Is it weird that assessment gets me excited? I don't think so!
As a Residence Hall Director, I feel that everything I should be doing should be for the students! Therefore, in order to put on some programs that are for the students, I feel the need to ask them what they want.
I just got done creating a survey for all of the residents in our Central Campus area in Housing. This survey is going to assess what THEY want for programming in a week that myself and other committee members have titled Central Campus Pride Week.
At the University of South Carolina, Central Campus is well-known within the Residence Life community. We try to live up to a standard and be the best we can be. Everyone within our department is aware of this. Recently, the other areas of campus have focused on pride within their area too.
As building supervisors, we have reached to our Resident Mentor staff to be just as proud of where they work. The RMs understand Central Campus and are proud to be a staff member of Central Campus. So now our next step was to reach out to our residents. They had NO idea of the pride that the RM, grad, and professional staff members have created. Therefore, we wanted to showcase this to them. In order to do so, we wanted to plan an entire week of events to build the bonds of a strong community and create a sense of pride. When we first thought of this idea, we immediately went to our Hall Governments to get them involved. We were shot down by some and supported by others. So we needed to take another approach to have them be engaged in this concept.
Therefore, we asked the RM staff and the Hall Government exec boards to come up with ideas for programs for this Central Campus Pride Week. I created a survey out of these ideas by grouping different ideas together as options for competitions, large events, etc. I am now going to send this survey to the residents of Central Campus - which is a lot - via email and we will also be setting up stations in the residence halls for us to survey the students this way too. I hope this combination of methods will create a lot of feedback.
I think that using assessment is going to create a lot of buy-in and involvement with this week of events. I am excited to be able to plan events that the residents will want. I think everyone can take this into consideration when thinking of what to give to students!
I know of other building supervisors here at USC that have polled their residence halls for Hall Government events or Living Learning Community events.
I am grateful that assessment is being used in University Housing! :-)
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
U101 & Our State House Tour
Today has been a good day. It isn't my usual Thursday though - which makes me a little sad. But it was still a good day. Usually my Thursdays are packed with 6 one-on-ones, U101 class, and some student judicial hearings. Today I only had 3 one-on-ones and my U101 class. But I still enjoyed every minute of it, especially class!
For U101, we went to the South Carolina State House for a tour. We met up in our classroom, walked down the street on this beautiful day, and had a 30 minute tour. I thought this was really great and a wonderful experience for my class. The first-years in this class are split - half are out-of-state and the other half are in-state. But those that are in-state are not really from around Columbia. Many were in awe of the beauty of the State House and they learned some interesting facts! I really loved that the tour guide asked around of what states they were from and then was able to connect some of them to the history of the State House or its surroundings.
After class, I spoke with my College Teaching professor. We have bi-weekly phone chats that last about 10 minutes on the ups and downs of teaching a college course (specifically U101). During my discussion I boasted about our class today and the opportunity we gave them. She then asked me a great question - how does that tie into your learning outcomes? I thought it was great that she asked this because it got me thinking of why this had been such a great idea. I tied it into our diversity aspect since the student are all from different places. I said that they were learning about the history of SC, Columbia, and USC, and I said that this was important to get to know information about the place they will now start to call home! This history is probably different than the history of their home-state and the history explained from a SC stand point is different than that they may hear if they are from a different part of the country.
I wanted to share this experience so that anyone could create this experience for their U101 class too!
For U101, we went to the South Carolina State House for a tour. We met up in our classroom, walked down the street on this beautiful day, and had a 30 minute tour. I thought this was really great and a wonderful experience for my class. The first-years in this class are split - half are out-of-state and the other half are in-state. But those that are in-state are not really from around Columbia. Many were in awe of the beauty of the State House and they learned some interesting facts! I really loved that the tour guide asked around of what states they were from and then was able to connect some of them to the history of the State House or its surroundings.
After class, I spoke with my College Teaching professor. We have bi-weekly phone chats that last about 10 minutes on the ups and downs of teaching a college course (specifically U101). During my discussion I boasted about our class today and the opportunity we gave them. She then asked me a great question - how does that tie into your learning outcomes? I thought it was great that she asked this because it got me thinking of why this had been such a great idea. I tied it into our diversity aspect since the student are all from different places. I said that they were learning about the history of SC, Columbia, and USC, and I said that this was important to get to know information about the place they will now start to call home! This history is probably different than the history of their home-state and the history explained from a SC stand point is different than that they may hear if they are from a different part of the country.
I wanted to share this experience so that anyone could create this experience for their U101 class too!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
But this isn't how it was last year....
Have you ever heard the phrase "but this isn't how it was last year..." or something similar? I have decided to tag this as one of my pet peeves. Nothing is ever the same. Everything changes. The slightest change can throw everything off and create a different dynamic. I don't get why people do not see this.... is it just me?
So why do people use this phrase? I see it a lot with Residence Life. I see with with Resident Mentors complaining about the way things are done, either by me or by the department and the changes it has made. And I see it with professional and graduate staff members comparing their area teams to what it was last year. Or sometimes even bringing what they did in a different building and saying it has to be done "this way" because it was last year.
I guess to try and get around this pet peeve, I really want to understand why some people are so quick to compare and to relate back. Is it because it was normal to them? Is it because they are scared of change? Is it because they had expectations based off their assumptions of the previous year? I think all of these could definitely be reasoning behind it! So maybe I just need to ask them why they are so caught up in last year.
Any suggestions with this?
So why do people use this phrase? I see it a lot with Residence Life. I see with with Resident Mentors complaining about the way things are done, either by me or by the department and the changes it has made. And I see it with professional and graduate staff members comparing their area teams to what it was last year. Or sometimes even bringing what they did in a different building and saying it has to be done "this way" because it was last year.
I guess to try and get around this pet peeve, I really want to understand why some people are so quick to compare and to relate back. Is it because it was normal to them? Is it because they are scared of change? Is it because they had expectations based off their assumptions of the previous year? I think all of these could definitely be reasoning behind it! So maybe I just need to ask them why they are so caught up in last year.
Any suggestions with this?
Recognition
How do you like to be recognized? How do you recognize those around you for the excellent work they do? How often do you get to tell them "Thank you" or give them a little note of appreciation?
Recognition is always something that I have felt is REALLY important! However, I find myself not doing it as much as I would like to. Today I have decided to take that time out of my day to recognize those that I have appreciated lately.
The first set of people would be my Resident Mentor staff. As we have had some ups and downs with staff and I have had some difficult conversations lately with some of them, I also appreciate every single one of them. Each member of my 10 RM staff brings something different to the table and each member is an essential piece of the puzzle. I used "you are an essential piece of the McBryde puzzle" during training/opening weekend to demonstrate that I look to each of them as being a piece of our team. But I haven't touched on that concept since then! I have RMs showing support for Hall Government meetings, RMs showing such strong passion for their job, RMs showing such concern for residents and helping them get more support, RMs handling difficult situations, and RMs brainstorming over and over again the new ways to reach out to their communities. This doesn't even begin to skim on what my staff has shown me so far this semester! So right now I am writing them some notes to give out during staff meetings. I am pulling together some things that I have seen in the past week from each of them and individually thanking them for that hard work! I really hope they see that I care! :-)
The second set of people I need to thank are those around me during the work day. My supervisor is wonderful and is always there to lean on. However, she is great at putting the issue back onto us and working through the problem with us so we can guide ourselves to a decision. I learned so much from her last year and learned to be so independent. And the appreciation for her methods continues this year. I struggle to see that some people on our team do not understand this type of supervision and how beneficial it is, and I try to showcase this to them. So I just wanted to personally thank my supervisor for how she has helped me and the hardwork I see her put in with everyone! I also need to thank our Administrative Assistant. She is always dealing with phone calls, questions, emails, etc. from all of us in the area and she does an excellent job on staying on top of things. I wouldn't be able to do some things if it were not for her! The rest of the team - professional staff and grad staff - have been such a strong support and we all get to work together in some way, and I wanted to thank them individually for what I see them bring to our team and what I see them support me for!
And then where has the time gone? There are so many more people to thank and to recognize. A simple "thank you" will have to do for now... but I need to be consistent with other methods of recognition/appreciation and make that time. Because at the day, I know that it feels good to get a little note, little sign, or to just hear the words of thank you.
Recognition is always something that I have felt is REALLY important! However, I find myself not doing it as much as I would like to. Today I have decided to take that time out of my day to recognize those that I have appreciated lately.
The first set of people would be my Resident Mentor staff. As we have had some ups and downs with staff and I have had some difficult conversations lately with some of them, I also appreciate every single one of them. Each member of my 10 RM staff brings something different to the table and each member is an essential piece of the puzzle. I used "you are an essential piece of the McBryde puzzle" during training/opening weekend to demonstrate that I look to each of them as being a piece of our team. But I haven't touched on that concept since then! I have RMs showing support for Hall Government meetings, RMs showing such strong passion for their job, RMs showing such concern for residents and helping them get more support, RMs handling difficult situations, and RMs brainstorming over and over again the new ways to reach out to their communities. This doesn't even begin to skim on what my staff has shown me so far this semester! So right now I am writing them some notes to give out during staff meetings. I am pulling together some things that I have seen in the past week from each of them and individually thanking them for that hard work! I really hope they see that I care! :-)
The second set of people I need to thank are those around me during the work day. My supervisor is wonderful and is always there to lean on. However, she is great at putting the issue back onto us and working through the problem with us so we can guide ourselves to a decision. I learned so much from her last year and learned to be so independent. And the appreciation for her methods continues this year. I struggle to see that some people on our team do not understand this type of supervision and how beneficial it is, and I try to showcase this to them. So I just wanted to personally thank my supervisor for how she has helped me and the hardwork I see her put in with everyone! I also need to thank our Administrative Assistant. She is always dealing with phone calls, questions, emails, etc. from all of us in the area and she does an excellent job on staying on top of things. I wouldn't be able to do some things if it were not for her! The rest of the team - professional staff and grad staff - have been such a strong support and we all get to work together in some way, and I wanted to thank them individually for what I see them bring to our team and what I see them support me for!
And then where has the time gone? There are so many more people to thank and to recognize. A simple "thank you" will have to do for now... but I need to be consistent with other methods of recognition/appreciation and make that time. Because at the day, I know that it feels good to get a little note, little sign, or to just hear the words of thank you.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Welcome to my New Blog
Welcome to my new blog. I am completely in love with what I do in my current position as a graduate assistant with University Housing, so I decided that I would create an entire blog focused on this!
As a Residence Hall Director at the University of South Carolina, I find myself having an amazing experience and growing so much as a new professional. I have had a completely different year from last year and have ran into many more challenges with students and staff already - but I just cannot get enough of it! There is never a day that I hate what I do & that makes me happy!
For example, I have some busy days/evenings this semester. My Mondays aren't too bad because I don't start off too early (but I end late) and my Tuesdays/Wednesdays seem to go on forever. Mostly, this is due to the large chunk of class time I have in my Mon/Tues/Wed evenings. Thursdays I am busy from like 9am-7pm too.... but Thursdays are my favorite days! I have the most staff interactions (the majority of one on ones are Thursday morning-afternoon), the most resident interactions (judicial hearings), and the most student interactions (one out of two days that I teach U101) - and I LOVE it! Never once do I complain about a Thursday. I just enjoy my job way more than my classes (is it time to graduate yet?)!
So I hope to share and spread this excitement for Residence Life with this blog; I hope to share what I learn and find through readings, discussions, and experience; and I hope to record my experience and thoughts here to look back on!
I will also be sharing thoughts/experiences/information on other Student Affairs topics that I am involved with and interested in. This may include U101/the first-year experience, Greek Life, LGBT students, etc.
Enjoy :-)
As a Residence Hall Director at the University of South Carolina, I find myself having an amazing experience and growing so much as a new professional. I have had a completely different year from last year and have ran into many more challenges with students and staff already - but I just cannot get enough of it! There is never a day that I hate what I do & that makes me happy!
For example, I have some busy days/evenings this semester. My Mondays aren't too bad because I don't start off too early (but I end late) and my Tuesdays/Wednesdays seem to go on forever. Mostly, this is due to the large chunk of class time I have in my Mon/Tues/Wed evenings. Thursdays I am busy from like 9am-7pm too.... but Thursdays are my favorite days! I have the most staff interactions (the majority of one on ones are Thursday morning-afternoon), the most resident interactions (judicial hearings), and the most student interactions (one out of two days that I teach U101) - and I LOVE it! Never once do I complain about a Thursday. I just enjoy my job way more than my classes (is it time to graduate yet?)!
So I hope to share and spread this excitement for Residence Life with this blog; I hope to share what I learn and find through readings, discussions, and experience; and I hope to record my experience and thoughts here to look back on!
I will also be sharing thoughts/experiences/information on other Student Affairs topics that I am involved with and interested in. This may include U101/the first-year experience, Greek Life, LGBT students, etc.
Enjoy :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)