Rachel Ross: Week 5 with HCDC

Rachel Ross: Week 5 with HCDC

Activities

1. Confirmed all presenters for the 2014 International Student Orientation. 
2. Researched programming ideas and options for and in support of the LGBTQ community. 
3. Created numerous documents to help the PAWS Mentors better understand their role and improve their collaboration with Housing & Residence Life. 

Experience

Since we were not required to blog for Week 4, I moved right along to Week 5. This week, I collected 30 hours, putting me at 96 total practicum hours, saving the last four for supervision during the remainder of the semester. Having collected so many hours meant that I needed to do a lot of work. I worked on three different themes, which I will explain below, as well as the insight I have gained from working with each theme.

My main project this summer was the 2014 International Student Orientation. I have consistently been updating the schedule and contacting presenters for the past 2.5-3 weeks. I understood that creating an orientation would be difficult, but man it truly is! Contacting the presenters who have no conflicts and are more than willing to come is great. The challenges come when the presenters you hoped would be available, are actually not, and you need to think of a different presentation and presenter in that same place. One thing I have learned is patience…which is difficult to have, especially when trying to finalize an orientation schedule. I have also learned that creativity is really helpful during those situations when presenters are unable to attend said orientation. I had to come up with a new presentation theme, and all it took was a little creativity. Luckily, all the presenters have been contacted, and the orientation is coming along great!

Another project I worked on this summer was improving collaboration efforts between the PAWS Mentors and the RA staff. This week, I created numerous documents to help the PAWS Mentors better understand their roles, and ways in which to collaborate with the RAs. When I say numerous, I mean six documents that more specifically outline their expectations, a FAQ of Mentees sheet, collaboration strategies, and programming ideas for the residence halls. Creating these documents and brainstorming ways to improve collaboration efforts have taught me how much thought must go into collaboration. Also, collaboration is a great idea, if everyone involved is in agreement. I have learned that in order for collaboration to be successful, openly communicating and having the same goals amongst all parties are essential. It is unclear whether this collaboration will be a success, but hopefully these documents specifically outlining how to make this collaboration work will help.

Lastly, I created a lengthy document with programming options in support and for the LGBTQ community. I did a lot of research and Google searching to create this huge list of options, and it took a long time! Some ideas include awareness days, awareness weeks, film series, documentaries, individual programs, passive programs, and all of these ideas are laid out in a month-by-month order. It will be interesting to see what options will be used, because I have learned that programing to this community will be more challenging than I initially expected. Because of the nature of the institution and its geographical location, the LGBTQ community has not received as much support as we are planning on giving them. We hope the LGBTQ community and other departments on campus will appreciate our efforts, since the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center is trying to represent the diversity on a college campus. Hopefully some of these programs on the list will be used and will be well received. 

In Chapter 6, the reading focused on making professional connections, and how building a professional network is an important aspect of one’s career (Amey & Reesor, 2009). Through working on these three projects, I have gotten a great opportunity to network and expand my professional connections. When planning the orientation, I have been in communication with numerous student affairs professionals, which will come useful later down the road. When working with the PAWS mentorship program, I had to talk with Housing and Residence Life, which is expanding my networking again. I have also had an opportunity to get involved with the LGBTQ programming initiatives in the office, and my name has been passed around to other professionals who also are trying to improve the visibility of the LGBTQ community on our campus. All of the projects I have been working on have helped expand my network, for which I am truly grateful!