Activities:
- Introduced to the New Maroon Camp office and staff
- Discussed the tentative New Maroon Camp summer schedule and expectations of the staff
- Began to plan the pre-camp training days for the New Maroon Counselors
Experience:
Last Monday I officially started my practicum with New
Maroon Camp! I met with Avent Vanhorn, Andrew Rendon, and the two camp
directors for this year, Pepper Taylor and Jack Cutrer, to discuss our schedule and to divvy out assignments for the summer. We are now in the
process of recruiting students at orientation so that we can boost the number
of students attending camp. We are also currently working on the pre-camp
schedule so that when the counselors arrive in August they will be prepped for
the camp activities and discussions. Andrew is currently out of town for two
weeks so I am working closely with Jack and Pepper to make sure that we can get
some tasks accomplished before he returns next Monday.
Upon Andrew’s return, we plan on moving forwarding and
discussing what we would like the 2016 New Maroon Camp to look like after this
upcoming one draws to a close. I am not really sure what all that we are
expecting for the 2016 camp, but I am sure that the 2015 camp will give us a
lot of opportunities to think of fresh new ideas and ways to we can improve
upon each individual year. With New Maroon Camp being so young, it is exciting
to be able to implement new ideas into the camp to see if they are successful.
I am really excited to have the opportunity to work with
everyone on the New Maroon Camp staff. Since they have never had a summer
graduate student before, I am hetting all kinds of new opportunities to try new ideas and to help make a lot of decisions. I think that this is a unique experience for
me because I have attended camps before and I plan activities all of the time,
but I have never gotten to combine both of those experiences together. Since I am looking
to go into event planning after receiving my degree, I feel like this is a
great way to broaden my horizons and think outside of the box.
Application of Literature:
From chapter 1 of Beginning Your Journey: A Guide for New Professionals in Student Affairs, I was able to read a lot about getting different perspectives from outside offices and colleagues in the profession. I feel like I will be able to get a wide range of advice and mentoring from Avent and Andrew because they both work in areas that I could still get benefit from understanding such as assessment and housing. They are both very familiar with the program so they will be able to give me professional advice and provide different ways to handle situations that I might not have thought of since I am not quite in the profession yet.
The chapter also states when times get hard to just remember why I am in student affairs. I feel like New Maroon Camp has already reminded me of why I like this profession so much. I already love working with the students and I love getting to have a hands-on opportunity to form a camp that will help students navigate the strenuous years of college. Student affairs is a lot of fun for me and I feel like the opportunity to go to camp in August will give me that boost of energy I need to make it through my final year of grad school (Amey & Reesor, 2009).
Overall, my experience has been positive so far. I am very busy in June because of work and class, but I am ready for July to get here so that I can work with NMC a lot more. I feel like I will look back on this experience and will be proud of how much I have learned from the students and staff involved
in this program.
Application of Theory:
I have started to work diligently with some of the New Maroon members to create a schedule for this summer and for camp. With that being said, the schedule building process has required a lot of critical thinking because it requires a lot of different pieces being put together to work correctly. I am glad that I have been given this opportunity because it allows me to let the students think for themselves in order to work through the process of schedule building. I have let the students make their own decisions about what they think will be best and have encouraged them to think through their decisions.
Granted that I am still learning about schedule building as well, this has been a good experience for everyone. Using cognitive-structural theory has given us a lot of opportunities to think about what will work for camp and what will not work. At the end of the day, camp will be fine tuned from year to year for the first couple of camps. By critically thinking, we can shorten our learning curve and turn New Maroon Camp into a premier program sooner rather than later.
in this program.
Application of Theory:
I have started to work diligently with some of the New Maroon members to create a schedule for this summer and for camp. With that being said, the schedule building process has required a lot of critical thinking because it requires a lot of different pieces being put together to work correctly. I am glad that I have been given this opportunity because it allows me to let the students think for themselves in order to work through the process of schedule building. I have let the students make their own decisions about what they think will be best and have encouraged them to think through their decisions.
Granted that I am still learning about schedule building as well, this has been a good experience for everyone. Using cognitive-structural theory has given us a lot of opportunities to think about what will work for camp and what will not work. At the end of the day, camp will be fine tuned from year to year for the first couple of camps. By critically thinking, we can shorten our learning curve and turn New Maroon Camp into a premier program sooner rather than later.
Amey,
M., & Reesor, L. (2009). Chapter 1 Voices of Experience. In Beginning
your journey: A guide for new professionals in student affairs. Washington,
D.C.: National Association of Student Personnel Administration.
I chose to comment on your post because I have previous experience working with New Marooon Camp, and I am interested to see how your experience during the summer varies from what was going on during the fall semester when we worked with New Maroon Camp.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading your post, I did not realize that New Maroon Camp has not had a summer practicum student from our graduate program. You are in a unique position as the first student working with them. Your post helped me think about the ways in which your experience will develop you professionally and personally. Not only are you going to be able to assist in what is already in place; you will also be able to bring new ideas to the table for this year's New Maroon Camp and future camps.
I have a couple of questions for you to reflect upon as you continue in your NMC experience. 1) What do you see as the challenges you might face as the first summer practicum student to work with New Maroon Camp? 2) How might you overcome those challenges?
Good post, and I look forward to reading more!
- Jessi
Jessi,
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting and asking questions about my post!
During my life, I have been to multiple camps as a camper, I have been a counselor at a camp for special needs children, and even a head counselor for special needs children that very next year. However, I have never been in the position to help plan any kind of camp. This is especially true for a camp that involves the growth of college students.
I want to start my own camp at a college someday. I find that my biggest challenge this summer will be learning all I need to know about planning such a large camp in such a short time. I am, however, very excited to put my own spin on things and know that my opinion matters to New Maroon Camp.
One thing that I have on my side is that New Maroon Camp is so new. The camp can literally be what we want it to be and we are able to make such a positive impact on these first few years so that New Maroon Camp will be a tradition for years and years to come at State.
Even though my challenges might be lengthy because of my inexperience, I am glad that I can come into everything blind. The challenge of coming up with ideas that will work is both stressful and fun at the same time. I am lucky to have two supervisors that are already really knowledgable on the subject. Plus they are always willing to talk with me about everything and answer all of my questions.
The way I find myself overcoming these challenges is just by learning from trial and error. I have to be a good listener and critically think in order to make this experience the best it can be for now and in the future. I am excited to continue on with NMC this summer and keep in touch with them even after practicum is over.
Thanks again for the post!!
-Brad