Supporting & Engaging Seniors

One of the many exciting components of my work is my ability to work with students who are in all different academic levels at college.  However, the population that I have found most exciting and that continues to push me to grow professionally are seniors in college.  At a small liberal arts institution, many Davidson seniors appear to have life figured out; some of them solidified in their post-undergraduate pursuits, others on the cusp of determining their new life path, and many enjoying the last months of their collegiate careers. With so much both on the line for these students in addition to their many responsibilities, the question then is, what are we doing to provide support for our students?

In working with upperclass students, a majority of who are seniors I inherited an environment where students do not value/desire programs or the help of student staff as they feel they already know all of the information that they need.  My student staff members, despite being a remarkable set of seniors with a significantly diverse array of experiences and expertise, were unable to find ways to meaningfully connect to students.  I realized that a new model was needed to not only find ways to support them, but to also show off how incredible of a resource their student staff members could serve them as a resource and be as direct in meeting students needs as possible.  This resulted in the following programmatic model:

Building Relationships: A core feature of a liberal arts residential experience.  These programs allow for student staff to see many residents at the same time (something that based on the physical layout of our apartments is very challenging).  While this principle is basic, I challenged my student staff to shift the perspective in how they frame these programs.  In the fall semester it is important to have these early on to help student staff establish their role with their residents.  In the spring semester the goal of this is different and should be to help not only socialize with residents but to help recognize their achievement as they complete their undergraduate academic pursuits.  Programmatically finding fun and engaging ways to get students talking about their experiences through scrap booking, bonfires, etc.

Interpersonal/Personal Development: In an increasingly digital age, employers, staff (particularly Career Services staff members), faculty, and even students themselves would agree that students struggle in their ability to communicate with others.  Additionally, there are many ways in which we can help students develop personal skills that will set them up for success in life.  This developmental focus is broad enough to also allow student staff the ability to focus on areas of their personal development, enabling them to feel more invested in their experience.  Also, the breadth of this programmatic component can cover important personal identity development issues facing students (racial identity development, sexual identity development, religious identity development, etc.)   Some examples of these programs that student staff developed are as follows:

Cooking classes

Auto maintenance and repair

Landlord tenant information (how to sign and find a lease, managing challenging landlords, etc.)

Enhancing communication skills

Multicultural programming

Addressing the “isms”

Understanding spirituality

Understanding how to develop a spiritual life after college

Professional Development: As students approach graduation status it is important to acknowledge that students are about to enter an entirely new chapter of your life.  Understanding how to develop a professional identity is important as students will need to understand how to develop and build a brand in order to remain competitive and effective in the workforce.  How do we help students learn about the realities of social justice issues in the workforce as responsible and civically engaged members of society?  In what ways can we help equip our students with important knowledge about professional decisions they are about to make?  By framing this area in the context of profesional growth, we are also able to include departments on our campus that are not being utilized for student programming like Human Resources and Legal Counsel. This provides not only our students with new perspectives, it also enables our department to foster new relationships with more offices.   Some examples of these programs that student staff developed are as follows:

Understanding multiculturalism in the work place

Sexism in the workplace/issues of the glass ceiling

Demystifying Title 9 & Equal Opportunity Employment

How to negotiate a contract/salary

Understanding retirement plans

What does it mean to have benefits?

How can we help our students effectively market a liberal arts education or an education in the humanities?

Networking – both personally & via social media

Making social media work for you

Managing conflict in the workplace

Financial Development: Financial development is very much so tied into the development of a student's professional identity as well as a crucial life skill that is an important life skill.  It is important to consider the financial implications of any career a student may have and the implications it can therefore create for their future.  Often times students in a variety of majors (humanities, sciences, etc.) are not taking courses where they will be taught important fiscal life skills and knowledge.  This is crucial as so many students are leaving higher education with thousands in debt and challenging employment markets.  Understanding how to develop and build a strong understanding of finances is essential to both their current and future success.  While this all seems basic, the question is, if it is so easy, why do so many people struggle?  This question while hugely philosophical has very real world implications that student staff can help impact through effective education.  This component of the model also allows students to connect with experts in business services, auxiliary services, and other offices that have great experiences and expertise to impart to students that they may not know otherwise.  Examples of these programs are as follows:

How to develop credit (credit scores, etc.)

Understanding/demystifying the stock market and investments

Developing a budget

How to file taxes

How to manage debt/student loans

How to negotiate a contract/salary

Understanding retirement plans

Psychological Development: How often have you worked with or known a student to struggle with an issue involving mental health?  Mental health challenges are very much so a reality of our society and with an increasingly psychologically challenged student body, it is more crucial than ever for colleges to find ways to positively educate and reach students who are struggling.  But how are we equipping our graduates to manage these issues and challenges? In talking with my student staff, one of the original challenging ideas was how to engage students in these issues, when many may feel that there is a negative stigma attached to a program that addresses psychological challenges on a broader scale.  However, by framing the programs as a way to help their peers overcome challenges, it changes the ability for students to feel comfortable in attending programs and also helps empower individuals in tackling these challenges.  Examples of these programs are as follows:

Understanding transition

How to effectively manage stress

How to help a friend who is being challenged with anxiety

How to recognize if your friend has a problem with substance abuse

How to support a friend who is struggling with body image issues

While this model is still new, it has been well received by a variety of campus partners and students alike.  How are you engaging your seniors in intentional programs?  In what ways is your department contributing to an effective, meaningful, and memorable senior experience?  How can we better serve these students?  I look forward to continue challenging my students to find new ways of supporting their peers and enhancing their experience so that they can be as ready for graduation as possible. 

How Can We Adapt & Change?

Being able to change, grow, and evolve is something inherent in many living things. Evolution is a constant in today's society as technology and our environments continue to push us forward as a society. But how do we help others grow while enhancing ourselves holistically?

In spending the first month of the semester working with my current student staff to evaluate their work and recruiting new students for next year, the concept of change and growth has been ever more present in my life.  My previous supervisors taught me that it is always important that your evaluation not come as a surprise.  And while it is important to provide others with consistent and frequent feedback and development, how easy is it for us to look internally?  Looking inward can be challenging as it requires the ability and the courage to be completely honest.  How do we enlist the help of others to develop ourselves?  It is crucial that we are not afraid to examine our work sincerely to see where we can make improvements.  This is essential not only for the betterment of ourselves, but our students, the systems we belong to as to the educational system.

I am currently embarking on a book entitled, Immunity to Change.  In reading this book, it poses the questions, what is the one thing you would change.  And not only is this question asked, but the author challenges the reader to pose the question to others.  It is with the outside perspective, that we can find new ways to grow.

Now let me ask you the question; what is your one area of change and how will you sustain the change?

"Activism is my rent for living on this planet." ~ Alice Walker

Social Justice Education is a crucial role that many student affairs and higher educational professionals take on through their work.  Through education, training, inter-departmental collaborations, and programming, we try and help educate our students on issues of social justice, diversity, and create better communities as well as develop advocates for change amongst our students.  Yet we are frequently challenged in this process.  Despite the best planned program we can create often times we are faced with the dilemma that the students who attend the program and benefit from it are not necessarily the students who need the greatest amount of education on the topic.  Frequently we discuss  or attribute this to the challenges of engaging students, bringing them out of their rooms, getting them to communicate, etc.
While this is a constant challenge that many of us face, as educators we also need to examine our environment.  Recently I have been asked and will pose the question; how do we find ways to engage other staff and faculty on issues of social justice and diversity.  I have had the great fortune to undergo Intergroup Dialogue Training and have been left asking myself these questions.

If colleagues and peers do not find ways to incorporate, engage, and address social justice issues, how can we expect our students to do so?

How do we help social justice education become an interest and a priority in our respective departments, divisions and institutions?

While these may sound like large and ominous questions, these are the questions we must ask ourselves and others if we are to make substantial progress for the sake of our students, institutions, and greater communities.  For me the answer has become simple.  While as a young professional I do not have the ability to determine departmental/divisional/institutional mission statements, I have the ability to make this work a responsibility.  Through continually educating myself, my students, staff, and colleagues, I hope to make a change on small levels that will hopefully lead to other changes.  Additionally, I am committed to making this a priority as a white male, looking to encourage and engage other white males as well as other students and peers to become invested in this not just temporarily, not just on MLK Day, but as part of their life.

Looking Back - Moving Forward

Looking Back:

2012 has proven itself to be one of the most remarkable years of my life.  Embarking on a healthier lifestyle - for the first time in my 26 years really making a conscious daily effort to become more physically fit, adjust my eating habits, and get back in touch and further develop my spiritual identity.  Graduating with my masters; a feat that even I never thought I could have done only a few years before.  To acquiring my first professional job in student affairs - moving back to the east coast and currently being employed at Davidson College in Davidson North Carolina.  Finally got to be a supervisor of not just one, but two staffs of students.  And at this point I have successfully completed my first six months...and those are just the more significant events.

In reflecting on my year I am left pondering several questions...

What am I most proud of?  By far the greatest accomplishment I can think of is obtaining my masters degree.  All of the class work, internships, reading, learning, and teaching paid off in ways that I could not have imagined.  When people ask me why I went to Oklahoma State, I always tell them that within 30 minutes of being at Oklahoma State I knew it was the place for me.  To say that there are remarkable people there doing great things would be an understatement.  I knew as an undergraduate that I needed to experience a completely different environment from my liberal art/Philadelphia origins, but I had no idea how incredible different proved itself to be.  If it was not for having an incredible cohort as well as remarkable supportive friends, family, and co-workers, I would not have been able to have grown into who I currently am and have achieved my educational goals.

In what area(s) do I hope to grow?  One of my greatest goals is to continue to strive to be more educated and grow as an advocate in issues of social justice.  While I have grown significantly from my foundational understanding of social justice from my Quaker & SSJ education, being in Oklahoma for three years challenged me to understand how I live a socially just life.  Being a white male from a privileged background I have grown to realize that it is crucial that I challenge other white people, particularly white males that we need to do better and do more.  We have to acknowledge our role in the system and work to improve the system for all.
I also want to further my abilities/skills as a supervisor.  Ever since I was a RA my sophomore year of college, I wanted to supervise a student staff.  In my current role as an Area Coordinator I have the great fortune to supervise 19 student staff.  I want to continue to find new ways to help my staff grow individually and as groups.  I also want to find better means of supporting them in my goal of later in my career being able to supervise professional staff members.
Additionally, I am looking to continue my path toward a healthier self.  While I have made progress in becoming more physically healthy through committing to going to the gym at least four times a week.  I want to continue this growth by hopefully getting to a 34 waist size for the first time in my adult life.  I am also looking to commit myself to rediscovering my spirituality through Quakerism and becoming a member of the Davidson Quaker Society.

Moving Forward:

How am I going to keep evolving into the person I want to be? Education, commitment, challenge...and wait for it...support (I try hard not to make Sanford puns but sometimes I can't resist).  I love reading about higher educational issues, theories, and ways I can become a better practitioner and individual.  Committing everyday to finding ways to grow; maintaining a positive attitude, and making a difference.  Challenging myself to do the things I won't want to do (embracing the gym while simultaneously suppressing my sweet tooth, being one of the biggest challenges in this), and obtaining feedback so I can improve myself.  Additionally, not being afraid to ask for support, give support to my community, my co-workers, friends, and family.

Not sure about anybody else but I am excited to see what 2013 has in store!

Theme Song for today: The Best is Yet to Come - Frank Sinatra http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmf1AYgYj6I

In the Beginning...

Greetings and Salutations to my blog.  I'm hoping you will enjoy and dialogue with me about a variety of topics... Student affairs practice and theory, higher educational trends, social justice education, popular culture and how it impacts students and the way we work, novels, nerd-dom, and more.