- · Took inventory of office supplies for Fall Orientation
- · Shredded old paperwork
- · Organized office for departments to come collect leftover publications
- · Took everything out of “the tower” in the union from Orientation sessions
- · Went over evaluation with Kelly
- · Ran errands back and forth between Garner Hall and Montgomery Hall and 6th floor Allen Hall
- · Ran errands to Walmart for office
Experience:
These past two weeks in practicum have been calmer. I have
been sitting with Kelly and Kylie in the office prepping for the school year,
one last orientation in the fall and cleaning up the office from the summer craziness.
I spent most of last week shredding papers they have collected over this past orientation
season. I also spent a lot of time organizing the office, putting all the
publications each of the offices send to orientation to stuff in the welcome packs
into piles for the office or department to come pick up. Since we weren’t really
running around too much this week I was able to sit down in the office and talk
with Kelly about with the fall semester looks like for them. I was interested to
know that the hustle and bustle does not stop. Once school starts back up, they
focus all their efforts to looking for a new team of orientation leaders. I
asked Kelly if I would be able to help out at all during that process, she
quickly responded absolutely! I am not sure if they just need, or hands and will
gladly take any extra hands they can get, or have actually enjoyed working with
me his summer. I hope the ladder. Again, these past couple weeks haven’t been
to eventful just finishing up odds and ends and picking up the aftermath of
June. Today I took inventory of the supplies in the office, it actually made me
feel really accomplished. I think what started out as a stressful practicum has
turned into an experience that has really shown me that I would actually really
enjoy working with Orientation professionally. I talked with Kylie today little
bit about her path to getting to where she is now. She did her masters and undergraduate
degree at Mississippi State. And this is going to sound very silly, but I did
not connect even planning to orientation directly until she said it today. I
guess I just always associated event planning with parties or weddings and did
not really think too much about how he same steps or prepared for any even
wither it be orientation or a wedding takes the same amount of attention to detail
and preparation.
Application to Readings:
When reflecting on chapter 7 in the book, which talks about healthy
work life balance, I think back on my experience with both orientation and
housing. Both of these departments are very different and yet they are similar.
For one, they both have peak times; orientation’s is over the summer where professionals
could work 16 hour days at a time and for almost a month. Housing on the other
hand has multiple days throughout the year that can be very demanding, but they
are often spread out or come a unexpected times. Housing is also a live on job
mostly and where orientation professionals get to leave work, many new housing
professionals work just down the hall from their office and will stay in their office
far longer than they should. A I reflect on the reading and reflect on my own
habits, I know I am someone who can easily find herself stuck in the office till
3 am working. Being in housing it is very difficult to find that separation between
work and personal life. And while it may be just as hard not to stay in the
office that late while working with orientation, there is more pressure to not
do that, with the exception if peak season. For orientation the office is far
from bed, far from a family or a dog or a roommate, the whole building shuts
down making you feel guilty for spending too much time in front of your
computer rather than with family and friends. It is interesting too today Kelly
and Kylie both took a lunch break and when home or did something for themselves
and they both left at 5pm. This kind of work in student affairs feels foreign
to me. Perhaps it is because I have worked in housing for so long. But even as I
type this, I am in my office at a late hour, working. The building is alive and
breathing, the noise level tells me that people are still awake so it is ok for
me to be awake too. One of the quotes in the book from a professional says “there
is life outside of housing! It is critical that you put effort into making friends
outside of your job…” (Amey & Ressor, 2009) The quote has a joking tone to I
but it should not be taken lightly. I never realized how important that was until
this year, to have your escape and down time to not think about work, to realize
you are a human outside of your job description. I always forged these
relationships within housing so deeply I never felt that I should or needed to branch
out and make other friends. However in doing so it has shaped my graduated
career so much more differently than I could have ever imagined.
Application to Theory:
After all this reflecting on personal wellness and work
balance, I feel that I benefit most from looking to the Personal Foundations competency.
Under the intermediate section of the competency, it states “I identify and
employ resources to improve one’s own wellness.” At the advanced level it tells
th reader once they feel they have mastered is competency they should be able
to implement healthy living plans in his or her own life. While I do not feel I
have reached advanced level by any means, I think it is important to observe
that ACPA and NASAP acknowledge that this is an important part of working in
the field of student affairs, that we should not take it lightly. I hope one
day to be able to strike a balance between my work and personal life and be
able to carry on with in the field without feeling bunt out.
References:
ACPA & NASPA. (2010). Professional Competency Areas for
Student Affairs Practitioners
Amey, M.J. & Reesor. L.M. (2009). Beginning your
journey: A guide for new professionals in student affairs. Washington, D.C.:
NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
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