In Medias Res #31: Medias almost over, res now

I’m writing this post as a way of procrastinating. Who would have though that the summer would be so busy? Even with my semester and yearly reports out of the way I still have a huge to do pile to get through. Part of the time crunch is a result of my move to a new office. I didn’t get a new position or anything, just a bigger office space in a newer building. Exciting right? Fortunately I’ve known about this move for quite some time so I have been setting up this office with the expectation that I will have to move it all soon.
Speaking of moving I just left my cool downtown third floor walk up for a bigger, newer apartment right near campus. When I came out here (around this time of year actually) to go apartment hunting I was convinced I wanted to live away from campus. I wanted to be around other young people in a neighborhood that had nothing to do with the school. While I still stand by that belief too many middle of the night commutes home after student events had convinced me I needed to find a new place. I looked for a long time at places all over my price range before finally finding the perfect place. Its huge. It has wood floors. It has a washer dryer. I can walk to the park. I can walk to work.
Now that I’m more or less unpacked I’ve come to a cruel realization though. Every piece of furniture I own is a hand me down from graduate school. My old apartment was small, and the fact that it was a third floor walk up sort of precluded any desire on my part for carrying up lots of new furniture. Getting groceries upstairs was enough of a pain in the ass.
This new place, while only a few bucks a month more in rent, is twice the size which means I have two rooms in my new place completely devoid of furniture. So I am going furniture shopping this weekend, dear reader. I think I’m even going to buy a dresser in addition to the much needed couch and dining room table.
What does any of this have to do with being a new professional? Well, smartass, I’m settling in. I looked back over the posts from my job search, and if there is a recurrent theme it is this: peeved and cranky. That year was a rough year. In comparison the recurrent meme for this year seems to be comfortable. I’m comfortable in my job. I’m comfortable in my city. I’m comfortable in my skin. My major project for this summer is to maybe find some new experiences that will make me a little uncomfortable. And maybe tighten up some of that skin.
Last year at the end of the blog I gave some lessons. I think the job search is a uniform enough process that what I said then, I still stand by. This year I don’t think I can offer you, dear reader, suggestions tips or guidance. If you live on? You experience will be nothing like mine. If you live off? It will still be completely different because you don’t do my job at my institution. If there is any piece of advice I could offer: it is to be very very intentional about fostering a life outside of work. Even if all your friends work at the University, have a glass of wine with them away from the residence halls. I love my students, but I still firmly believe in the sort of boundaries that drove me to that apartment on the other side of town.
I know I got lucky. Most of my success here was a combination of excellent graduate preparation and a good institutional fit. I didn’t experience explosive growth like I did in graduate school. The learning I did as a professional was pretty small scale and incremental. What I got out of this year was a fantastic sense of self and place (seriously, it feels much better than it sounds), and an idea of how my future might unfold.
I think this is my last post at least for the summer. It has been fun sharing my first year as a professional with you, dear reader.

In Medias Res #30- Holy Crap

Its May! How the hell did that happen? Honestly I didn't forget about you dear reader. Life took over. As it does.

So what happened? A wedding, multiple graduations, some crazy weather, and I almost got a puppy. I know, right?

Just be forewarned: this post has almost nothing to do with student affairs. Next time I'll do the big "Year One" breakdown. But for now, I just want to let you in on where I've been.

The wedding was fantastic. Saw lots of college friends who I don't see enough of. I got to see one of my best friends marry someone she loves. The ceremony was beautiful and even though I became the defacto organizer it was the most relaxing weekend I had in a long time.

Graduations- in student affairs- are pretty much par for the course. They were uneventful other than they were the first one I've experienced at my current institution. People can graduate in January here, they just can't walk. One of the things that they really do right here are the ceremonial aspects of things. We may be theatrical, but it's always to an end. I generally walk away impressed and inspired when we do something like commencement or convocation.

And..my neighbor's dog had puppies and I almost took one. I played with it for a half an hour, my allergies nearly killed me, and my neighbor refused to let me take it home. She was afraid I would suffocate in my apartment.

Have you all heard Robyn's album? I know it came out like two years ago in Europe, but damn it's capturing my mood at the moment. I've blogged about her before, but the album is actually available in the US so it seemed appropriate for her to make a return.

After a year in this job and this town I feel pretty comofortable. In comparison to this point in my graduate school career when I was climbing the walls and fighting off seasonal depression, things are marvelous. I will write a longer post either this week or next (maybe) reflecting on the year. I've learned alot as a professional, and I like to think that I've grown a bit too. Now though, I just want to sit back and bask in the 'holy fuck' reality that it is in fact May. MAY!

In Medias Res # 28- Shit's Good.

I took a week off. I know you have a hard time without me, dear reader, but as the semester winds down I needed the time away. Part of writing this blog every week means sitting down and actually reflecting on (as Macy Gray so eloquently put it) “How Life is”. I know as Student Affairs practitioners we’re supposed to be encouraging reflection, but I’ve been apartment hunting and the process of reflecting on whether I can live with or without a dishwasher is sufficiently taxing. (Verdict: I can not in fact live without a dishwasher).
Part of the reason I’m moving is the commute and part of it is how wildly I underestimated my living costs. I could be spending a lot more on rent, and therefore have quite a few more amenities in my apartment. With said amenities I would also enjoy my apartment more which will make the extra rent worth it. That said, I don’t have to move- my apartment is perfectly fine if not a bit small and a bit old. I will only move if I find a place that I really want to live.
So that’s what I’ve been doing. I have also been enjoying the spring weather. It is surprising-dear reader- how much the weather has an effect on my emotional well being. Friday here was ugly and rainy. Saturday in contrast was gorgeous and I found myself feeling quite a bit more positive and optimistic. It was a sea change of sorts. It has me looking forward to the rest of spring and the coming summer.
I was chatting with a friend this weekend as we were walking to an outdoor concert. He’s in the middle of a relationship dissolving that maybe quite wasn’t a relationship. Anyway, he needed to talk. We did, and as polite people in these situations do he proceeded to ask me about my love life. Which is non-existent a fact I remain pretty comfortable with.
As I get ready to finish my first year here I find myself becoming increasingly comfortable as a professional. I am comfortable in the place I live. I like my job. Things are good. I’m sure I will have more to write next week as there is a wedding coming up and I will have college friends in town. That will certainly make me reflect on what I’m doing, where I’ve been. All the stuff you love dear reader. Right now though? Shit’s good.

In Medias Res # 27- Sucks to Be You

Man, you think job searching sucks? Try being on the other side of the table. I thought it would be fun, dear reader. I thought it would be novel getting to do recruitment: being on the other side of the table, ushering candidates back to my expertly decorated table, asking the questions that I cared about. And it was novel. For about twenty minutes. Then it became an unbearable slog through mediocrity, grating personalities, and bad wardrobe choices. I should note that we saw lots of great candidates. We really did. People whose resume and responses made you want to reach across the table and hug them. I found myself flush when someone showed a spark of creativity or reflection. These candidates- and there were many- woke me up, got my head back in the game, and reminded me why I love student affairs.
Unfortunately these people were VASTLY outnumbered by the other sort of candidate. The people who were interviewing with us out of desperation rather than real interest or passion for the position. The individuals who were skipping around from job to job, clearly trying to keep their head above water in a field which had burned through them. There were the people who had gone straight through from undergrad to grad school but had failed to make that crucial learning transition between student and educator.
I do not like interviewing candidates, I do not like it Sam I am.

I want to get on my soap box here for a minute and speak to the graduate educators. Are you listening? Good. I like you all. At different points in my life I have thought I might even want to be you. But some of you? Some of you must be slacking a little bit. I know you can only do so much quality control. You can’t force a person to write a competent cover letter or think before they speak in an interview. Those of you who work at programs who prepare great candidates, you know who you are and you can probably tune out at this point. I hate to sound like a snob (wait, seriously? I hate to sound like a snob? This blog is pure snobbery!), but when the right program popped up on a resume the interview was almost always pleasant. And then there were the WTF programs which inevitably produced WTF candidates. I know this isn’t law school. It’s not as if our field is flush with young bright talent. But some of these programs? You should be ashamed of yourselves.

ACPA otherwise was fun, but sort of dead. Did anyone feel like this was a smaller conference than normal? I went to quite a few good sessions, and I came back to work pretty excited to get started again. This weekend the weather was beautiful so I went apartment hunting. Found some interesting things, but I’m not exactly ready to sign a lease. In large part if I’m going to move the place has to be perfect. The process of moving is a bitch and therefore this apartment must be absolutely perfect. Or as near as possible.

In Medias Res #26- Suit Up!

1. What the dapper gentleman wears for ACPA
I went suit shopping this weekend. This-I believe- is the first time I’ve ever gone suit shopping by myself. It is in fact one of the few times that I’ve gone shopping for clothes alone. I know I don’t have much in the way of taste or personal style. This is why I almost always bring someone else with me to shop. Initially I did do that. A coworker joined me for the first round-and ended up buying himself an overcoat- but for day two I went out on my own.
I needed a new suit for ACPA. I’m interviewing candidates for 4+ days. The alternatives were either: wear a sport coat one of the days or double up on a suit. This is what I ended up doing at placement last year (for the curious I wore a sport coat in lieu of doubling up). The whole time I was walking through placement, though, I felt underdressed.
The suit I bought is nice. It was on sale. It is a pretty uneventful suit. Clothes shopping, though, got me to thinking about professionalism. That word in the form of an outcome for improvement came up in my last performance review. I have had a rough transition between ‘grad’ school appropriate and work uniform. I know there are certainly days I come into the office with too much beard scruff, or an un-tucked shirt. I also know this is unacceptable.
Here’s the thing though: this job runs us all ragged. Something has to give for people. For some its their social life. They spend their nights and weekends at work and spend their free time preparing for work. I have a colleague like this. I could not live the way she does. For others its sleep or vacations. I give up ironing my pants. You may be wondering how ironing can be that time consuming. Well, I’m going to have you to simply accept the reality that doing laundry is a bitch. I hate it. With a passion.
The whole issue of ‘what to wear’ gets compounded by the fact that I have very few ‘dress’ clothes. Basically I own enough to get me through a week, however when you return to the same place week after week that’s not sufficient. So I know where my tax refund is going: Banana Republic (and their ilk)!
The irony? I actually really like wearing dress clothes. I think I look universally better in them, and I’m almost always more comfortable when I have to attend a meeting or visit with a colleague.
2. Recruiting
How very underwhelmed I am by the process of recruiting a new hire. Most of the resumes we get have no related experience, are vastly under qualified, or they have some glaring spelling or grammatical error. Now, I know I’m not prince dear reader. I misspell stuff all the time. But not on my resume! Not on the resume I posted to the placement site!
What has been most interesting about this phenomenon has been the ‘unexpected applicants’. These are either alumni of the institution who are now in student affairs or former colleagues and friends that the director who I am recruiting for (but do not work for, I should add) would like to see in the position. Most of these people? No real experience and to cap it off a lot of them have wildly erratic resumes. Were they not ‘known’ applicants or friends of friends they wouldn’t make it pass the first resume review. Quite a number of these applicants have less than a year experience at any institution they’ve worked at.
I know student affairs is hard. I know circumstances change. But when you’re making a lateral move after three months at one institution to a position at the same institution! And then you don’t even stay in that position a year? There are multiple applicants like this. The whole thing makes me uncomfortable, and its making me suspect of this colleague.
I have friends from grad school. I would love for them to live in this city (and believe me I’m lucky because two of them do). I would love more for them all to work at this institution. That’s never going to happen though. Because where I work is not a good fit for many of them. Hell, it’s a horrible fit for most of them! They would hate many of the very things I love about it. Case in point: I spent two hours yesterday in a faculty reading group. This is a professional expectation. They would also hate many of my colleagues, in some cases for the reason that I love them. Case in point: the colleague who made attending faculty reading groups an expectation.
Unfortunately there’s no good way about discouraging this director from pursuing these candidates. They can’t see the forest for the trees, and as such most of us will get stuck with a colleague who gets burned out after nine months. And then we get to do this process all over again (assuming they have the decency to tell us they’re searching-which given their current track record doesn’t seem likely).

In Medias Res # 25- You’re boring, baby, when you’re straight (Special Super Sized Video Packed Commemorative 25th Post)

Anybody else like The Kills? Not the Killers of “Somebody Told Me” fame. I have no real opinion on them one way or the other. The Kills are a two piece band that makes thudding bluesy rock music. They’re pretty awesome.
Anyways they released a new album this week which is spectacular. Their first album came out when I was a senior in college. I listened to it quite a bit on my ipod as graduation approached and so now whenever I dig it out of its case I’m immediately transported. The new album and the process of making a mix tape (I know, I’m dating myself. Who actually makes mix tapes anymore?) for the trip to ACPA has me nostalgic for music and its affect. I’m an album listener. I don’t single out specific tracks. I like to listen the whole way through. As such the nostalgia an album as a cohesive whole generates is pretty much correlated to specific times and places for me.
I was going to write this week about prepping for ACPA as an employer. Then I realized there’s another Thursday (which means another post) before ACPA starts. Instead I started thinking about coping mechanisms, and for me the most efficient and effective way to relax is to put on my headphones. I listened to a lot of music when I was job searching, and even now in my office I keep a constant drone on in the background. Part of this is because I’m in temporary space under a dance studio while my new office is built (and those hoofers make a lot of noise, I tell ya what). Still, I find it difficult to think without some ambient noise in the background.
I listened to all of these albums in whole or in part during the job search, and even now I still throw them on at work to get transported.


The New Pornographer’s Twin Cinema
This is not the best New Pornographer’s album. It might actually be their worst. Of course the worst New Pornographer’s album is like the least chocolate covered cherry. Fer chrissakes it’s still a chocolate covered cherry, and that’s pretty awesome. So why this album in particular especially given the majestic awesomeness of Mass Romantic and the Electric Version? Well, this album came out during my worst stretch of grad school, and as I drove around rushing from work, to class, to a tiny semblance of a social life I really just wanted someone to sing me Spanish techno.



Morrissey-You are the Quarry
Again, a least chocolate covered cherry album by an artist with much better work under his belt. And again, I spent a lot of time alone running around with this album in rotation on my i-pod. This album in particular, though, is about frustration. Frustration with friends, lovers, with your country and with other people. I was in college-although it was the summer- and I was interning at a crappy literary agency. I was reading horrible manuscripts, working for a jerk, and I was the only one of my friends who didn’t work nights. So I was up early every morning to get to work, and spending most of my weeknights crashing around 8pm. Morrissey and I were riding the same wavelength that summer. I still find myself listening to “First of the Gang to Die” when I need to get pumped up which is odd since its not a particularly ‘pumped up’ song.



The Magnetic Fields-69 Love Songs
Not everything I have a romantic attachment to is a result of a stressful period. This album is actually three discs long and its one of the many many things I share with my brother. Right after I got my first car (and installed a CD player) I somehow ended up with this album. I think-if memory serves correctly- this was given to me as a birthday gift. I can’t remember by who, though, and I wish I could because they obviously have fantastic taste. Whatever the case I ended up driving my younger brother around a lot. And we listened to this album a lot. And we both happen to like it. A lot. I got stuck in an airport in Denver because of snow last year and I listened to this album the whole way through. It made the time fly. When my brother came out to visit me at my new job we drove around town and this was our soundtrack.



Belle and Sebastian-Life Pursuit; Fountains of Wayne-Traffice and Weather; Welcome Interstate Managers
This was my job search album. I haven’t been able to listen to it since. Its a pretty good B&S album. Way more up tempo than the vast majority of their catalogue. This and the Fountains of Wayne albums Traffic and Weather and Welcome Interstate Managers are bleary sad albums about being a work professional. They’re really more suited to long journeys than multiple spins in the office. They are albums that make you appreciate the work we do. Just about every morning- even if I’m tired and cranky- I look forward to going to work. But these albums also hit home a little too much. Take the lyrics from FOW’s Someone to Love off of Traffic and Weather:

It's Thursday night she should be out on the scene

But she's sitting at home watching "The King of Queens"

There's something wrong that she can't describe

She takes the contacts out of her eyes

Sets the alarm for 6:45

So she can get a little exercise.

I’m not dying for somebody to love. But I did set my alarm yesterday so I could get up and jog while the weather is still nice. And I do like to catch an episode of ‘The King of Queens’



Sleater Kinney-Everything every by Sleater Kinney (The Hot Rock, Dig Me Out, All Hands on the Bad One, One Beat, The Woods)
Wow. Ok, Sleater Kinney makes me feel kind of old. Dig Me Out came out 11 years ago. Some of my students were in first grade. I’ve liked a lot of bands that have broken up. That’s nothing special. But Sleater Kinney got me through my adolescence. I play music in my office a lot. Some of the stuff (Elvis Costello, Pavement, even Ghostface Killah) I just expect is too old for my students. The fact that SK is no longer a band, and that for my students this stuff is no longer current (or even relevant) that makes me feel old. And for some weird reason that makes me feel happy. I love every one of these albums, but it is nice not to be a restless grouchy teenager now. There is something to be said for being a grown up, with a job, and responsibilities. I went to two concerts this week, and so I don’t feel like an old fogy yet. I can still stay up late with the Kids. But I did leave both shows by midnight cause I had work the next morning.



Joan as Police Woman-Real Life
According to my media player at work I have listened to Real Life by Joan as Police Woman more than any other album since I've been here. There's nothing especially distinct about the album. It definitely fits into that Fiona Apple, Feist, Yael Naim genre of white girl with a piano music that I tend to secretly enjoy. I can attribute some of this to having downloaded that album the week I started work. Still, there's something about the music that keeps drawing me back to it. I think with some space and distance I can figure out why exactly. Maybe with some time and space I'll figure it out.

I don’t really know what the point of this post was. Sometimes my mind just usually drifts (especially on Wednesday afternoons when I sit down to write these things) and I spew whatever I’m thinking about. As I’m getting ready to head to ACPA on the other side of the table (and actually attend a few sessions, may chance?) I can’t help but think that some other people are probably nervously fiddling with their i-pods. Do other people have job search music? Music that reminds them of a specific time and place? Like your first semester as a hall director? Or that alternative spring break you took students on? Is there a genre of music that predominates student affairs?

In medias res #24-Spring Break 2K8

That's right I'm kicking your ass hall director in the city. All over town. Ninja stylee. RESPECT.



I dated a guy freshman year of college who loved to ironically drop the phrase “Spring Break 2K2” into conversations leading up to the aforementioned event. This ex was a city kid and we attended a pretty urban non-traditional campus. Most of us-if we went on spring break- did service trips, and the rest just hung out in the city. My bf at the time though, was determined to have a good old fashioned spring break in the most ironic way possible. He and two friends drove down to a beach town, stayed in a ratty motel, and went to lots of bars with the words senor, froggy’s, slackers, and boomers in the name. They came back with sun kissed skin and overexposed photos. I had gone to build houses for Habitat for Humanity and didn’t feel particularly jealous. In fact I’m almost completely certain that I had more fun.
In grad school I usually worked through spring break. I lived too far away to go home, and especially last year I had too much on my plate to take that much time off. I did spent part of my spring break last year on a job interview, and managed to tack on a few days afterwards to visit some college friends. This year as spring break approached the only things I looked forward to would be getting out of here at five o’clock and the chance to catch up on some gestating projects. Over the weekend, though, a friend (and colleague) suggested that we recreate spring break on our own. Obviously we would have to go to work everyday, but in the evenings our students would be gone. The bars, restaurants, and fairgrounds of our fair burg would be ours! OURS!
So Monday night we went out. Tuesday night? Out. Wednesday? On the town! Tonight I’m going to a documentary screening so I don’t know if that counts, but tomorrow there is a raucous party on the docket. The only lowlight so far has been running into the whole remaining RA staff on Tuesday night at our local watering hole. I think our students took too much delight in seeing us outside of a campus setting and partaking of beverages no less! Other than that the main thing I’ve learned from this weekend is I will be happy to never go on spring break again. I love sleep and structure too much.
We’ve been talking a lot this week about wrapping the year up. It seems amazing to me that I’ve been here almost a year. I feel as if I’ve done nothing, and yet if I compare where my office was to August I’ve made some considerable progress. As I begin to plan for next year I’m admittedly having difficulty deciding on priorities. I feel as if I (and my supervisor) set the bar a little too low. There’s lots of personal goals I want to work on-specifically my level of professionalism- but in terms of the outcomes I identify I don’t want to set myself up to fail. Do people have this problem? I think a lot of it has to do with the vagueness of my position and the gray areas in which my office exists. I don’t want to set myself up to fail, but I definitely need to set the bar higher. If I don’t how am I growing as a professional?

Res. Life and the City #16- Past, Present, and Future

Can you get to a future if the past is present? ~Carrie


First, let's have a moment of silence for the amazing feat that was just accomplished by yours truly. TWO POSTS IN ONE DAY! Hooray! I must say that I am fairly proud of myself. Since I'm no longer taking classes, I've realized that I've started to create smaller senses of victory in my life. I've realized that there really isn't a comparable feeling to finishing a paper and hitting "print" in the professional world. Sure, you can finish a project or create a new proposal, but I really haven't had the same sense of accomplishment so I'm finding it through my blog. With that in mind, I popped in my "Paper Writing Mix: 2006-2007" with the intent of finishing this post today. In case you are wondering, it's a mixture of Billy Joel, Journey, and vintage Kelly Clarkson. Don't judge. It's what got me through grad school so it must have been doing something right!

Second, I started off writing my last post about the issue that I am going to address, but it somehow spiraled into an advice session for job candidates. Isn't it weird where your writing can take you sometimes? Anyway, I decided that I still needed to process some of my issues and what better way than through a global stage that literally dozens of people read on a semi-monthly basis?! Am I selling myself short? Perhaps...

Okay, let's get down to business, shall we? Like the quote from Sex and the City states can we ever get to our future if our past is present? (PS Countdown to the SATC movie: 84 days!) I could think of no better quote than this to describe the last week of my life. Let me set it up for you. I have a friend from grad school, let's call him "Sam" who I have become increasingly close with after graduation. Although he is still back home, we talk at minimum once a week for at least an hour per session. Clearly, we're close. Therefore, it seemed only natural to invite him to see my new fabulous (res) life over his spring break. I set up a ton of activities, lined up times for my new friends to meet and fall in love with him and actually took a week off of work to show him around my new life. While I know that I have a somewhat romanticized view of the world (I'm working on it), I really had high hopes for the visit. I thought that we would fall back into the same witty, back-and-forth banter that had been happening over the phone for the past 10 months, but it would be in person. What could be better, right?

Wrong. I...was...so...wrong! He arrived and it was like it was a different person in front of me. Everything that I found enjoyable about him over the phone and from grad school now became incredibly annoying and grating to my nerves. I kept looking at him and thinking to myself "This is not the person that I remember." The basis of all of our conversations was simply a re-telling of things that happened in our past and he didn't seem too excited about my new life or job or friends. Granted, he did make an effort to get to know my new friends, who also happen to be my collegues since I haven't gotten around to the whole "making friends off-campus" thing, but it was a stretch to make conversation. My friends could tell that I was really getting annoyed with him as the trip went on and (God bless them!) continued to offer to tag along to activities and attractions to be a buffer between the two of us.

By the end of the trip, I was really ready for him to leave which actually came as a surprise, even to me. I am a somewhat, okay who am I kidding, really emotional person and don't deal with goodbyes in the most mature fashion (ie I bawl my eyes out), but when we said goodbye at the airport, it was like I was shipping off an acquaintance that I barely knew instead of someone that I had grown close to and had known for a year and a half. There was little to no emotional attachment anymore and at the time, I didn't really understand why.

However, since my grad school professors drilled the importance of reflection in my brain, I took some time to process with my friends and finally came to a conclusion. I didn't enjoy my time with Sam because he represented my past and I am fulling living my present and future. I wasn't really interested in rehashing old stories or memories from grad school when I could be making new memories now. I can honestly say that I have changed and grown a lot just in the few months that I have been away from home and I don't want to go back to many of the habits and quirks that dogged me in grad school. I think I have become much more self-sufficient and confident in my abilities in both a personal and professional capacity. I think I am more self-centered and I find myself looking from within for validation before looking to others and I honestly don't want to go back to the old me.

In conclusion, I am glad that Sam visited if for no other reason than it made me appreciate my new life, job, and friends even more than I already did. It was so nice to have friends that I could turn to for emotional support instead of always having others turn to me. I realized that I am so much happier in my new job than I was with my job in grad school and also that my old institution pales in comparison to my new one. Basically, Sam's annoying, cloying, and overbearingly awful visit helped me really be thankful for my new life, so thanks Sam!

Res. Life and the City #15- Meet Us Halfway

Normal is the halfway point between what you want and what you can get. ~Samantha

Alright, before I get started into the good stuff, let's get a few things out of the way. First, I apologize wholeheartedly for the lack of posts. As I was looking through the archives, I must say that I am ashamed that I haven't posted in over a month! Clearly, this is unacceptable, especially since I agreed to post once or twice a week when I signed on for this blog so many moons ago. Second, In Media Res. is kicking my ass with all of the posts! I realize that it's not a competition, but if you take a look at some of my posts from last year, you know that I need to work on this aspect of my personality. Whatever, it's quality, not quantity, right? Right?

Anyway, I must say that I've been not only intrigued, but also inspired with the posts of my co-blogging plans. Not only has In Media Res. been entertaining and enjoyable, but the exploits of the two new job searchers has made me thrilled that I'm not going through that process again and simultaneously exciting to be on the other side of the table at ACPA. I feel professionally obligated to respond to some of the assertions made by The Great Fishbowl Quest. A few weeks ago my co-blogger wrote:

LESSON 1: Don’t show employers your cards: regardless of your excitement, level of interest, or fear of losing their interest. I promise that you can get a job without ever telling one school that they are your number one.

As a new professional working on my department's recruitment and selection committee, I have to say that I was disheartened to read this post. While I understand that institutions will be told throughout conferences and interview seasons that we are "definitely in my top three" there is no reason to hold back on your excitement. We want to know if you are excited about us! We want to know that you could envision yourself moving to our city and school! Believe it or not, we do evaluate you on things that aren't simply on the interview questionnaire such as your enthusiasm, passion for the position, and potential for moving to our school. If you keep your cards close to your vest, it will be very easy for employers to lose interest and pursue candidates who may not be as qualified, but who are more passionate about the position and institution. While I am by no means advising any candidate to oversell their excitement and string along an institution, I do hope that all of you new candidates will stay true to your personality and not become a vault of emotions when you are under the assumption that you are just "playing the game." While it's true that it is a candidate's market and that employers have to do the woo-ing, don't you want to end up at an institution that is just as excited about you and you are about them?

LESSON 2: Don’t leave employers hanging when you decide that you aren’t interested. Let them know as soon as you make the decision. There is nothing more frustrating than a candidate who shows interest and then never responds.You have control as a candidate to pick who you interview with and who you pursue. After all, you’re the one committing to a new job.

While I do agree wholeheartedly with the idea of not leaving candidates hanging on, please know that employers get just as (if not more) excited about prospective candidates as candidates do about prospective schools. I remember the rush of endorphins and the smile that came to my face when I read over job descriptions or institution profiles as a candidate and believe it or not, this same experience happens when we read a cover letter, resume, or thank-you note from a candidate. I think we have even more investment in candidates because we are investing all of this time and energy and effort into an actual person, while the candidate is being pulled in a thousand directions when interviewing with an institution. Candidates have to think about the geographic location, salary, benefits, living conditions, co-workers, potential supervisor, institutional culture, weather, partners, pets, parking, professional development, and the the list goes on. We just care about that singular candidate and their experience. Now, I realize that I am coming from a distinct point of view given my institutional culture and my experiences with my own search committee, but that's where I stand. While it is true that candidates are committing to a new job, institutions and departments are committing to a new co-worker, colleague, and supervisee. As we all know, adding one person to the mix of a group can seriously change the dynamics so don't underestimate the impact that you can add to a department. We need to know that candidates can see themselves fitting into our already established culture, but we can't know that for sure if you don't tell us!

Basically, I urge all of you to be true to yourself as a candidate and don't get caught up in the game. Do you honestly want to work for people who are good at playing the game or people who are just good people? Ask yourself this the next time you speak with an employer and you may be surprised with the results.

In Medias Res # 23: sometime to kill

I. You can’t train me, Mother$%^&#*
I went to a volunteer training this past weekend. As I noted in last week’s blockbuster post “(insert title here)” I’ve been trying to cultivate a life outside of work. As part of that I’ve been sussing out some volunteer and service opportunities. One in particular I’ve become fond of, and last weekend they had a required training. I attended hoping to meet some new people.
I think on some level the work that I do has ruined me for trainings, workshops, and the like. This training was painful. I give presentations to classes, colleagues, and community members probably 2-3 times a week. I have to say-and reserve your comments, dear reader- I’m a halfway decent presenter. I have done this enough to know the basic rules. ALWAYS bring extra handouts (and if you want to conserve paper make it clear and accessible where this information can be found online). If you are working with a roomful of strangers-especially people who will eventually have to work together- do an icebreaker. Do a couple. Never just sit and talk and this goes double-no triple- for when there is already a power point presentation setup for you to use.
I’m not perfect. I screw up pretty regularly when I present. Sometimes I’m tired, or I’m underprepared, or I just plum forgot something. Whatever the case may be I figure out how to compensate. I certainly don’t allow my audience to suffer for it.
All that said I really liked everyone I met and I’m looking forward to getting involved with this organization. Last night was my first ‘shift’ and while it was uneventful I had quite a bit of fun.
II. I find this all very taxing
I’m ¾ of the way done with my 2007 taxes. This year was particularly complicated because I had to file two state returns in addition to my federal return. I am looking forward to getting back that 2K refund though. Hopefully it will show up in time for the down payment on a condo I may or may not buy. Either way 2K back in my pocket is a good thing.
One of the things it never even occurred to me to look into during the job search was the income tax rate. Now, while I didn’t get to move to a particularly liberal state (which means we have crappy public schools and questionable roads) it does mean that my taxation rate is pretty low. Take that MassachuVermontesota! You may have a social safety cushion that cares for everyone in our democratic society, but I’m keeping an extra $25 a month. Plus I’m a childless single white man. What need have I of social services? So screw you.
I like to think of myself as pretty economically savvy. I have money invested, and I’ve already started a retirement fund (woo hoo Roth IRAs!). I’ve also got life insurance-although the beneficiaries at the moment are my parents. I’m sure they’ll be glad I took out the policy, but honestly I doubt they’re going to be psyched with that inheritance. I was surprised at my own naiveté when it came to taxes, though. Despite my insistence on working at an institution with domestic partnership benefits, it never occurred to me to ask if the institution grosses up to cover the difference (they don’t) or if we live in a state which wouldn’t create an undue burden (it does). Again, all these things are relevant in the abstract-one day I might start dating someone and want to put them on my benefits plan- but it is at least worth thinking and asking about. Especially for all you dear readers who are job searching.
III. The Great Fishbowl KT Turnstall Quest
Have you been reading the new job hunt blog? I assume if you’re motivated enough to read my blathering you are in fact equally enthralled by the newest members of the Studentaffairs.com blogocracy (TM In Medias Res LTD). Some things stuck me as I was reading their recounting of the Job Hunt. (I’ve compiled them below for you in easy list form):
the James Frey effect- Ok, honestly more than once I could of sworn these bastards poached one of my posts. I went back and checked my own (admittedly more florid and sensual) writings and nope. They’re honest at least as much as I can tell. But the sentiment, the anxiety, the process. Its all way too similar. I feel for them. I do. They didn’t steal my posts though.
I know NASPA is earlier this year but, damn! When I was job searching the period between January and May seemed to stretch on forever. I know time moves faster here. It is an observable fact and I have the scientific equation to prove it. I will not, however, be sharing that information with you, dear reader, until it has been vetted by the Nobel committee and I have been properly rewarded. It seems like everything is just barreling down on these kids (can I call them kids?) OPE came and went as did SPE. NASPA is this weekend! Before you know it one of them will have a job. Perhaps both! My lord that seems quick.
I don’t think I ever explained my gimmick. Ok, so my co-blogger started out framing her posts with Grey’s Anatomy quotes and then moved on to Sex and the City (speaking of which, when do we get to hear about all your hookups? That’s what I come back for week after week). Fishboy (as I affectionately refer to him in my own head) has some strained metaphor about being a fish and looking for a bowl. I get it. And the other one is using half a line from a two year old pop song. (C’mon everybody, I kid because I love!) So where does In Medias Res come from? Well, as loyal readers of the blog know (which is probably what- me and Hristin Moh at this point?) I am an avid reader. In Medias Res is a Latin phrase which broadly refers to when we join a story in the middle of the action. Since y’all did not come on board at the beginning- it wasn’t nearly as trendy for a new fetus to blog when I was….a new fetus- you joined in the middle of the action. As such, you only really know what’s happening since post one. I know I explained this last time, but this is technically a new blog. New Blog, new pathetic rationalizations.
You can figure out what the hell it is I’m talking about at the 2008 Student Affairs Job Hunt.
Ok, this has been a damn long post. As you can probably guess I had some time to kill before a student program and now that time is gone. Have fun at NASPA or on Spring Break or whatever the hell it is you do dear reader with your free time (Crochet? Competitive archery? Collecting scrap metal?). I’m going to visit a grad school friend this weekend, and then recruiting some high school students (for work, not for my unauthorized production of High School Musical 3: To Catch a Predator). Ooh, maybe if I blog next year I can start every post with lyrics from High School Musical! I should probably watch one of those things know so I know what the hell I’m talking about.

In Medias Res #22- Certainty, or I know I just want to D.A.N.C.E.

I have been talking a lot lately about summer internships with students. This might seem early to some people-especially since I don’t work in Career Services- but when you work with high achievers nothing is too early. In fact, these conversations were precipitated by the fact that more than a handful of my students already have internships.

One of the things that struck me about these conversations was how much waffling my students do. They are an uncertain lot, and every time a decision needs to be made they feel the need to unpack and deconstruct it. Normally this is a behavioral quirk I love. I once spent three hours with one group’s executive board as they debated their constitution. The question at play was how broad and expansive to be in their description of the target population and in their goals regarding working towards justice and equality. (I know I’m being vague, but this is supposed to be an anonymous blog. Stay with me here). It was-by far- one of the most professional rewarding conversations I’ve had post grad school.

Of course, I don’t find this behavior surprising. College students should be uncertain. They should be exploring and questioning (especially my students). I remember this behavior in myself at the same age, although given my ENTJ nature it resulted in me applying for every internship that interested me. Rather than weighing my options and proceeding cautiously as my students are doing. The things that I find remarkable is that much of this uncertainty I no longer feel.

When did that happen? I’ve always had five year plans, but my five year plans are notorious (at least in my own mind) for being open source: subject to much revision and recycling. Now, though, I know not only where I’ll be for the next year (here for those readers waiting in suspense), but where I could potentially be for the next few years. I was speaking with a volunteer coordinator at an organization I’ve been working with in my spare time. We were chatting, and she asked if I was new to town. I started to say yes, but then admitted that in fact I had lived here for eight months. Not exactly new although to someone like her who has lived here for 40+ years I certainly seemed like a newbie.

I find myself intentionally trying to set down roots here. In addition to looking for a new apartment I’ve been exploring places of worship and chances to get involved with young professionals outside of work. I know I won’t be here forever. A better job or a Phd program will eventually take me away so its not as if I’m living an ambiguity free life. But I do feel somewhat more certain about some major life decisions, and that’s a nice place to be.

In Medias Res #21- The Other Side

So I will be interviewing candidates at ACPA. Exciting right? The job is up and in the placement system so we should be getting applicants any day now. I work at a sufficiently large school that HR has to screen everyone first, but they promised us resumes to start looking at on Monday. I am the point person for scheduling interviews, communicating with candidates, and decorating our table. (For those of you who have not been to placement before apparently you must decorate your table. Although I attended NASPA/ACPA last year, and went through placement I didn’t remember this. I initially balked when the committee chair suggested as much. In retrospect though, I can’t think of a school that didn’t have a banner or something).
This morning a colleague and I sat down to start brainstorming interview questions. We will be doing all the first round interviews and making recommendations for second rounds. When we first sat down we had seven different questionnaires from recent searches. We cherry picked what seemed like the best questions as well as those that seemed especially relevant to the positions. This afternoon I’m putting together a screening form for resumes. This might be overkill-who knows how many applicants we will actually receive? That said, I’m really enjoying the process.
There is something thrilling about being on the other side of the table. Last year, I felt compelled to always be on my best behavior. While I have no intention of representing my institution (which I love) through boorish behavior, I do think I won’t need to make sure I take as much care ensuring every hair is in place, every pore …uh..depored?
What I’m really most excited about though is the chance to have a significant influence in who my next colleague will be. I am generally fond of my coworkers, but I have very clear ideas about who I want in this position. I also feel like I have meshed well enough with the culture that the powers that be feel comfortable with my judgment. Since some of you may be out there in reader land doing the job search thing, I will give you some insight into what I’m looking for in a candidate.
I would like:
Someone intelligent (who can communicate their ideas clearly and who has ideas. Lots of them).
Someone excited about our specific institution.
Someone with broad interests. The position isn’t a generalist position, but you won’t be successful here if you view your work as a fiefdom.
I am taking students to a conference next weekend, which means I will probably be doing a lot of this screening on the road. Which reminds me, I need to book a van, find out about insuring student drivers, collect student contact information..this new hire can’t come soon enough!

In Medias Res #20- Sushi Triumphant!

I made Sushi! Ok, first of all, I know this is late. But I’ve been sick, just like everyone else. Aren’t your students sick? Or are you reading this on your laptop in the University of the Bahamas? If so, I hate you dear reader. I hate you.

But back to the story: I made sushi! Now, I lead a cosmopolitan anonymous homosexual blogger lifestyle so I have made sushi before. In fact, this was one of the few successful programs I actually hosted as an RA. That’s a tip for you undergraduate readers in Res Life staffs: everyone loves a sushi rolling party.

No, what excites me so very much is that I made sushi at home. I made sushi rice at home. I made my own aioli (fancy pants mayonnaise), and I cut my own salmon and shrimp. To you this might not sound like much, but I’ve been trying to perfect at home sushi for quite some time now. And now..I have.

In general my culinary adventures this semester have been much more successful than they were during the job search. Of course, now I have more time, energy, and focus. My mind doesn’t drift in a million different directions. Instead, I can keep my attention on that damn egg and whether it is congealing or not.

I am ready for Spring dear reader. I’m ready for fresher vegetables and fruits that don’t look sad. I am ready to spend time outside of my apartment without thermal underwear. Perfecting at home sushi is only a minor solace in the face of no sunshine.

My students are getting equally stir crazy. I’ve been (in my absence) through two peer educator trainings, countless workshops, planning meetings, exec board meetings, and bullshit sessions. This is in addition to all the stuff I’m actually expected to do at work. In particular I’ve been having a bit of a cold war with one of my student leaders who demands that their exec board meetings be at 10pm on Mondays. I refuse to come back that late (boundaries people), and they really can’t get much accomplished with me so I expect that meeting will be moving to a more reasonable time. Of course, if that’s the case I’ll have to actually start attending it.
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On a completely unrelated note I just got my own for real grown up Primary Care Physician. I went in for a check up, and I suddenly realized, “Crap! I’m an adult with health insurance and I don’t have a primary care physician. How will I get in network referrals? How can I take advantage of preventative medicine? What if I get a really really bad head cold?” That, of course, is taken care of now. So I just need to find a dentist.

Res. Life and the City #14- Professional Soulmates

Carrie: I'd like to think that people have more than one soul mate.
Samantha: I agree! I've had hundreds.
Carrie: Yeah! And you know what, if you miss one, along comes another one. Like cabs.


Hello again dear readers. If any of you have stayed with me since the very beginning of the blog, which was about a year ago when I started the job search, then you know that I have the tendency to completely freak out. I also have the tendency to blog while in the midst of one of my aforementioned freak outs and have much more clarity after I take a few days to process. This happened when I got together my resume and cover letter, while I was phone interviewing, right before I left for the conference, a major attack hit while I was at on-campus visits, and of course I freaked out up until the point that I was getting job offers.

Therefore, it should come to no surprise that my previous entry was slightly freak-tastic. However, I have calmed down a lot and now realize that although my supervisor has left and she was fantastic, I think I will be able to survive and thrive without her guidance. Obviously, I've been given a new supervisor which comes with both negative and positive changes in my life. The main change is that we have also restructured our department so I'm not the only one going through transition. This is nice because I have colleagues who are going through the same thing; however, it also means that the majority of our HDs are somewhat off-balance so there isn't a ton of stability in our department. I know that as soon as the dust settles, we will be up and running at 100 percent, but it is hard to deal with so many changes when they happen smack-dab in the middle of the year. I think our profession relies so much on the traditional calendar that changes in the middle of the year can often be ever so much more jarring than transitions that happen during the summer months.

While I am excited to be paired with my new supervisor (she is equally amazing, but in different ways) it has created a somewhat awkward situation. The awkward factor comes in because she has been someone that I have developed a true friendship with throughout the past six months. Our department is very intentional about creating a "flat" organizational structure, so it isn't out of the ordinary for the HDs to become good friends with the mid-level managers. Since they live on campus as well, it becomes quite easy to stop over for dinner, watch favorite TV shows, or go out to dinner together. This has been the case for me. Since she was not my immediate supervisor, I have let my guard down while in social settings.

I realize that I may just be paranoid, but I suddenly don't know if it's okay or even professional to crack a dirty joke or make a not-so-professional comment while around her during both work and non-work times. We had our first one-on-one two days ago and it felt like a job interview! She was explaining her work style and then asked me to describe what I needed from a supervisor and I seriously felt like we were in a play or movie. It just didn't feel right to be so formal and not be able to roll our eyes at each other or make a snarky comment here and there. However, right after our one-on-one, we went out to dinner together and it was back to the way things used to be. I'm not sure how much of this awkwardness is coming from my side or hers, but it is just weird. I know that the professional, mature thing to do is to talk with her about it, but as we all know, I need to freak out first, get some perspective, then move forward. However, I still have hope that she can be my professional soul mate the way my last supervisor was. There's no rule that says we can only have one soul mate, right?

In Medias Res #19- Hitting My Stride

When I first started my position I will admit I felt somewhat incompetent. Had grad school given me enough content knowledge to reasonably do my job? Yes. Had my grad assistantship provided me with enough professional experience to be able to operate effectively in my new work environment? Of course. Nonetheless I felt meager and uninformed when I first got here. My professional orientation did quite a bit to mitigate this. I started to learn the campus, build relationships, and situate my work in the context of the institution.
There were plenty of times when I felt like an imposter though. Sitting in my first crisis management meeting, discussing a student who I had worked with intensively up until that point, I felt like a moron for not seeing the signs of depression that the student had been exhibiting in egregious ways. My first major student program was for all intents and purposes a wash. The activities were poorly facilitated. The time was poorly managed. No one was really satisfied that any of the identified goals have been achieved.
Now all of this happened early on in my time here. As I got to know the campus, my colleagues, and my students better I learned what I need to focus on and what will take care of itself. My programs now-while by no means perfect- are better administrated, and I regularly receive positive feedback. My students are operating as organizations and as individual peer educators with remarkable efficiency. I am so proud of them, lately. I find myself gushing.
In my own work, specifically in the institutional change work I have been tasked with, I feel competent enough to be able to navigate the waters of bureaucracy to effect real change. In the last month three major organizational outcomes that I have been working on came to fruition in such radically positive ways I was blown away. I still struggle. I still feel the pang of incompetence. But, dear reader, I think I’m hitting my stride.
Yesterday was probably the best day that I’ve had at work since I’ve started. Two major institutional policy changes that I’ve been working on since I got here, and expected to be working on for the next few years, came up for review. And lo and behold, my recommendations were accepted. So now I need to find something new to work on.
My supervisor and I were discussing this morning our recent success, and he suggested he believes it is a byproduct of my ability to navigate the campus culture. Our conversation meandered to another new colleague (we actually started the same day) who has not found any sort of institutional fit. Others have been bubbling over about how this individual should maybe start looking at other opportunities. This is after less than a year!
When I interviewed they told me that the organizational culture was strong. This has its plusses and minuses. Obviously, for someone like me where the culture is a snug fit, I hit my stride a little bit sooner. It seems too like people who fit tend to stay here longer, sometimes for their whole careers working their way up. For others though, especially those who are resistant to the culture, I get the impression we chew them up and spit them out quickly.
For me, I’d rather be at a place where there’s a strong culture that I feel comfortable in. I’m sure to a certain extant it quells dissent, but I’m a strong personality. I’d probably get into quite a bit more conflict otherwise.

Res. Life and the City #13- Transitionally Challenged

After all, seasons change. So do cities. People come into your life and people go. But it's comforting to know the ones you love are always in your heart. And if you're very lucky, a plane ride away. ~Carrie Bradshaw


First, I apologize for the prolonged absence. There's been a lot of stuff going on with my job and not all good. Second, I realize that I have used the preceding quote before, but it's really the only one that gets at the heart of this post so you may just have to deal with the repetition. I apologize wholeheartedly to the blog purists out there.

So the major issue that I have been dealing with for the past two weeks is a doozey. One of those "I don't know if I can handle this" bombshell type of things. What could possibly be so jarring to my personal and professional self? My supervisor is leaving. The person who recruited me from January through May of last year. The person that I have a professional crush on and have tried to emulate her sensibilities and purpose. The person that has made me grow more a professional and person in six months than all of my other supervisors throughout my life. The person who made this University not just a job, but also a home is leaving.

Now I realize that I am probably blowing this totally out of proposition, but it came as such a shock to me that I think I am still processing it. She pulled a colleague and I over after a meeting last week and said that she needed to talk to us about something. I thought that I had forgotten to turn in some paperwork or something else to that effect. Wrong. She told us that she had been sought out and heavily recruited to take a position at a similar institution that is about two hours away from our current one. She said that it was basically her dream position with a lot more responsibility. She will basically be in charge of an entire Res. Life department and since she doesn't want to get her Ph.D., she knew that she will only be able to move up in the field if she takes jobs with increasingly complex levels of responsibility. She said that she was not actively job searching and actually refused the offer at first, but the school was so set on getting her to come and be a part of major changes in their Division, they came back and re-offered the position. She was really flattered and thought that although she loves this place, she knew that this type of opportunity wouldn't come up again any time soon and she knew that she had to go for it.

What did I hear from all of this? I didn't hear that she was basically fulfilling one of her major professional goals or taking a big step up the ladder. I didn't hear that she was moving back to a city that she had previously worked in and completely loved. I didn't hear that she was going to reconnect with a lot of old friends. I didn't hear that she was on her way to being in love with this institution with the same passion and furor that I saw in her during the recruitment process. All I heard was that she was leaving and my professional world was crumbling around me.

This was so out of the blue that my first response was a selfish one. I managed to sputter out "Congratulations! This is so great for you!" but all I could think was "What the hell is going to happen to me?" I have never really had abandonment issues before, but in one flash of fear and worry, I think I have a better understanding of what people have told me about before. To add to the craziness, my supervisor told me that she wanted to make a clean break and not get too far into the semester so she would be finishing out this month and then heading off to her new position. Also, during our two subsequent one-on-ones, she has been unable to tell me where the department is heading and whether we will be restructuring or if her position will be filled with someone new.

Our one-on-ones have also been filled with lots of tears on both sides of the table. Granted, I don't discriminate when it comes to crying in front of people, but we have been having conversations about how she would never leave this school for any other position. She has continuously said that she only hopes that I have learned a fraction of what she has learned from me. She said that she was so excited about my candidacy during the recruitment process and had big plans for me with the learning community in my building. She was also very clear that just because she was at another school, that it didn't mean that I still couldn't process with her and visit every now and then. While I know that a lot of this was probably an attempt to quell my tears and eventually heaving, it was nice to know that the relationship hasn't been one-sided.

In closing, I don't know what will happen to me. I know that this institution is very committed to the growth and support of new professionals so I know I won't get lost in the shuffle, but it still an uncertain time. I will probably know more tomorrow after our staff meeting, but there is a part of me that feels like a foster child who is getting shuffled to another set of parents until my full-time family can be put in place. This whole experience has yet again reminded me that change can be my best friend, but the transition time to get to the point of cemented change does not agree with my professional sensibilities.

In medias res #18- I'm not there more than I am

Phew! This one is two weeks late, dear reader. But its crunch time, and something had to give. I apologize for leaving you out in the cold like a puppy with an inconsiderate owner. If only you would stop shitting on the carpet.
One of my favorite classes in graduate school was about campus environments. I was (and remain) particularly fascinated by the interplay between socially constructed and physical environments. On my campus the physical environment is constantly in flux. We’re rehabbing buildings, tearing old ones down, and throwing new ones up. As space shifts what our students do in that space also changes. At the moment we’re lacking in premier large scale event space, and so my students are envisioning programming that is smaller and more intimate.
I am particularly struck by this affect-at the moment- because my personal space is influx as well. I got back from the holidays, and went straight off to a weekend retreat with my students. Since then every evening I’ve had a program, and my desire/willingness to put away my clean laundry and put together a new piece of furniture have been minimal. As such my apartment looks like a disaster zone.
Normally this would piss me off for about the first five minutes, and then I would come in turn on American Idol and ignore it. I am generally a pretty fastidiously neat person, and although my apartment’s disorganized it is not really messy or dirty. I’m taking exception at the moment because yesterday a friend asked if he could stay with me this weekend. Of course, I’m happy to have a visitor, but not when my apartment looks like a war zone. So I’m heading out early to clean.
I mention all this so you get a sense of how much order matters to me. Of course, I could of simply said: dear reader, order matters to me. But it wouldn’t of had the same impact, would it? No, no it wouldn’t.
So order matters to me. Some of my students are rehabbing an older lounge on campus for use by their student group. Of all the things I’ve been called on to do this year, this one task has been the most frustrating. In large part it is because of the disorganization. They’ve moved furniture into the hallway while they paint. They store their paint supplies all over the place, and they have ruined many a brush by forgetting (refusing?) to wash it.
My school is definitely a town and gown institution. When I tell people where I work that bit of animosity about the wealth and privilege of our students bubbles up. People love to recount horror stories about our students making some grave error or generally acting like brats. While this is so very far from the case with most of our students, like any campus we have a collection of bad seeds.
That said, I hadn’t really noticed how sheltered our students are until they ruined all the paint brushes. This might be an odd moment for critical reflection or revelation, but in reality it brought a couple of different things into focus for me. In large part I think I attributed much of this behavior initially to age. One of the strange byproducts of working at a competitive private is the reality that almost all our students are in the 18-23 range. So it becomes easier to dismiss anti-social behavior as a result of age.
This too shall pass. They will finish painting, the new furniture will arrive, and all will be well in the world. I will have a new satellite office to work out of with lots more student contact, and hopefully I can teach them to respect the space a little bit more. If not, I will aggressively intervene the best way I know how: throw out anything and everything not nailed down.

Res. Life and the City #12: Facilitated Friendships

Carrie: Hey, I don't need therapy. I need new friends!
Samantha: Look, we're as messed up as you are. It's like the blind leading the blind.


Well, I'm back to it. Our buildings opened last weekend and I have just finished my first week of the Spring semester. It's nice to know that I have survived the fall, but similiarly to In Media Res' post, Spring semester is a totally different monster. I was advised by my supervisor to request committees and assignments that are Fall semester-loaded since I was immediately put on the professional selection committee which has all of their work in the Spring. Somehow, the committees I was placed on were "in theory" doing most of their work in the Fall, but due to certain circumstances and a general lack of leadership, all of the projects just got shoved into the Spring semester. What does this mean? Well, I think this semester will be a true test of my worth.

I remember going through the selection process last year and as exhausting as it was from the candidate side, I can only imagine how difficult it will be to be on the other end. The volume of candidate's resumes to review, reference calls to make, and telephone interviews to conduct are all staggering to me. I can only hope that my RAs are must more self-sufficient this semester. I think, correction: hope I have taught them well, but you never really know until you let them try and do everything themselves. To say the least, it should be interesting.

This anticipated marathon of stress brings me to my next topic: professional friendships. It was recently brought to my attention that I am in a "clique" and therefore put out an air of exclusivity in terms of my collegues. While we all know that Res. Life is must more relationship-focused than other functional areas, it really made me start thinking about what, if any, obligation live-in staff members have to be "friends" with their co-workers. Obviously, there are going to be people that you connect with more than others, but does this mean that you must always make a conscious effort to reach out to others who aren't in your self-selected group of friends who are also your collegues?

I'm really struggling with this idea. There is a part of me that says my friends are my personal life and therefore I have no obligation to do any of this reaching out nonsense. If I don't particularly like someone and don't click with them on a personal level, I don't think I should force a relationship. On the other hand, is this hypocritical for me to say given what I try to teach my students and staff members about making sure those in their community are not marginalized? Also, it is silly for me to think that my personal friendships will not bleed over into my professional interactions. Obviously, if you know a collegue on a personal level, it makes it easier to ask them for favors, ask them to join you with projects or presentations, or just call to vent about job-realted issues. Is this appropriate or does this put other professional realtionships into jeopardy when the same personal connection has not been made? The cynic in me just wants to tell people "I don't have to be friends with you. I just have to work with you," but is this statement even possible for those of us with live-in jobs? We all visit the same eateries (on campus), go to the same events (on-campus of course), and share the same professional experiences (within our halls).

What do you think?

In Medias Res #17-When you hear the gun start running

No dear reader, my office has not descended into an Old West style shoot out. Rather I am preparing for the oncoming marathon that is Spring semester. Is there anyone in Student Affairs who disagrees with this maxim: “Spring is hell”? I always manage to forget this in the fall. Largely because the fall is its own kind of busy: new student orientation, convocation (at some schools), Parent’s Weekend, fall break, Thanksgiving, Club Fair and on and on. Admittedly the Fall is busy. Fall goes in fits and starts. A flurry of activity occurs, and then things calm down for a while as our students get themselves sorted academically and socially. My office isn't quiet, but there are certainly times when it is not bustling. Spring is a sustained marathon of events. Students seem to be more or less comfortable on the whole and suddenly there are four times as many programs in a given week as the fall (and things were not shabby in the fall). Students put on festivals, symposiums, and theme months. It is almost enough to simply sit back and watch in awe. Unfortunately sitting back in awe is not what I am paid for.

Case in point (here’s some math for the quantitative among you):

Fall semester programs my students had planned BEFORE the start of the semester: 0
Fall semester programs my students completed: 11
# of meetings my students had planned BEFORE the start of Fall semester: 1
# of meetings my students held during Fall semester: 36
# of new peer educators trained during Fall semester: 0

Spring semester programs my students have planned BEFORE the start of the semester: 5
Spring semester programs my students traditionally hold: 27 (and counting)
# of meetings my students have planned before the start of the semester: 3
# of new peer educators to be trained in January: 22

Let’s hope that their planning is not exponential. My calendar is already a mess. I’ve cancelled plans to attend one conference in February because there was no way I could swing it (and maintain a modicum of sanity). Despite the oncoming deluge I am definitely looking forward to the spring. The programming is much bigger, and I can only imagine the impact some of my students’ creativity will have on the campus. I feel more confident in my job, and my ability to execute. More importantly I’m finally starting to get the hang of the advisor role. I’ve done it before, but I don’t think I’ve ever done it well. Towards the second half of the fall I felt myself developing a clearer philosophy on advising, and putting those principles to good use.

Most exciting, especially for those long term blog readers: I think I might get to run a candidate search! That’s right, In Medias Res may soon be on the other side of the table at ACPA.