What’s It Like Working Here, So Far?

I warn you, this is a long one… It captures my feelings and impressions to date over the past two plus weeks (two more to go… we do love to train in res life!)

Especially within the Residence Life department, I am finding some remarkable similarities to SMU. The philosophy and the atmosphere has a very similar feel to RLSH, just about twice as big. Which makes sense as they are anticipating housing about 7100 students in 21 residential communities this year. We kicked off the first day with ice breakers and a lunch time potluck (that definitely felt like SMU!) and then we toured the office in groups to meet everyone and get a business card with a brief list of their responsibilities on the back (great idea!).

Within the Hall Leadership team (of which I am a part), I work with a very diverse group of people, and I am not the oldest one! There are married and not married; some with kids, some without; some are full-time and some are grads. Some, like me, have been here for 2 weeks and some have been here for over 20 years! They come from all over, so it is fun to learn about their backgrounds and stories.

Here are some interesting stories that have stood out to me so far. One is an African American woman who I am guessing has to be at least in her early 50’s and is the RHD for one of the family housing locations. I look forward to learning more of her story and how long she has been in residence life and what keeps her in this role that we tend to look at as a “starter position.” Another co-worker lived on a Navajo reservation for part of his life. In general, we have a rather large Native American population, and I am excited to learn more about this culture. Another co-worker is in a wheel chair, but is more physically active than me! She plays competitive ice hockey, is trying out for the Paralympics and has completed several half marathons! Having dealt with physical limitations for over a year after our car accident and knowing how much it affected me both physically and mentally, I have a greater awareness and appreciation for those who do not accept that they have limitations and find ways to move beyond what most assume they are capable of. Another just returned from spending 5 years working at a Christian college in Uganda, Africa, and has the sweetest little 14 month old. And that is just the tip of the iceberg, but those are the ones who stand out to me as I am writing.

It is interesting working with graduate hall directors, assistant hall directors, full hall directors, and specialty grads like myself. There is a variety of interests, backgrounds, and experience levels. Training has been both the same and different from what I experienced at SMU. In many ways there are many similarities and consistencies in practices and policies that I am used to already. For me, it is neat to see how universal so much of what we do can be and reaffirms that we truly are a profession that should be respected and recognized. It is a little weird hearing some of the same things come out of the mouths of completely new people! Training is also a little weird because I am required to attend all of it, but I would say over half has no direct application to my responsibilities. In fact, I don’t even have to attend all of RA training. It is weird to hear everyone else talking about the stresses and work of prepping for RA training and opening their building… and I don’t have any of that… not that I am complaining!

I won’t lie I have had my ups and downs with the training experience. It is so hard sometimes to sit through a 2 or 3 hour training session that has no application to my work responsibilities. Now, of course, I recognize the importance of knowing how things operate in the department. There will be those rare, all hands on deck instances where it may be crucial for me to step in and help. Even without being a Hall Director, I may encounter a student in crisis and need to refer appropriately. (These are all things I tell myself when I feel really grumpy) But it is just hard some days. Our supervisor has been making some adjustments recently and releasing us from some training sessions, which is nice because then we can focus on preparing for our CM (Community Mentor) training and setting our processes into place and getting a handle on what we will really be doing. I work hard to remain positive or find something to be optimistic about, but whew, that is hard work too! During discussions, I also sometimes find myself in the weird position of having suggestions and ideas to contribute (which are welcomed) from my previous professional experience, but feeling self-conscious and awkward and wondering if people are going to see me as a “know it all” grad who should just let the “experienced” full-time people share their wisdom? I want to be a team player and be a resource for my peers, but I still find myself holding back sometimes as I figure out my place in this group.

There are four of us specialty grads that are lumped together into an area of sorts, and right now they are my favs to spend time with. All my co-workers are great, but they are the ones that I have connected with the most. J. is in the Sustainable Communities program with me which is awesome. She is like a fusion of several friends I know from Louisville, very laid back, and what I would call “an old soul.” A. works directly with me and he is such a sweet and kind person. I think we will balance each other out well and will hopefully be able to share an office without killing each other over the next two years. He has also worked as a full-time RD, so in some ways we are on the same level with regards to knowledge and experience. He is here to pursue is Master’s in Student Affairs and Counseling. V. is one of those exuberant, larger than life people that always says what’s on her mind and enjoys being the center of attention. She is also very fun and I can tell will be a loyal friend. She is an Aggie and a Texan and proudly wears her ring and an A&M pendant (as well as lets out a whoop every now and then). Both V and J are twins, which I find interesting and love to talk to them about their experiences as twins.

Stay tuned for an upcoming post where I get all geeky and talk mission, values, guiding principles, etc J