Kelsey Jones: Week 2 With Shackouls Honors College

Activities

- Represent the Honors College at Orientation events
- Begin planning events for Convocation
- Attend relevant sessions at Orientation

Experiences

My second week with the Honors College was busy, to say the least! This week New Student Orientation was in full swing and the office was busy promoting the Honors College and Honors Council, and the office had a steady flow of traffic from students with questions about registering for Honors classes. I hit the ground running on Tuesday when I came into the office and George said "Well, you can be as busy as you want to be today". (Needless to say my mentality was that of the busier, the better.) Anywho, George and I sat down and looked at the Orientation schedule and he suggested sessions that it would be beneficial for me to attend. I ended up attending the Housing, Dining, and Money Matter session as well as the Registrar's Session in the morning before I worked the Campus Services & Programs Fair in the afternoon.

At first I didn't understand how my attendance of these sessions was directly relating to my experience with the Honors College, but then I understood that I was getting the experience in seeing how the students and parents were being presented with information, as well as how the Honors College was being represented in these sessions (if at all). This most directly references the Registrar's Session and any discussion on needing to/how to register for the one Honors course that is required in the fall for incoming Honors College students. Student's have previously been having an issue knowing that they need to/how to register for the one Honors course, so the College needs to be aware of what they're being told in Orientation.

Working the Campus Services & Programs Fair on Tuesday/Friday and the Organization Fair on Thursday's has probably been my favorite part of my practicum experience so far. I love Orientation and was able to be involved in it during my undergraduate career, so the opportunity to be a part of Orientation here at State and represent a new department/organization has been amazing. I loved getting to learn in-depth about the Honors College and Honors Council so that I can share both opportunities with incoming students. I love the opportunity to meet the new students and their parents, especially because I will continue working with them in the Fall through my Assistantship. I just really enjoy the experience because it makes me feel like a real part of the Honors College team.

Outside of these Orientation experiences, I've also been working around the office performing everyday administrative functions and just getting to know how the office runs and the people in it. I am working on planning the events for the week of Honors Convocation, and in doing so I am able to work very closely with a member of the Honors Council, Roxanne Raven. I think it's absolutely wonderful experience to work so closely with a student worker who is not only in the Honors College and on Council, but she's also a Presidential Scholar. Roxie has been keyed into almost all of the programs the Honors College has to offer so she has been a great (and entertaining) resource for me.

My supervisors have been extremely supportive and inclusive of me thus far and I am very appreciative of how genuinely invested in making this a positive experience they have been. In the upcoming weeks I will continue to work on Orientation, Convocation, and also some academic advising a students come in with questions about Honors registration. I am very excited!