Day 3: Self Identity

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Before deciding to have a career in student affairs I feel I struggled with self-identity. I never really explored deeper into myself and what I really was representing. I remember when I was applying for the NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program (NUFP) one of the questions they asked was:

How have your historically disenfranchised identities affected your undergraduate career? Are there ways these identities have affected your decision to possibly pursue a career in student affairs or higher education?

On one of my first drafts I don’t even think I mentioned being African American. Or if I did, it wasn’t to the extent that I really could have expressed that piece of my identity. The NUFP program coordinator at the time went over the first draft with me and really challenged me to think of more than what I originally wrote. The final product was:

“I identify as an African American young woman. Women in general are not thought to have many administrative roles, let alone an African American woman. There are very few faces I see similar to mine on my college campus in Student Affairs areas. My identity has affected my decision to pursue a career in Student Affairs because it makes me want to aim as high as I can and see no limits. I do not believe there are any limits to what any one person can accomplish no matter who they are. Society may see African Americans as not getting very far in the business world. I do not want that to bring me down or stop me from what my goals are. When I reach my goal of becoming a Student Affairs professional, I want to serve as a resource to the students who I identify with. They can aspire to be where I will be and I can lead them there. As far as it affecting my undergraduate career now, it has not in a negative way. At SUNY Old Westbury, I have encountered so many different backgrounds; it is not like anyone is really alone.”

Reflecting back on what I wrote over 2 years ago, I still believe those words are true to me. I am fortunate to have been accepted to the NUFP program which truly is what led me to explore my self-identity as well as the identities of others around me. Without the program and being introduced to so many diverse individuals I don’t think I would be as comfortable as I am with self-identity. I believe that Student Affairs professionals are a lot more vulnerable in our work environment compared to other professions. We really are in tune with our self-identity (or try to be) because we have realized that knowing yourself helps you to help your students. We also are always “discovering” ourselves and it is a never ending process. We are always growing as we help our students grow. I think this is something I have learned to love the most about this field. We are always changing and no day will be the same as the day before.

Day 2: Time Management

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Time management is a topic frequently talked about and rarely perfected. Everybody is always on the go as a result of jam packed schedules filled with work, school and your personal life. Even when you use planners, calendars, reminders, etc. something unexpected always comes up. I can admit managing my time can sometimes become a struggle for me, especially in the summer. In the summer I feel like I have so much free time and I keep pushing things I could be doing back. In the upcoming year as a SA grad I want to work on managing my time better. I’ll be balancing my time between school, work, going to the gym, preparing for the job search and having a social life/time to myself.

There are 24 hours in a day and it never seems like enough to accomplish everything you want to. Throughout the school year I utilize my calendar and try to write everything down (the writing everything down part doesn’t always work in my favor). I think what screws up my time management the worst are the unexpected things in life that pop up. This is when priorities and saying no (politely of course) comes in. Some nights I will pre plan the following day the best I can around what I have to do for work and if I have class. I’ve tried to schedule when to go to sleep, and it worked out for a little while. Including sleep in my schedule will be a priority for me this upcoming year. I will also try not to take naps during the day to hopefully make me more tired, but let me tell you this SA grad loves her naps!

Some basic suggestions I have for you to help manage your time are:

1. Find a method that works for you

Some people like visual planners, some people like digital calendars, some people like to-do lists. Try methods out until you find something that you feel efficiently works for you.

2. Don’t sweat the small stuff

If you don’t get things done it is okay. Everything can’t be accomplished in a day, but you can make sure you make the most out of your time to feel accomplished.

3. Include time to yourself and breaks

You cannot work tirelessly to cross off all things on your list. Schedule time to go to the gym, read, watch TV, or anything else each day that makes you feel happy and reenergized.

4. Prioritize

A phone call with your best friend today or homework that’s due in two days that you haven’t started? I think homework is priority, and your friend should understand. If there are deadlines for a project, start with what’s due sooner. A huge project/paper can’t be pushed back until a few days before (even though I’m extremely guilty of this). Time can be scheduled earlier to begin large projects so that when the deadline quickly creeps up on you, you aren’t stressed.

 

I hope you find my time management tips useful to you. I also encourage you to check out my fellow SA Grad’s blog post on time management:

http://tmaine2015.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/day-2-time-management-2/

As well as two articles from The Entrepreneur on time management and having a more productive day:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219553 http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/198984

 

Day 1: Initiative Development

*Please have patience with me as I get caught up with the first couple of days of this 31 day blog challenge*

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The first topic of the 31 day blog challenge is Initiative Development. To me initiative means you are starting something and taking the lead on making it happen. Stepping up to the plate or introducing a new and creative idea is not easy for everyone. In the work place initiative is very important. If you have a group of people where no one is willing to take initiative you will not get very far. If you have a group full of people all trying to take initiative, this could become an unhealthy competition in the work place.

I see myself as a leader and I am confident in taking initiative. I will say that within the past year my initiatives personally and within the workplace were stagnant (at least in my opinion). At one point I was also told that I needed to take more initiative. Reflecting back now, I felt that I was in an environment that gave little opportunity to take initiative if you had not already “proved” yourself worthy of being trusted with something.

This then lead me to think how I could show initiative in an environment that seemed to have minimal opportunities to do so and below is what I have made more efforts to do:

1. Talk to people outside of my environment to gain their perspective.
I found it very helpful to talk to my fellow SA grads and some professionals in the field. They gave me honest feedback about how I should handle situations moving forward. Also having an outside perspective they asked questions and challenged me to think beyond my frustrations I may have been having at that current time.

2. Think 5 steps ahead if possible.
When you’re new to a position you don’t know exactly how everything works yet and that’s fine. After a while you’ll be expected to catch on. To do this you must ask questions. Ex: For housing folks, if it’s early November and you’ve heard nothing about December closing yet and it has crossed your mind, then ask. Don’t wait until someone else mentions it or it’s finally brought up in a meeting. Asking questions shows that you are thinking and not just going with the flow.

3. Continue finding motivation within myself.
If you cannot motivate yourself, then who else will truly motivate you? You cannot always look for other people to motivate you so it must come from within yourself first. In hard times I think, “A month from now will this matter…A year from now?” If the answer is no, I let it go.

4. Stay positive.
“Tough times don’t last, tough people do.” Lucky me to have positivity as one of my top 5 strengths. In any hard situation I am always searching for the positive and focusing on that. My mind doesn’t allow me to harbor negative thoughts for very long.

Lastly, I searched “Initiative” on the archives of The Student Affairs Collective. I found a SA Chat from August 2010 where participants were talking about initiatives they were implementing within their positions. The questions I took away from it and challenge you to answer for yourself are:

What initiatives do I have for myself? (personal and/or professional)
How will I ensure I successfully implement them?
What may be some challenges/obstacles I face while implementing them?
How can I educate others on initiative?

I hope you enjoyed Day 1 of the 31 day challenge and look forward to my future posts! I suggest you check out my fellow SA grad’s blog who is also participating in the challenge: http://tmaine2015.wordpress.com/

Time Freeze

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It’s July already! Time is moving incredibly too quickly. I’ve completed a month at my internship and only have 30 days remaining. I’m sad to think about leaving because I’m having such a great experience. At the same time I am slightly excited to start the 2^nd year of grad school and continue preparing for the job search. I’m sure when it actually is happening I won’t feel the same.

Reflecting on the past month, I don’t even know where the time went. I feel I’ve learned so much and met so many wonderful people. I’ve participated in many SA and SL chats on Twitter, SA socials and visiting numerous campuses in the NYC area. All of the conversations and interactions I’ve had with fellow interns and professionals have been energizing me to continue thinking about my future. (One of my top five strengths is Futuristic, so I am almost always thinking towards the future) I’ve been thinking a lot about what I will be looking for in my first professional experience. As great as picking up and moving to the opposite coast may sound to some people, it’s not very realistic for me right now. My focus this summer has been to really dig deep and figure out what I want and what I need to do from now until then to get there.

The past month I have also engaged in a lot of self-care. I think I tend to do pretty well with this usually, but I’ve fully been taking advantage of my summer. I’ve been doing a lot more reading, researching, journaling, going to the gym, relaxing and other things that make me feel calm. Deciding to start this blog was another step in my self-care. I wanted to find activities that I could channel my energy to and feel productive about it. So far, it’s going well.

Lastly, to expand my blogging and improve on my writing I am challenging myself to a 31 Day Society Development Blog Challenge. I saw my friend post about it and I figured why not. Each day you post a blog about the pre-selected topic with your opinions. You can relate it to your career, personal experiences, and include how someone can improve in that area. Below is a list of the topics if you’d like to try it out yourself.

31 Day Blog Challenge:

1. Initiative Development

2. Time Management

3. Self-Identity

4. Getting to Know Yourself

5. Goal Setting

6. Community Engagement

7. Diversity Development

8. Partnership

9. Followership

10. Leadership

11. Why a Resume

12. Important Resume Requirements

13. Things to Take Off a Resume

14. Why Social Media

15. Why LinkedIn

16. The Theory of Exceptional Professional Development

17. What Level of Education is Needed

18. Short-Term Plan

19. Long-Term Plan

20. The Importance of Physical Conditioning

21. Proper Nutrition

22. Finding Your Passion

23. Paying it Forward

24. The Importance of Rest

25. The Importance of Hobbies

26. The Balance of Fun

27. Importance of Saving Money

28. Importance of Saving Money Long-Term

29. Treating Yourself

30. The Factors of Traveling

31. Take a Vacation

Onboarding

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Every third Wednesday of the month the NASPA Women in Student Affairs Knowledge Community hosts a #WISAchat (twitter handle @WISA_KC). The first chat I participated in was a discussion about “onboarding”. I thought I was unfamiliar with this, but I just had never heard it called by its “formal” name. Onboarding is the process of preparing incoming staff members of all levels to get on board with the department, institution, surrounding community and overall assisting them to have a successful transition into their new environment. The chat led me to reflect on how I have been welcomed into new positions and whether or not it set the tone for the rest of the year. For the most part I have never been welcomed in a negative way. Could some things have been improved? Yes, but nothing was ever horrible or unbearable. I also feel that the excitement of transitioning to somewhere new blurred anything that was bad out of my view. It wasn’t until this chat that I really thought back on how I’ve been welcomed. One thing I took away from the chat was the importance of consistency throughout the year. The first month cannot be all sunshine and rainbows, then the next you are dropped flat on your face. Being new and transitioning is at least a year long process. When hiring, employers need to realize this as much as the employee. You may hire an all-star candidate, but NO ONE is born prepared to jump right into a position. It takes time, patience, understanding and most importantly onboarding.

Onboarding is not completely on the employer. The employee must vocalize what he/she needs to feel comfortable. For me, I know if I do not feel comfortable I will not say much at all and this is when my adaptability kicks in as a negative. I will sit back and go with the flow of my environment when it may not be truly making me happy.

I truly enjoyed my first time participating in the WISA chat and plan to participate in the future. It is always great to connect with so many like-minded people around the world for that one hour time frame to share our thoughts and ideas. It makes me feel like I am not alone. When I am doubting myself, I reflect on the chats and how much of a support system I really have.

The questions that I leave you with are:

How have you been welcomed to a new work environment?

What has been your role in welcoming new staff members?

Will you do anything to change your future onboarding experiences?

Young, Wild & Free

Hey there! I’m just a twenty-something year old millennial trying to make it in this world like everyone else. I have a passion for Student Affairs and in August will be starting my second and final year of my Master’s program at Hofstra University (scary and exciting all at the same time). Currently, I am interning in NYC at Pace University and absolutely loving every minute of it. The thought of creating a blog has always been on my mind, but I never had the courage to actually start it.  I would think that the experiences and opinions I had wouldn’t matter to anyone else. I was proven wrong through the encouragement of my friends, professionals and colleagues. Because of them, here my blog is! I hope you enjoy the insight and opinions I have to offer based off of my experiences as a student, student leader, future SA professional, and a human just trying to figure out this thing called life.