lot about the type of leadership we have in place at MSU.

In terms of International Student Orientation, things are going really well. We are in the process of securing transportation for our campus and city tours. We are also getting ready to send out promotional materials to several different campus departments so that everyone will know about the orientation. We are trying to be sure that we promote the event so that current International and ESL students know that they are welcome to attend as well. Since this is a new initiative, we want to make sure that all International students are able to benefit from it.

I look forward to the next coming weeks in my practicum! Hope everyone is enjoying their experience!

-Tekita Bankhead

McAbee - Week 6 - Career Center

Activities:
-Finished up the "What Can I Do with a Major in...?" Lists

Reflection:
I only worked two hours this week and both hours I finished working on the "What Can I Do?" lists. It was fairly simple, it was mostly revision and adding things that my Project Supervisor wanted to see on the lists. I learned a great deal about the Medical Technology field and what schools exist close to Mississippi that provide Medical Technology education. I'm done with my hours and I'm only attending the Career Center to help out where needed. I wish there was more I could discuss or reflect about but there isn't. However, it has been a struggle finding the strength and motivation to leave Residence Life Training and walk over to the Career Center. It has become a burden on my everyday schedule for sure. Having to cope with that has been difficult. I will make it through though.

General Counsel - 601

General Counsel – 601

Kyle P. Mitchell

7/29/2013

Activities

-Attended Retail meeting and appreciation dinner

-Researched and presented information for University Compliance organizational structures

       This week was an awesome week to work in General Counsel.  I had the opportunity to attend an appreciation dinner for all of the retailers who carry the Mississippi State brand.  This was the owners and managers of The Lodge, Campus Bookmart, MSU Bookstore, Hibbett Sports, and businesses outside of Starkville.  There also was a trademark and licensing company that Mississippi State utilizes for all of its trademarking materials.  I got to see how the university, athletic department, the licensing company, and all of the retailers work together to get the best products out to Mississippi State Fans.  There were even conversations about the university logos and how those will be utilized and Adidas as a company to utilized and the positive and negatives of them as a supplier.  Though I did contribute to the meeting at all, it put me in the mindset on issues that universities are dealing with that some Student Affairs professionals don’t even know about.  Having relationships with business such as Licensing Resource Group (LRG) is crucial when you are a university administrator.  There are going to be many times when there is are areas that need to be contracted to outside businesses, and starting those relationships early are very important.  I had the opportunity to meet with the President and CEO of LRG, and it was a great experience to understand what they do to assist Mississippi State.

I also had the opportunity to do a lot of research with university organization structures and the best way to include university compliance.  I focused on the SEC universities, and looked at how they organized their compliance efforts.  Compliance can be anything from athletics, Americans with Disabilities Act, Technology, Research, and Confidentiality.  Then I got the opportunity to have a discussion about the research I did, and how I felt the university should structure a compliance officer. The biggest thing that I appreciated throughout this practicum is that the professionals have always asked my opinion and wanted to me to voice my recommendations.  Though they wouldn’t make a decision based off what I said, it is a good feeling to be asked your opinion on certain topics.  I will really miss working with the Office of General Counsel as this has been a tremendous experience so far! 

Clark - Week 6 - Housing and Residence Life, MUW

Activities:

• Assisted Sirena in presenting to the Summer Development Program
• Worked Freshman Orientation
• Attended Parent Panel
• Assisted students completing housing applications
• Staff meeting
• Updated and assigned new housing assignments
• Adjusted roommates and consolidated rooms
• Met with the newly hired counselor

Reflection:

Again, this week, my eyes were opened to just how much responsibility Sirena’s job entails. She has been working to hire a new counselor whom I got to meet last week. She was explaining the hiring process and how you hire the best person for the job. She has also hired another counselor, pending background check. There is a lot of exciting change going on in the department.

Taylor, who is in charge of International Student Services, has also been making great changes in her specific area. She has been assisting international students from all over the world by providing resources to help with attaining a visa and information regarding plane tickets and MUW. She has increased the number of international students to about 20, which is really exciting for the W.

At Orientation on Monday, I assisted Sirena in answering questions regarding Housing, assisted students in completing housing applications, and passed out information in the Housing session of Orientation. Also, while at Orientation, the newly hired counselor and I were stopped by a father who was seeking information about the Counseling Center and about Housing. It was really exciting and rewarding to be able to help a family in this way.

Tuesday, Sirena was asked to present to the Summer Development Program. This program is designed to help students get admitted to the University by offering some general courses that the students will have to pass. It was really interesting to see how these students differed from the students in the freshman session the day before. Most of these students did not seem very interested in the presentation, but Sirena did a really good job of trying to get them involved. I was reminded how sometimes, we will have to alter presentations or conversations in order to best convey the information to different groups.

This experience has been extremely rewarding, and an experience that I will forever be grateful for. I am glad that I left my bubble of Mississippi State to get experience at a school that is very different from State. I cannot believe my time at The W is almost over!

Have a great week,

Brittany

 This is the Counseling Center at MUW! I have spent some time here during my practicum meeting with Mrs. Margaret and Sirena to talk about the budgets, purchasing new furniture, discuss the new computer system, etc. I love that it is very accessible, but that it is also not in the center of campus. It is just off campus for students to have easy access to it, while still allowing students their privacy. 

McLarty - Week 6 - Office of Student Life, Mississippi University for Women

Activities

-       Helped lead orientation for Freshman in all ways possible

-       Mediated the parent panel during Freshman orientation

-       Led a reflection activity for orientation leaders

-       Scored all evaluations for Transfer 2 and Freshman 2 orientations from parent/family members and students

-       Composed executive summary of evaluations from all orientation sessions

Reflection

I am amazed at how close I had gotten with the orientation leaders in such a short amount of time. I never expected to be as upset as I was that orientation had come to an end at MUW. Working with those 14 students was such a blessing and definitely confirmed my love for working with students. During the reflection activity, several of the students mentioned how they were going to miss me and that I had really stepped up to the plate and made some executive decisions during the orientation sessions. To get compliments like that from the orientation leaders was indescribable. This was such a devoted and accepting group of students that I am going to miss immensely. I honestly feel that I have found a new love within student affairs – orientation.

Mediating the parent panel was a little more difficult than I was expecting it to be. The parents had a session in which four students (orientation leaders) would honestly answer any question the parents had. With them answering honestly, my job was to ensure that the answer somehow ended on a positive note. A few of the parents were extremely bothered that the visitation hours went until 1:00 AM. While the students were trying to explain that the visitors were not allowed to spend the night, one parent snapped on her and concluded that 1:00 AM is overnight because it is into the morning hours. This was where I stepped in. I explained to the parents that MUW has a very well organized check-in policy, and the students will be removed if they try to stay after visitation hours are over. I further went on to explain that parents must talk with their children about the expectations they may have for them in college. After, the upset parent was relieved and felt better about the situation. I had to give the answer a positive spin for the parents to gain confidence in the safety of the campus. This made me realize the once again the difference in speaking with parents and family compared to speaking with students. All in all, the parent panel seemed to go smoothly. The orientation leaders all did a great job and answered the questions honestly.

Scoring the evaluations is both exciting and scary at the same time. Some parents can be very harsh on the orientation leaders, and being that I have gotten so close with this group of students, it hurts me when comments made on the evaluations hurt them. While most all of the evaluations were positive, some parents felt that more supervision of the orientation leaders is necessary and others felt that the sessions could be more time efficient. Although most comments were good, these evaluations will be used for improvement of orientation sessions next year. Mrs. Harpole will be provided a summary of all the information received from all evaluations of the orientation sessions in order to determine what, if any, changes need to be made in the future. I have truly enjoyed working in this department, and I am sad to see my time coming to an end.

Enjoy your last few weeks!

Nici McLarty

Baxter- Week 6- Career Center, Mississippi State University

Activities:

-Resume Cliques for students

-Finished Introduction to the Career Center video for website

Reflection:

In the Career Center this week, I have focused majority of my time finishing up the Introduction to the Career Center video for the website. The video for the Career Center website will let prospective and current students know where the Career Center is located on the MSU campus, hours of operation for each day, and what services are offered to students and alumni. The services that are offered to students are individual appointments with career counselors, multiple assessments such as the Strong Interest Inventory Assessment and the TypeFocus Assessment, mock interviews, different events each semester, career planning classes for students who may not know which career path to take, on-campus interviews with employers, peer counseling, and multiple online resources available to students and alumni. Creating the video for the Career Center has been an experience for me because I have had to teach myself how to use the video software called Camtasia in a short period of time to the project done before the deadline date. I have spent considerable amount of time working on this video for prospective and current students at MSU and I hope it will be a useful resource in the future to promote growth and development among the student population at MSU.

While working in the Career Center this summer for my practicum, I feel honored to have had this opportunity to work closely with Mrs. Cassandra Latimer. She has taught me ample amount of information about multiple assessments that are helpful to students who do not know what major to choose while at MSU. She has also taught me that each student that comes into the Career Center has a different need and as a future Student Affairs professional, I have learned to get to know a little bit about each student before asking how I can help them. It has truly been a joy working in the Career Center and I have learned that I have a major interest in career counseling and helping students decide what career path to take.

Kristie Baxter

Kalata – Week 6 – G. V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans

Activities

-Worked on Green Zone Training presentation to Residence Life Fall Leadership Training based on      

  feedback from veterans and supervisors

-Created Green Zone Training completion certificate

Reflection

     This week I did not do much in practicum, except revamp the Green Zone information presentation based on the feedback from the veteran presenters and supervisors, due to my job as ResLife Training Committee chair during this first week of Fall Leadership Training. Most of the feedback was on the visual aesthetics of the presentation during the clinical-mental health portion. Because I am working with the other practicum student at the Center on the presentation and that was the portion of the presentation she researched and created, I did not know what to leave in or out. She also does not like speaking in public, so I felt more information was better in case she stumbled. Working with another person on core content for a presentation has taught me many lessons. The most important is asking questions; knowing when to ask questions and when to let something go is vital. We present again this week, which will be great. Learning from feedback, making appropriate changes, and presenting again is a wonderful opportunity.

     The dates for Green Zone Training for fall have been set. I am excited to have had the opportunity to create a certification of completion to be used. Ken wanted to have a certificate for those who complete the program so that they may have physical proof of completion for this rare training. I have two options for the certificate, but neither have been approved by Ken as of yet.

     Until then, I am still working on grant research. Here goes another week!

Cherry - Week 6 - Center for Student Activities

Activities:

-Met with College Ready staff to finalize programming for the week
-Met with Hudson Frey to finalize materials for Are You Smarter Than A Faculty Member?
-Went with the College Ready students to the movies to see "Wolverine"

Reflection:

My time with the CSA is coming to an end and I'm not looking forward to it. I wish I could have experienced my practicum during the fall or spring rather than the summer. That way I could have engaged in more and not had to have balanced my practicum hours with two other classes and RA/RD training. I have learned more than I expected I would have, but that is due to the CSA staff and the level of involvement my supervisor allowed me to partake in.

My last few tasks are to help Amelia update the CSA website, plan and implement the closing banquet for the College Ready Program, and help with Shades of Starkville. I look forward to the closing banquet and seeing the satisfaction of the other CSA staff. I also look forward to helping update the CSA website. This is my first opportunity to help in website development and I hope to get some hands-on experience.

Avenmarg - Week 5 - Dept. of Housing and Residence Life

Activities:
- end of RD training
- RD retreat
- beginning RA training

Reflection:
I was on family vacation this past week and, although incredibly relaxing, I was ready to get back. Before I left, I was able to attend some of the RD retreat at Lake Tiak O'Kata in Louisville. It was really great to see everyone outside of the professional realm and get a better feel for their personalities, especially the new RD's. I am glad I had time for my family, but I really hated leaving the retreat early. That sort of environment (physically and mentally) is one in which I feel much more like myself. I enjoy making those connections with people and getting to know them better in those intimate settings. I hope to fit some more of that in as the weeks go on.

This week, RA training has kicked off. For now, only the new RA's are in training so I'm getting to see all the different preparation that goes into mentoring the new versus the returning RA's. Today, Kate and I made copies of the week's schedule for everyone and she printed out nearly 150 of them. My eyes almost fell out of my head. Sometimes I forget just how large MSU is. Physically, it's not overwhelming at all to me, but the internal network of just the Housing department itself is so much more intricate than I am sometimes aware. It will be interesting to see how training changes gears as more and more of these student leaders come onto campus for training. I am also starting my first week at my new assistantship in CASLE so I'm having to miss some of the daily activities of training, but that just means I get to go shopping at night for Harry Potter-themed decorations and such. If that ain't living the dream then I don't know what is.

I am learning something new every day about university residence life and the impact it has on the professionals, RD's, RA's, residents, and the greater campus community. I am not far along enough to be certain, but I may be considering applying for some housing jobs after graduation. The environment is so embedded into student life and is so diversified that I could easily see myself working in some realm of residence life. I suppose time will tell.

- Noelle

Hartfield: Week 5 - Dean of Students' Office - East Mississippi Community College

Activities:

• Finalize the Back to School Bash event and flyer
• Continue to work on the FERPA guidelines project
• Worked the final JourneyEAST Orientation session 

Reflection:

This past Friday, I worked the final JourneyEAST Orientation and it went well. I felt that the this session went a lot smoother than the first because we grew accustom to the challenges from the first session. I was in charge of pictures since the camera guy was out for the day. Each group had to stop and take a group picture with their Compass Leader before dismissing, which is a great idea. All the pictures were uploaded to the EMCC Facebook page so that students could tag themselves in the picture. This is one area that I think Mississippi State could benefit from. Social media is such a great opportunity for an institution to grow and I think MSU would greatly benefit from having professional pictures done of each groups at their Orientation. I know at MSU, the OLs had their own Instagram account but their was not an official university photographer taking pictures of each group.  I think EMCC's Orientation next year will be even better because they are moving towards making Orientation "mandatory" by having registration at Orientation. In other words, if you want to create a schedule, you have to come to Orientation. I feel as this will help the program grow in the future if registration is at Orientation.

Besides Orientation work, I am working on a FERPA project for my supervisor. While I am preparing for COMPS by working on this project and often find myself confused. There seems to be a lot of "how one interprets FERPA" situations I run into while doing my research. I am slowly realizing that universities work completely different than community college in regards to FERPA. Hopefully, I will be able to clear up any confusion with the FERPA expert we will be having a phone conference call with next week. 

Check out this picture of the awesome Compass Leaders! 

Smith - Week 5 - Holmes Cultural Diversity Center

Activities:
- Attended staff meeting to discuss events and programs remaining for the month of July
- Attended meeting with Honor Code Office Director, Dr. James Orr, to discuss ideas for a potential "Legacy Camp" program
- Responded to emails from student organizations concerning the Back to School Bash
- Assisted in a RD training session
- Began working on a scavenger hunt program for the PAWS Program
- Met with site supervisor and discussed issues on how to make Fraternity and Sorority Life more diverse

Reflection:
The meeting with Dr. Orr was very interesting. He wanted come to the HCDC Office and ask the staff questions and for their opinions on a new program the Honor Code Office is trying to create. His program is very similar to already existing programs such as orientation, summer bridge programs, and Dawg Daze. So he is going around to different departments on campus to gather information and opinions on if his program idea will be more effective than already existing programs. Dr. Orr wanted honest feedback on his program and that is what he got from our office. Everyone voiced their concerns about programs that already existed that aim to meet the same goals as the "Legacy Camp." I feel it was brave of Dr. Orr to open up his potential program to the criticism of his colleagues, but sometime that is what it takes to improve upon long established programs.

Some student organizations have responded quite positively to volunteering and donating with the Back to School Bash. Some responded that they were unable to help but could donate supplies, and others responded that they were unable to participate all together. The majority, though, did not even respond. I figured this might happen due to it be the summer when most students are here. Student Affairs professional do not have the summers off like the majority of students and have to work with what students are available at the time in order to make their programs effective.

RD training was amazing to be a part with the HCDC. It was incredible to see how passionate the new and old RD's were about creating an environment in their building that makes every student feel welcome. It really made me think what kind of impact resident life really has on students. Their residence hall is most likely where students spend the majority of their time outside the classroom. If they do not feel comfortable where they live and sleep, it will be harder for the students to benefit from the other resources the university has to offer.

Having meetings with Cedric are always beneficial for me. I always take away something that I can use in my future as a Student Affairs Professional. Since I am highly interested in Fraternity and Sorority Life our conversation last week was very beneficial for me. We reviewed a journal article about diversifying Fraternity and Sorority Life on college campus. We bounced around ideas about how to make thing more diverse then tried to figure out why or why not they would be effective. Due to Cedric's background in Fraternity and Sorority Life, he was full of beneficial information and past experiences on the issue. It was interesting to see how he has used his experiences in his past job in his present job.

-Cody Smith

Week 5: Moak- Multicultural Student Affairs @ SMU

Activities:
-Office/SMU orientation
-Academic Advising and Registration Orientation (AARO)
-Diversity workshop with Residence Life and Student Housing (RLSH) professional staff
     ~Staff-wide Development of case study
-KIPP outreach
-Learner Outcomes research and presentation
-Framework for Office Assessment plan
-Weekly Supervision Meeting
-Weekly Staff Meeting

Reflection:
     This week has been a non-stop, whirlwind adventure. As I mentioned in class, I was working the Multicultural Student Affairs table at the AARO Resource Fair on my first day, and during the second session of the week, I worked the table by myself. It was a great experience that allowed me to showcase what I had learned about the office during the week. During orientation, the office also hosted lunch for minority/students of color who wanted to join us. It was a great opportunity for students to orient themselves with the office, connect names to faces, and meet other students who they would be going to school with. Last Thursday during AARO, my supervisor was asked to moderate a Q&A session where freshmen could ask AARO leaders anything they wanted about SMU. He thought it would a good idea for me to attend to learn more about the university from the student perspective. One thing I picked up on was that for many students, SMU was not their first choice, and I the next thing I knew I was thinking "What can we do to make SMU a first choice? How can we get students excited about this place?" I was amazed that I had only been on campus for 4 days, and I was already thinking long-term, even though I knew I would be leaving at the end of the month.
     I really enjoyed working on the Diversity Workshop for RLSH. It was interesting to see the staff make-up and how they reacted to the situations we presented. I got to conduct the icebreaker that kind of set the tone for the workshop. It's called "Iceberg." Those participating are asked to detail what they know about this facilitator based on observation. All that information is placed on the iceberg above the waterline. Below the waterline includes facts about the facilitator that cannot be discerned based on observation. The point of the exercise was to show how we take our observations and use them to inform assumption about things we can't see. It was great timing that this workshop happened while I was in the office because this activity works best when the facilitator is relatively unknown by the participants. For this workshop, we also wrote a case study dealing with micro-aggression in the workplace. I've used case studies before, but I had never been a part of writing one before. Going through the process was interesting because we got to decide how many issues we wanted to tackle, what issues specifically, as well as how much shock to put in each incident.
     One of the things I have learned in my week at SMU is that I'm becoming more and more confident in the type of university in which I would like to work. I like working at small, private institutions. To me, the entire division feels more close-knit, and different offices within the division constantly rely on each other in efforts to support students. I also need to be in an urban area. This aspect doesn't have so much to do with the institution itself so much as what an urban area has to offer as compared to a more rural area.

This week, I'm working on an assessment presentation for the next staff meeting, and I will also begin helping my supervisor pair up mentors and mentees for the CONNECT peer mentoring program.

General Counsel 501

Kyle P. Mitchell

7/22/2013

Activities

Worked within the office to get a solid understanding of what happens within the office every week. 

There are many different parts that make up the Office of General Counsel, and almost everyone has a legal background.  One thing that is interesting is there is not really an Administrative Assistant in the office.  There is one professional that answers questions for people who walk-in to the office, but everyone answers the phones and everyone helps out with what is needed.  Everyone acts as attorneys, legal assistants, or paralegals within the office, and it is a very interesting dynamic.  Though there is no talk of student development, there is talk on University success, which sometimes is more appealing to me as a professional side, because I do appreciate the business side of a university, and the student side of a university. 

                Something else that I have noticed is almost everyone in the office is a Bulldog.  Though that is probably true for most departments at the university, but these professionals are True Maroon, and let you know it, and I really appreciate that.  I feel that this goes along with their position, because they are in a profession that protects the university, improves the university, and defends it as much as they can.  I think that this does go into their personal life to be Mississippi State fans, and that is something that is very neat to see.  Most people who work at Mississippi State are supportive of the university, but the Office of General Counsel goes above and beyond in showing its support for Mississippi State and its mission.  This is a culture that I think more offices can benefit from, and makes Mississippi State a special place.  Wherever I go in the future, I will try to continue that passion and pride for that specific institution in the office I am working in.  It makes complete sense, but once a person is engaged with a university and loves that university, the higher quality work they will do, to attempt to improve that university.  

Bankhead - Week 5 - Holmes Cultural Diversity Center

Activities:
- Continued working on materials for International Student Orientation
- Met with site supervisor
- Attended HCDC staff meeting
- Assisted with HCDC interdepartmental presentations (Housing and Athletics)

Reflection:
This week I have really been able to see just what great strides HCDC has truly made just in the course of this summer. The staff members have been scheduling several appointments to do various diversity training sessions and presentations on office resources across campus. This week alone, HCDC has performed diversity presentations with Housing and Residence Life for Resident Director Training as well as Athletics for a sessions with the football players. The Assistant Director informed me that this is the most publicity HCDC has ever had. Wow! I think that is so awesome that we are building such supportive partnerships across campus, and we have so many people that want to work with HCDC. Not only is this good for the office, but it also really good for the Student Affairs division and Mississippi State as a whole because it shows that embracing diversity is a priority for us, not a burden.

International Student Orientation is coming right along. It is rewarding to see that everything is finally starting to take shape. We are working on ordering some type of novelties to hand out to the international students during registration. Surprisingly, I have been able to use my bargaining skills to my advantage (Haha), and I have been finding some great deals on water bottles and bags. The next step will be to design a creative but simple logo. After that, I think we are well on our way to getting HCDC's name out there even more.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful experience!

-Tekita Bankhead

#HailState

Fletcher- Week 5- University Academic Advising Center

Note: I have been researching for a week, but I still do not know if "advisor" or "adviser" is the correct spelling of the word. There are currently multiple online debates about the spelling, Microsoft Word marks both as a correct, and Webster's dictionary lists both words as alternate spellings of each other. For now, I will stick to "advisor" until I am instructed to do otherwise.

Activities:

Observed and aided 5 advising sessions

Administrative tasks (i.e. making copies, sending faxes, filing, and greeting students)

Began working on instructional pamphlet for academic advising during orientation

Begin creating an instructional document that will help future practicum and internship workers with the necessary tasks during this job.

Discussed observations and thoughts with academic advisors and my supervisor

          The initial shock of working at University Academic Advising Center has subsided. I am becoming more and more comfortable every day with the daily routines and tasks associated with my practicum. I would not go as far as to say tasks that I perform are second nature, but I am much more comfortable overall. Now that the simple mechanics of my practicum have become fine-tuned, I find myself focusing on the atmosphere created by and relationship between students and their academic advisors. One thing that I absolutely love about this practicum is that every single student session is completely different from the one before it and the one after it. No two sessions have been the same thus far. Each student comes to the academic advising sessions with unique wants and needs for their future plans. Some students enter the center with a list of classes they would like to take and a list of careers they would like to pursue. Some students come into the center without any idea of what they would like to major in or of any subject that particularly interests them. Also, each student comes to academic advising at a different developmental level. Each advisor has a very unique way of connecting with the student and communicating with them. From the furniture arrangement to the color of the walls, every advisor has a particular way to make students feel comfortable and safe. Advisors are very mindful of making the computer screen visible to the student while signing them up for classes. One advisor always makes a point of having the student sit in his chair and use his computer to register for a few classes during the advising session. This is to ensure he/she becomes familiar with the banner registration system. I really enjoy sitting in on sessions like this because I feel the relationship between the student and the advisor is egalitarian and highly beneficial. Not all advising sessions are comfortable and free-flowing. In fact, some are downright awkward. These sessions typically include the advisor, the student, and an overprotective or agitated parent. While the advisors first priority is to ensure the student leaves with a schedule that he or she likes, it is difficult to do such a thing when a parent is talking over the student or making suggestions for the student. A few times, I have witnessed advisors ignore the parent's rambling and set their concentration directly on the student. For a people-pleaser like me, this is going to be hard to do in the future. However, I know it is necessary in order to fully benefit the student. I admire the courage and persistence of the advisors at my practicum. They honestly care about the student and his or her future. One day, when I'm an academic advisor (fingers crossed), I hope that I can portray the same passion and thoughtfulness that I've witnessed here at the academic advising center. I can't wait to dive further into observation during advising sessions in the coming weeks!

Kimberly

Baxter- Career Center- Mississippi State University

Activities:

-          -Continued working on Introduction to the Career Center Learning Module video for the Career Cente

      -Met with Supervisor

Reflection:

            This week I have still been busy working on the video for the Career Center’s learning module so students can learn how to navigate around the Career Center’s website. It is important for incoming freshmen to learn about the Career Center as soon as they get to campus so they will know what services the Career Center has to offer them for their future careers. Making this learning module video for the Career Center really has taught me that working in the Student Affairs profession you will always be learning something new and you should you that knowledge to the best of your ability. Throughout my practicum experience in the Career Center, I have really enjoyed getting to learn how to critique resumes for students and discussing future career opportunities with students as well.

Kristie Baxter

Clark - Week 5 - Housing and Residence Life, MUW

Activities:

• Attended the Housing portion of Orientation
• Assisted parents and students in the Housing office
• Went with Sirena to show some students their rooms
• Sent out final Housing letters
• Prepared Housing brochures to send out next week
• Confirmed all of the room arrangements and roommates
• Adjusted and assigned roommates to those without room assignments yet
• Helped to prepare an apartment for a visiting faculty member

Reflection:

This week, we spent the majority of the week adjusting housing assignments. Something that has been very interesting for me to see is that at the W, they have rolling Housing assignments. I am unsure if this is the way it is handled at State, but since the W does the assignments by hand, I would have figured that they would have a cut-off date to ensure that they have time to assign all the housing requests.

Another interesting thing that I learned about the differences between a large and a small school is the size of the Orientation sessions. Sirena had asked me to come on Friday in addition to the other two days that I normally go to help work in the office since several staff members were out of the office. I was expecting it to be crazy in the office, but I was pleasantly surprised when it was not.

One of the major perks at a smaller school, to me, appears to be the one on one relationships that Directors can have with students. Last week, we had two students coming in requesting to see the exact room that they would be staying in for the fall/spring semesters. Sirena and I were able to take them to their specific fall/spring assigned room so that they could get an idea of the size of the room. I think that this makes the W really unique and special from other schools. I cannot imagine that at a school like State, that it would be possible to show the exact room that the student would be staying in.

My time at the W has really shown me the difference of being a generalist and a specialist. Sirena truly is a generalist at the W. She deals with International Students, the Counseling Center, judicial issues, ordering furniture, fixing problems with the residence halls, setting up rooms for visiting students and faculty, among many other things. I think this has definitely allowed me to see why being a generalist is necessary at a smaller school, and why it is difficult to be a specialist there.

Hope everyone is enjoying his or her experiences! Have a great week!

Brittany

McLarty, Office, of Student Life, Mississippi University for Women, Week 5

Activities

-       Organized materials for both orientation sessions including t-shirts, check-in materials, snacks, etc.

-       Prepared activity for Orientation Leaders to help calm them before orientation

-       Checked to ensure that all rooms were properly set up for orientation sessions

-       Constructed information sheet for Orientation Leaders to know each student in each group for orientation

-       Ensured schedule was correct for orientation

-       Helped lead orientation in any and every way possible

Reflection

            This week was all about orientation, and I enjoyed every minute of it. From the moment I got on campus Wednesday, I was excited. The Orientation Leaders were coming back to town for the last two orientation sessions (Transfer 2 and Freshmen 2), and the whole office was excited. Once the Orientation Leaders were back on campus, the first thing we did was ensure that everything was prepared. Preparation is key in working with orientation. We had everything put into boxes and labeled them as much as possible. For example, we separated t-shirts into boxes for transfer students who had ordered a t-shirt, freshmen students who had ordered a t-shirt, and extra t-shirts. Those who had ordered t-shirts already had them labeled for us to hand them as soon as they checked in. As simple as this sounds, this type of preparation is necessary. When working with orientation, individuals do not want to spend time on petty things such as trying to find the correct t-shirt. This is why all of the preparation is necessary. Checking and double-checking orientation schedules are also important. We wanted to make sure that the Orientation Leaders knew their posts at all times. This makes for a much smoother session.

            Another aspect of orientation that I found was very important in preparation was having all information in an easily readable format. The schedules were very easy to read, and I wanted to be sure that all Orientation Leaders had a list of which students were in which group. If a student were to get lost and not know which group he or she was in, the Orientation Leader could simply look at the list and know where the group was. Again, being prepared with simple steps can make a world of difference in orientation. Aside from preparation, we wanted to make sure the Orientation Leaders had a break from all of the stress. We had them participate in a craft activity – making a superhero cape out of a t-shirt. I feel that it is important to give leaders a break sometimes. This activity was so much fun. They really loved getting to be creative and make capes. In our eyes, the Orientation Leaders really are superheroes for pushing through this summer and representing MUW.  They really gave the sessions their all, and they needed something to show for it. Connecting with the Orientation Leaders was extremely fun, and I feel like we became even closer. Being able to communicate easily and effectively with students is very important in my future career as a student affairs professional.

            Friday was all about transfer orientation. We had an early morning start at 7:00 AM. As early as this was, the Orientation Leaders were ready to go. They were extremely excited to get the day started. This is the type of passion that makes me truly excited about this team and this office. We got all of the snacks and check-in materials prepared and headed to the auditorium to begin orientation. Everything went very smoothly until lunch, when some students decided to leave until advising time. Transfer students can be hard to reach through orientation. They have already been through a part of college, and the main reason they attend orientation tends to be for advising, though not all attend for only this reason. Some of them feel that the information sessions about financial aid, involvement, traditions, and more are irrelevant to them. Although as student affairs professionals, we promote holistic development, some transfer students feel as if these sessions do not affect them. The Orientation Leaders still kept their excitement, and involved the students as much as possible to get them excited about their future at MUW. All in all, orientation was great, and I am looking forward to Monday’s freshman orientation.