If you care to find me...look to the western skies

"I don't know if I've been changed for the better, but because I knew you I've been changed for good." ~Gahlinda & Elphaba













Today ends the biggest adventure of my life (so far). Spending 3 months interning at the University of California Berkeley has unequivocally been the best risk I could have ever taken. I have learned so much about my job, my profession, and myself. Night before last, a few of us went to see the new Julia Roberts move, "Eat, Pray, Love." I couldn't help but identify with the main character, as she struggles to find herself int he monotony of her everyday life. Sure she was successful, had great people in her life, and had a secure home...but somehow in her complacency she lost herself. That's kind of how I felt before coming to California. I tended to play things safe, I've been pretty successful in my life so far, and I have some of the best friends and family anyone could ask for...but, despite all of this I somehow lost part of the identify I worked so hard to find in college. However, instead of taking a pilgramege to Italy, India, and Bali, (as in Eat, Pray, Love), I just flew across the country to find myslef. Along the way, I met some of the most amazing people who challenged me and supported me throughout my entire adventure. Steven, Hannah, Micah, Julie, Shannon, David, Peter, Isaac, Jay, Suzanne, Chandni, Eunice, Cindy, Jenny, Matt, Danielle, Erica, Taylor, Mike, Nick, NG, Sonam, Pena, Janna, Michelle, Yoo Mi, Dan, Kristin, Anjna, John, Rick, Maria, Mandy, and Angela...words cannot express the impact you have had on me and will continue to have on me in the future. You have no idea how much I will miss y'all. As my opening quote says, "I don't know if I've been changed for the better, but because of you I have been changed for good."








"So, what exactly have you learned during your time in California," you ask? Well, the most impactful thing that I have come to find is that I am capable of doing this job. I am a competent indivudal, and I am generally good at what I do. I will take that with me as I complete my second year of graduate school, and begin searching for full time positions in the spring. I have also learned how much of an impact I can have on an individual. My friendship with my RA's showed me how my thoughts and actions can truly effect other people, and the responsibility that comes with that. I have learned that no matter where I am in the world, I am never alone, as I have the absolute best friends and family. I have learned what kind of supervisor want to be in the future. I have learned how to handle the evacuation of a building of 200+ students during a fire...and then helping those students make sense of what has happened. I have learned, while the world is a large place, it can still feel comfortably small if you have the right friends. I have learned that In-N-Out burgers are amazing. Finally, I learned exactly how blessed I have been in my life. How many people have a job that they love to the core of their being...how many people get to spend a summer traveling around California with little to no expense? Seriously...be jealous, jk lol.




I guess the most appropriate way to close out my blog, "Berkeley or Bust" is with my favorite quote from a song from the play Wicked (with a couple of modifications),



"As someone told me lately, everyone deserves a chance to fly...and if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free. To those who ground me take a message back for me. Tell em' how I have defied gravity. I flew high, I defied gravity...and soon I will match them in renown. And nobody in all of oz, no person that there is or was is ever going to bring me down."

Ch ch ch changes

"Change. We don't like it. We fear it, but we can't stop it from coming. We either adapt to change or we get left behind. It hurts to grow, anybody who tells you it doesn't is lying, but here's the truth sometimes the more things change the more they stay the same. And sometimes, oh, sometimes change is good. Sometimes change is everything."


Sorry for not posting for a pretty long time. The end of this summer has flown by, and I completely forgot to update my blog. So much has happened that it's hard to fit it all into one post but here are the highlights:

LA Trip:

Los Angeles is perhaps my new favorite place in the world...more specifically UCLA. We (the interns and my friends Johlynn & Dustin) were fortunate enough to be able to stay in one of the residence halls at UCLA for free! So between renting a car and gas, the entire trip (not including gifts and food) was pretty cheap. We did all of the touristy things, like Hollywood/Rodeo Dr/Griffiths Observatory/Venice Beach/etc. We also met two and half celebrities, including Rob Pattinson/Alex Trabek/and one of the Jeopardy contestants (the 1/2 celeb) who we adte lunch with; however, my favorite part of the trip was spending half a day touring UCLA and getting to know some of the RD's. One of the RD's turned out to be a UNCW alumni...so you can imagine how excited I was. Although in the center of a major city, UCLA feels like its own beautiful little city... perhaps its because UCLA is nestled between Bel Air and Beverley Hills haha. Needless to say, I will be applying to jobs there when they have openings lol.

Excursions

Since my last post, I have gone on a TON of campus tours and large scale programs. Just to give you the highlights, this summer I've toured (and met/interviewed staff memebers at...) UCSF, UC Santa Cruz, Sonoma State, Stanford, UCLA, and of course Berkeley. Santa Cruz was probably the most interesting of the schools I have visited as they have a completely decentralized residential model...even more so than NC State. They are so decentralized that they each of the 10 'colleges' has its on provost/assistant dean/ and res life staff. Although this wasn't really related to the campus visit, we took the Pacific Coast Highway on the way back from Santa Cruz and it was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen (see pics below). Some of the bigger programs I was fortunate to chaperon included a trip to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (there is a funny story that goes with this, so ask me about it some time), the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, the SF Museum of Modern Art, and a live performance/musical of Disney's Aladdin.

Evaluation Season

I have to say that after having completed 12 RA evaluations, I have decided that this was my least favorite part of my job. The entire process is cumbersome and time consuming. Not to mention, I really dislike having to give people negative feedback (unless I don't like them, which def wasn't the case with my RA's). However, it was a great learning opportunity, as I gave each RA an opportunity the chance to give me verbal feedback, in addition to the feedback they gave on their anonymous evaluation of me. One of my evaluations got really emotional as one of my students expressed how much our one on one's and friendship/mentor ship meant to them. It was definitely one of those moments that reaffirmed why I chose to go into this profession.

The quote I chose for the post was particularly poignant, as I totally feel that taking the risk to move to California this summer was the best decision I've ever made (or at least one of the top 3). I kind of lost myself in the months leading up to graduate school, and spent most of the year trying to rediscover who I was as an adult. Moving across the country by myself, and spending three months in an area where no one knew me was unimaginably refreshing. I really feel like I've found the old 'me' and am now able to incorporate that into my professional/adult life. Although exhausted, I am completely rejuvenated and ready to tackle the second year of my assistantship and graduate school. Bring it!

Upcoming blog posts:
Homelessness
Student Centered Student Affairs: Find our roots
My final post

Session D

"Turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me, but I can't trace time"

Session A has OFFICALLY moved out! This is probably sad to say, but I have never been so glad to see a group of people leave my presence! However, despite their privileged, narcissistic, unruly behavior, they taught me a lot about myself and about how hard this job can get. So I guess I should be appreciative in some way?? In order to recover from the chaos of the last couple of weeks, we took the staff to Strawberry Canyon to complete a high rope's course. I've done low ropes before, but I quickly found out that high ropes is very very different. We were all strapped into pully systems, where we had to complete various obstacles at about 15-30 feet above ground. It seemed that the rope's course was a success, as the team seemed to be a lot closer by the end of the day. I saw a lot of amazing things, including three students who were petrified to be so high in the air...but all three persevered and pushed themselves beyond their comfort zone. Another thing that amazed me was the amount of positivity and support coming from the entire group. Some of our team members have a tendency to be sort of negative, but even those people rallied around those who needed support.

Session D moved in a week ago today. So far they have been fairly good. We have a greater diversity in countries represented. I've met students from Lebanon, Egypt, Russia, Germany, France, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, and Spain. Today was the World Cup Championship (Soccer), which I typically wouldn't follow; however, one of my RA's planned a BBQ/Viewing party in Cunningham Main Lounge. Over 200 students showed up, and most of them were routing for Spain. The energy of the crowd was amazing, and even got me pumped for the game! Although I traditionally despise professional sports (on principle), sports that bring the world together such at the Olympics and the World Cup can actually be a great thing.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've also gotten to meet a few more UC-Berkeley upper-level administrators. For better or worse, I've learned a lot about the kind of administrator I want to be, and how the politics of higher education works. I've always thought that I was pretty good at navigating political terrain; however, the politics of Student Affairs can be overwhelming, if you want to make it to the top.

Two weeks from today we are roadtripping to LA! Our Assistant Director got us a couple of rooms at UCLA, so we don't have to pay for housing...which is huh-mazing! I'm excited to tour the campus, and hopefully meet some people that can shed some light on this doctoral program or no-doctoral program delima I find myself in. A lot of people are saying not to go directly into your doctorate, however I've seen others who have done it and are lot more ahead in their careers than those that have not. In a perfect world I'd be able to find a job at a university that would allow me to work and go to school full time, as I hope to have my doctorate by the time I'm 26 or 27. I would typically tell myself I have plenty of time to think about it...but the truth is I need to go ahead and decide in the next couple of months since applications will be due this fall...womp womp.

I'm tired of writing, so that's all for now...hopefully I'll be able to add a few more posts this week.

Cheers!

Burn Out

"Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I’m lucky, I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm, I’ve got to go home
Let me go home
I’m just too far from where you are
I wanna come home"

-Michael Buble

It is June 29, 2010, and I finally feel like I've hit a brick wall. The past four days have been some of the most challenging days in a very long time, and for the first time since I've been to California I feel kind of homesick. I realize that this would be a challenging experience, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity/ies that I have had since I've been here. However, I miss at least being in the same time zone of the people I really need to talk to. Of course, everyone has been very encouraging and there to talk to for the past few days with all of the emergencies that have gone on; however, I always feel like I can't completely say what I'm feeling/thinking (or I have phrase things very carefully) because at the end of the day, I'm always at work, and the people around me are my supervisors, supervisees, and co-workers. I just really miss being able to call my family/Kelsie/JHag/Dustin/Andy/Caitlen/Hope/Tiffany/Lindsay/Angie/Kristin/Aaron/Gary, etc. at any time without worrying about them being awake when I actually have time to talk. What really sucks too is that even if I 'took time off' here to escape work, I can't really because I don't want to be by myself but I don't know anyone on the west coast (well enough) to go stay with them.

Today sapped the last bit of emotional energy from me, as my co-intern and I had to address some major problems that were occuring within my staff. By nature, I hate confrontation and having to do that infront of around 20 people (who I've become very good friends with) was draining to say the least. By the end of the meeting, the mood was tangibly negative and I really had to just go lock myself in the office and have some time to myself. Perhaps its a chronic need to be liked by others, or just knowing how bad it can feel to be confronted by a superior? Either way, I guess it was a good growing experience, professionally and personally. I do hope at the end of the day, that my staff knows that I absolutely adore them. They are an amazing group of people, and are a large part of why I have loved my time here so much.

Alright, I'm tired. Cheers...

Burning Down The House

"Enter action with boldness." -Law 28, The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

In the past 2-3 years, I've dealt with a major fire in my apartment community and person falling out of the second floor building of the house I manage. Today, I got to add another fire to my repertoire of emergency management experience. However, today was very different from the other two experiences.

My day started at approximately 6:30am, when I awoke to one of my RA's hovering over me. After the initial shock of someone being in my apartment, I was informed that one of the resident halls I am in charge of was on fire, and that I needed to get up. Apparently I was called several times via phone, but because I sleep with earplugs and had my phone on vibrate I obviously did not hear it.

Once I arrived to another residence hall where the residents of the smokey building were being corralled, I discovered the situation had been going on for about 1.5 hours before I got there and the initial protocol was already completed. Seeing that the people who were already there had things under control, I stepped back and helped where needed; e.g. keeping residents from leaving the secure area, gathering food/water/juice, and gathering blankets. After a few hours, I went with one of the RD's to assess some potential conduct concerns resulting from the building sweep that the fire marshall conducted; however, when I arrived, the the fire reignited. On top of that, I was informed that I needed to chaperon a trip to San Fran to visit the California Academy of Science. Although I really wanted to stay, considering one of my buildings was on fire, I figured that it was best that I went on the trip as I would not have been much help otherwise. I had a great time (considering I was working on about 3.5-4 hours of sleep), and really enjoyed the time with my RA's (Pictures below). After I got back from the trip, one of the RD's and I had to complete a lot of incident reports stemming from alcohol and contraband found in many resident's rooms. That means many more conduct meets...yay! Haha. From there, we grabbed a bite to eat at In-and-Out (which is really really delicious), and I continued working since I had Incident Reports to email, and a building meeting/inspection to schedule. So all in all I completed a 16 hour workday.

One thing that did rub me the wrong way, though, were the continual snarky/bossy comments I received during the morning. During a crisis situation, one should be a role model for everyone else. That means uplifting and supporting each other...not bringing people down with negativity and 'my situation is worse than your situation' comments. Some people are agitated enough when they first wake up in the morning (like me), so insulting them just 'adds insult to injury.' Regardless, I tried my best to access one of my apparent "Top 5 Strengths," positivity. "I can't eat those cereal bars because things that don't taste good make me sick"...blllleehhh

Cheers!

Defying Gravity

"I'm through accepting limits, because someone says they're so. Some things I cannot change but til I try I'll never know" -Defying Gravity, Wicked

This blog post is solely a review of the Broadway hit, Wicked. I just got back from seeing it at a theater in San Francisco, and it was definitely one of the most amazing opportunities I have had the privilege of experiencing. This was actually the first 'non-high school' musical/play I have ever attended, so it was an extra special experience.

For those of you who haven't seen or heard of this production, it's story centers on the re-telling of the movie "The Wizard of Oz." However, in this version the focus is on the two witches, Glenda (The Good Witch of the North ) and Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West), and how they came to be iconic images we know today. We learn that both witches were not exactly who we thought them to be, and because of the circumstances they grew up in, the audience is able to see the evolution of the two characters. The show even reintroduces the main characters from The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion.

The set design of Wicked was possibly my favorite part. A giant, movable, puppet like dragon loomed over the the stage throughout the play, and occasionally came to life during climactic points of the production. Giant cogs and gears lined the walls of the stage, and the backdrop shifted from silhouettes of Oz, to classrooms, and from dark forests to the Emerald City itself. The costume design was another incredible aspect. In true "Oz" fashion, the costumes were bright, shiny, and elaborate. Even the design of the flying monkey's was true to the original movie!

Perhaps the most impactful part of the Wicked experience was the performance of the song Defying Gravity, which some of you may be familiar with as it was featured on one of my favorite TV Shows, Glee. The quote I used at the beginning of this blog is a line from the song, which I found particularly moving. In the scene, Elpheba (the wicked witch) is faced with a delima in using her new powers to fly away so that she may save the animals of Oz. However, I feel that the song is quite inspiring as it applies to life. Coming from a very small town in rural North Carolina, I had very few opportunities to "fly high." You could say I felt like a big fish in a small pond. Everywhere I turned there seemed to be someone throwing up road blocks, and people telling me to just accept certain things. Now that I am a young adult, I have been able to bust out of small town USA and really start pursuing all the adventures life has to offer me. I mean c'mon, I'm living in Berkeley, CA! Who would have guessed? I definitely wouldn't have 4...8...10 years ago. Anyways, I probably should wrap this up and go to bed, so if you haven't seen Wicked yet...go buy your ticket right now!!!!!!

WACUUUUUUUUHO! Part Deux

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity." - 1 Timothy 4:12

Its day 3 of the WACUHO Conference, and I couldn't be more excited. I went to two incredible interest sessions. The first was a best practice session on RA training, and how to better utilize returning staff members. I found all of the information to be quite helpful, considering I was never an RA and have never been a part of an RA training. Although the information was geared towards ResLife, I am excited to use some aspects in my training for Greek Officers back at Duke. For instance, they talked about creating online policy quizzes that must be passed before events can take place...this would eliminate the really dull components of some of our training programs.

The second program I attended involved implementing a series of programming called "Geek Week." It was a really fascinating presentation. One of the programs centered around the feminist perspective of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the show, not the movie). The presenter also threw some student development theory in there...yay Chickering! (You prob won't get that unless you're in higher ed). I don't really have anyway of implementing this on any of my campuses considering the functional areas I work in; however, in my future job as an RD somewhere, I will definitely keep this in mind.

The night ended with the "Grand Banquet," which was a suit/tie event where awards and recognitions are given. Guess what?! My team and I won FIRST/GOLD place in the New Professionals Case Study Competition! I cannot begin to tell you how excited we were. I was shaking so bad, I couldn't hold my cup of tea afterward. What really made this special, is that we were the only grad students to participate, as our competition were new professionals with 1-3 years of full-time work experience. Our win is the reason I used the above quote for this post.

Unfortunately I need to go to bed now since I co-presenting an interest session at 9am (its currently 1:30am)...so more tomorrow!

Cheers!

WACUUUUUUUHO! Part 1

"Opportunity...Innovation"


First things first. Stanford is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, and it is definitely the most attractive college campus I've seen, including Duke, UVA, and UNCW. From the architecture to the landscaping, I have yet to see an unattractive part of the campus.

For those of you who do not know what WACUHO is, it is an acronym for the Western Association of College and University Housing Officers. It is a regional branch of the national organization called ACUHO-I, or Association of College and University Housing Officers International. If you recall, ACUHO-I is the organization that provided the opportunity for the internship I am currently completing at UC-Berkeley. It was also the organization that provided me the opportunity to intern at the University of Virginia.

We arrived at Stanford during the late afternoon on Sunday, where we enjoyed the opening BBQ. Who knew the westerner's could cook decent BBQ and cornbread? We met a lot of interesting people, including the Vice President of WACUHO. I think his name was Dana. Following the BBQ, we split into small groups to have a guided discussion about topics of diversity. I chose to attend the discussion on the Compton Cookout at UC-Davis. I also got to explore the residence hall in which we are being lodged. The name of the building is Toyon Hall, and it is apparently one of the oldest structures on the Stanford Campus. The rooms are pretty spacious, however they do not have air conditioning and my room was on the opposite side of the hall from the restroom and shower room. The common areas reminds me a lot of the interior of Duke's resident halls, with a lot of stone and Gothic arches. It is definitely a stark contrast to the UC Berkeley campus. Both are aesthetically pleasing, but in very different ways.

Today, I woke up late because I did not sleep well last night. Between being alone in a creepy old dorm room and having no air conditioning, I was kept up by loud people outside of my window. As a result of this, I woke up late and missed part of the opening Keynote Speaker. However, the portion of the speech that I did hear was extremely engaging and interesting. The speaker talked about the core competencies of our profession (Student Affairs), including physical, intellectual, emotional, relational, environmental, spiritual, etc, and how we should continually identify competencies we need to work on and continue to strengthen the ones we already identify with. She also spent a great deal of time talking about "beliefs," and specifically talked about NPR's "This I Believe." This program, created through NPR, challenges college students to reflect deeply on their most essential beliefs. We did several activities centered around "belief" including identifying our own core beliefs. I ended up identifying this about my belief system: "I believe in a higher power and the connectedness of humankind. I also believe that each person has worth and deserves respect; and, I believe in the power of small acts of kindness, including giving someone a smile." I hope to use parts of the 'beliefs program' when I plan the New Member Educator Summit this fall at Duke. By having new member educators intentionally reflect on the congruence or incongruence of their core beliefs, the core values of their fraternal organization, and their experience as a new member, I hope to help them make better decisions when confronted with the temptation and/or pressure to haze.

After the keynote speaker, I attended a couple of interest sessions, one dealing with transitioning into your first job after graduate school, and the other about engaging in the spiritual development of college students. The session on spirituality was great, as it is my area of interest for research and the topic of my master's thesis. They spent a good deal of time reviewing the Astin et. al study that my professor (Alyssa Bryant) helped with when she was a graduate student at UCLA. At the session, I found out from one of my colleagues that the UC Berkeley residence halls are looking as constructing 'reflection rooms' to help foster the spiritual development of their students. Of course, I jumped at the chance to be part of future conversations dealing with this project. The last session I attended wasn't really a session, it was a case study competition. My fellow interns and I decided yesterday, on a whim, to enter into this competition, which involved receiving a scenario that contained several problems that needed to be addressed. In our case, we were playing the role of the Director of Housing who found out that one of his/her Asst. Director is trying to hire an AB540(Undocumented) student as an RA, and that one of his/her administrative assistant's is being accused of embezzlement. We thought that we had 10 minutes to present our case, which we decided to do in the form of a skit. However, when we arrived at the competition we were informed that we had 5 minutes to present, and the other 5 minutes would be used for questions from the judges. Although this threw a major kink in our plan, my fellow interns and I were quickly able to improvise and shorten our presentation on the spot. In short, we rocked it! I really hope we when, but we won't find out until tomorrow at the Grand Banquet. Even if we lose, I won't be too dissapointed though because I still think we did an amazing job considering we're just grad students.

Alright, well I think this is quite enough blogging for one night. I'm so tired, I could pass out right now haha.

Cheers!

SIMMA down na'

cri·sis   /ˈkraɪsɪs/ [krahy-sis] noun, plural -ses  /-siz/, adjective:

a psychological or social condition characterized by unusual instability caused by excessive stress and either endangering or felt to endanger the continuity of an individual or group

Happy Monday!!! All in all, today was a very productive day. It started out with lunch with the AVP of Housing and Dining Services and the Executive Director of OSD. We chatted about how we all came into the field of higher ed and the challenges associated with our profession. The AVP (his name keeps escaping me), made mention that out of his 30 years in the profession, this past year has been one of the most difficult because of the California (and American) financial crisis. At the end of our time together, he invited us to sit in on an Executive Cabinet meeting!!! Very excite!!!





Following lunch, we had our weekly Residence Life Staff meeting, where one of my colleagues facilitated a few activities revolving around the results from our Strengths Quest survey. For those of you who aren't familiar with Strength's Quest, it is a personality typology that identifies and ranks your top five strengths. There are 34 possible strengths, and there is a 34 million to one chance that someone has the same top 5 strengths (in the same order) that you do. My top five are 1) Communication (I talk a lot, able to put my thoughts into words, and I'm articulate) 2) Developer (I am good at identifying the potential in others and help them to achieve their potential) 3) Woo (Yes woo...apparently I like to be the person to 'break the ice' and to make people like me) 4) Positivity (I'm an upbeat person, and apparently other people are attracted to that) 5) Individualization (I'm good at identifying the uniqueness of individuals and can identify how different people can work well together). I found that I identify with all of my strengths, with the exception of my #1...Communication. I don't think I'm very articulate, as I often stumble over words and find myself saying "uh" a lot, as I try to find a way to express myself.





Tonight, I had planned on working on my research transcripts for Alyssa's research group. (So far I've done 2.5...out of 14, all due in 10 days). However, I had to handle my first student crisis as a Residence Hall Director. I know this sounds really bad, but I was very excited as I enjoy handling crisis situations. Perhaps I have a savior complex? Anyway, this person had a falling out with their roommate. While this individual was in class, the roommate moved all of their stuff out of the dorm room and destroyed the door deck (a sign on the front door with each person's name). Feeling threatened the person didn't feel comfortable sleeping in their room that night...so I, along with Kristin (my supervisor), decided to move the resident to another building. Tomorrow I will be having a conversation with my RA so that the RA will address the roommates behavior that led to the falling out. The entire situation was very funny, as it matched perfectly with scenario that my group mates and I worked with for our Student Development Theory, Theory to Practice project ("Why don't people like people?!!!")





After all of that, I'm now very tired. Cheers!

Students as Teachers

“There are three things to remember when teaching: know your stuff; know whom you are stuffing; and then stuff them elegantly”
-Lola May

So I've been meaning to blog about this, but I keep forgetting. Through conversations with my RA's, I've stumbled upon an excellent (and to my knowledge, unique) opportunity that UC-Berkeley bestows upon its students. Apparently students are allowed to design and teach their own classes, under the advisement of a full time professor. Both the teacher/student and students who take the class can earn credit toward their degree. So far I've heard of students teaching classes ranging from "Gender Issues in Sex & the City" to "Studying Creatively in Biology." There was even talk of a class centered around Harry Potter! (For those of you who know me very well, I'm sure you can imagine my reaction to this news.)

I think the concept of student becoming teachers is absolutely amazing. I'm sure that there are limits to this opportunity, as I can't see a first year student having the capacity to teach his peers. However, the opportunity UC-Berkeley affords these students falls in line with developing its students intellect as described in Perry's Scheme of Intellectual and Moral Development.

For those of you who are not familiar with this theory, it identifies roughly three stages that college students move through. The first, Dualism, describes most freshmen. They typically only see things in black and white, right and wrong, and rely heavily on authority figures (professors/administrators). Multiplistic students are typically be sophomore, juniors, and seniors. These students can reason that there are many sides to an issue, but since there are many sides their opinion counts just as much as all of the others...even if it doesn't really relate to the issue. Relativisitc students are typically senior and graduate level students, who are able to recognize differing opinions on issues, evaluate them based on evidence of the arguments, and come to a reasoned conclusion. They also see authority figures more so as a base of knowledge, but understand that their views/opinions may be wrong too.

By allowing students to teach classes, students are taught to value each other's opinions...moving dualistic students into the multiplistic stage...and potentially moving multiplistic students into the relativistic stage. Its also a great way for students to demonstrate how they synthesize the knowledge they have gained through other classes. For example, the Sex and the City class demonstrates the student coordinators knowledge of women's studies, media studies, and probably some forms of psychology.

From an organizational theory perspective, the concept of students teaching classes falls directly in line with the culture of Berkeley. As the source of the free speech movement, Berkeley seems to use the Student-Teacher concept as a symbol to affirm their commitment to free speech and students' opinions.

Well...that's all I have for today. BTDub's, the pictures don't really relate to my blog topic today, but I thought I would add them anyway. Earlier today, I went with a few of my RA's to the Lawrence Hall of Science. These pictures were taken there. The top one is of me, Isaac, and Daniel on the top of a whale statue, the one below is of Daniel, Chandni, and Isaac in front of a man-made waterfall.

Cheers!

Running on Zero

Although the last few days haven't been drastically busier than any other day, I have found myself running on empty. I'm not sure why I feel so tired...perhaps its because I've been going to bed too late? Or perhaps, its my lack of caffeine intake haha. Anyways, despite being super super tired all of the time, the last few days have been very productive and fun! I've had more one on one's with some of my staff. They all went very smoothly, but there is one student whose personality is very intriguing. Although very competent, their social presence is rather awkward and forceful. I also finally discovered what was wrong with my Duke email account! However, the downside was I also discovered the hoard of emails that had built up.

Last night was the third Tuesday Night Social. Two of my staff members put on a "Decade's Dance." Although the program started out very slow, it eventually drew a great crowd, who were all very engaged. Most of the attendees were our Indian students, who introduced us all to some new music and new dance moves. I had a GREAT time! We (the res life staff) all dressed up from different decades ranging from the 1950's to the 2000's. I made an attempt at 'Miami vice,' but it ended up looking more like 'frat boy.' Afterward, a few of the RA's invited me to watch the season finale of Glee. Of course I said yes.

Hopefully I'll start feeling more like myself over the next few days. I'm trying to get back in the routine of going to the gym. I did very well last week, but I've missed the past few days, and I think maybe that is affecting my energy level.

Cheers!

The Best

Since I decided to go into higher ed admin, I have noticed a really funny trend. It seems that at every institution that I work, the administrators talk about how different their students are from other colleges/universities. More often than not, I've found the opposite. However, I have found a difference between students who attend the "highly selective" colleges (UVA, Berkeley, Duke, etc.) compared to the less selective institutions (NCSU, UNCW, etc.). The UVA/Berkeley/Duke students tend to be a lot more analytical and competative. They also take their studies a lot more serious, but still "play hard." However, students who attend less selective institutions seem to be more sociall well-adjusted and less awkward.

Today one of my supervisor's took me and three other interns on a tour of San Francisco. The city is absolutely beautiful. We got to see the house that Full House was supposedly filmed in, the Ghirideli Square, the Golden Gate Bridge, and ate at a wonderful pizza place in Little Italy. It was a beautiful day, but the fog rolled in when we tried to explore the GG Bridge...so we didn't actually get to see it in all its grandeur haha. Can't wait to go back!

Cheers!

Open Mic Night

"Good leaders grow people, bad leaders stunt them; good leaders serve their followers, bad leaders enslave them."

Sir Adrian Cadbury





Today was yet another amazing day. I had my usual morning meetings, lunch, and coffee break conversation, but after all of that I got to have my first one on one meeting with one of my staff members. I was rather nervous about this since I have not had a one on one supervisory meeting in my role as an Assistant Resident Director before. However once the meeting began, it came very naturally. We spent the majority of the time feeling each other out, e.g. communication styles, conflict resolution, etc. In our conversation I also began to notice a lot of characteristics of student development that I learned in my Student Development Theory Class. For instance, this student clearly demonstrated one of Perry's Stages of Intellectual and Moral Development (D). My student's comments regarding the role of (me) the authority and the opinions of peer's was really illuminating. I think that I will have a lot of fun working with this student over the next few weeks. I will continue to have one on one's with my other staff members for the rest of the summer, so I hope I will continue to be able to apply what I learned in class in my practice.



Since it is a Tuesday, two of our RA's hosted another Tuesday Night Social. The program this week was an open mic night. I was interested to see how the event would play out, because to be honest I didn't know how receptive the residents would be to performing in front of a crowd...or if a crowd would come to see people perform. As the video below shows, it was a HUGE success. Not only did a number of people perform, but the common room was packed...and the RA's did a GREAT job in facilitating the event. My co-intern and I even worked up the nerve to perform "Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks...go figure right? Below, I've attached a compilation of the performances of the night (sorry, I couldn't help but sing along in the background...)

A Tale of Two Cities

"I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew
I think that possibly
Maybe I'm falling for you
Yes there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you "

-Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop, Landon Pigg

It is a strange thing to be in love with a city; after all, a city is an inanimate object...cold, hard, incapable or reciprocating one's feelings. However, between 2005 and 2009 I found myself head-over-heels for the city of Wilmington, NC. It was the perfect match for me in every way: not too big, not too small, near the beach, not too hot, not too cold, great food, historically significant, beautiful buildings, and most importantly, filled with some of the best people I know. Unfortunately, as with many great relationships we had to part ways as I began the next chapter of my life in Raleigh, NC. I never thought that I would feel the same way about any place on Earth...at least that is until I moved to Berkeley, CA this summer.

Having only been here for a week, I may be rushing things, but I am beginning to feel the same way about the city of Berkeley as I did for Wilmington. Perhaps lacking the perfect climate of Wilmington, Berkeley has all of the other aspects that drew me to Wilmington. Over the past couple of days I have been able to explore part of "Telegraph," which is an area containing a lot of privately owned shops, restaurants, and old movie theaters. Today, I visited Emeryville, which is very short ride from Berkeley that has a great outdoor shopping mall containing more trendy stores. Of course, Berkeley has its downsides...like sitting atop a fault line for instance haha. The people here are amazing as well. After hearing everyone's opinions of Berkeley, and seeing it portrayed in the media, I have decided that they have a very scewed view of this place. Of course, there are some more interesting aspects, but overall the people, policies, and problems don't seem to be extremely different from other places I have been. Perhaps the people of Berkeley have a greater awareness of issues of social justice and sustainability, but its not overwhelming or off putting.

Along with the city, I have found that I really like working with Residence Life. Perhaps I have been spoiled with this internship, but I have great supervisors and an amazing staff of RA's. I have gotten the chance to hang out with them on a more one on one basis at various programs they've put on over the past week, and they are just great people. Today, we played a spontaneous game of Ultimate Frisbee. I had never played, so I embarrassed myself quite a bit, but they were all very supportive so with some practice I may actually be able to throw the Frisbee straight by the end of the summer haha! A couple of my friends may be visiting me over the summer (Dustin and Jess woot!!!), and I'm excited for them to meet everyone!

Anyhow, I'm excited to see in what other ways Berkeley will enchant me over the next 11 weeks.

Cheers!

Just Another Day in Paradise

"One must work and dare if one really wants to live"

-Vincent van Gogh

Today was another amazing day in Berkeley, California. I woke up earlier than usual to take a jog, and it really felt nice! I think this exercise thing was a good idea haha. Mandy and I met with John and Kristin for a while to discuss Unit 2's summer programming model. It was nothing overwhelming, but it was good information. They mentioned using several community building models, none of which I was familiar with...perhaps I should read up on them?

Instead of eating lunch at Crossroads (pictured below), which has become something of a tradition, we grabbed lunch to-go so we could sit in on a webinar on Hate Crime Prevention and Response. It lasted for about an hour and half, and the speaker really didn't mention any new or useful information. He mainly reviewed the concept of privilege, oppression, and the definitions of bias/hate speech/hate crimes. As for how to respond/prevent such things, he did not seem to add anything new to the mix. He mainly spoke of getting buy from the upper-administration for various programs, assessments, and initiatives; however, in practice the top down method is easier said than done.

Later in the day we met with Dr. Steve Sutton, who is the Executive Director of our department (Office of Student Development). We spent about an hour talking about the usual things one talks about at these kinds of meetings, i.e. Where are you from? What is your assistantship? Why did you choose a career in higher ed? Although the meeting was somewhat repetitive with similar meetings I have had, the item that benefited me the most was his connection with someone at Berkeley's Interfaith Initiative. Hopefully this person will be able to help me in my preparation for my thesis. Especially in regards to the direction I want to take it since the group I was hoping to study decided to decline my invitation. He also seemed to be eager to talk about selecting/surviving a doctoral program. I'm thinking of setting up a meeting with him to discuss this topic since I want to go right into a doctoral program after I complete my master's. Lastly, Steve mentioned that my ACUHO-I cohort (consisting of three people, including me) should right up our experiences and see if we can have it published. This would be amazing, as it would potentially give me my third publication while in grad school...which would be HUHmazing. Anyhow, its late and I'm tired. Cheers!

Let The Games Begin!

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” -Lao Tzu

Today is day three at UC-Berkeley, and I love it! Kristin and John (my direct supervisors) are great, and so are Mandy and Angela (the other two interns). My students are absolutely amazing, and my PA’s are the best. PA’s are Program Assistants (Head Resident Advisors). Suzanne (PA) will be my assistant (Her picture is below) and Jay (PA) will be Mandy’s. We’ve toured the campus and it is gorgeous, and some of our residents have already moved in. Right now most of our residents are international students completing exchange or study abroad programs.

I’ve been in training/orientation since Monday, which has basically involved paperwork, human resources stuff, and meeting all of the Housing Staff. Later in the week we will be discussing more detailed things such as supervising the summer staff, and the Berkeley conduct philosophy since we will be hearing conduct cases. So far I’ve been to three RA programs that have gone great and have had great attendance. Here are some pictures from some of the events:

Tonight we had our first staff meeting, which went fairly smoothly. We discussed program assignments, and completed an ice breaker led by me and Mandy. We chose to use “Where the wind blows” which is like a combination between musical chairs and 50 questions. The staff seemed to enjoy it, although they were extremely competitive haha. They also gave a presentation on their expectations of us over the summer. It basically involved feeding them and being friendly…I think I have that covered. Perhaps I’ll introduce them to sweet tea and fried squash?

The Berkeley culture isn’t entirely what I expected. Of course you have some very interesting parts of the city/campus, but for the most part things aren’t drastically different from any other camps of which I’ve been involved. The student demographics are very different though, which is really great because I’ll get A LOT of experience working in a very diverse environment. I’m still somewhat jetlagged, it’s only 11 o’clock but I still feel like its 2am…so I’m going to bed. More to come.

Cheers!

I finally made it!!

(This was actually my post from May 22, 2010; however, I am posting it now since I haven't had access to the internet in three days)

I’m writing this entry in multiple parts to give me something to do during my down time waiting for planes and such.

Part 1

So I made it to the airport! I’m surprisingly calm considering my past history of moving to new places haha. My friend Hope and her mom Olive were nice enough to drive me to Raleigh for my flight. Southwest has been really great so far. All of the employees have been really nice and helpful, and they didn’t weigh my bags (thank god!).
Speaking of bags, I thought I was able to get all of my stuff into only four bags until I realized that I forgot a few items, so I ended up with five bags. The weight limit for luggage, before it is considered oversized, is fifty pounds. Anything over fifty pounds incurs a fifty dollar charge. Two of my bags were pushing forty-nine pounds on a scale I had at home. Needless to say, I was holding my breath at the check in counter haha!
The airport is really crowded today, I am currently sitting on the floor since there doesn’t seem to be any seats available, but that’s ok because I found a nice space next to an electric outlet. We should be boarding in the next 10 minutes or so, so I guess I should wrap this up for now. Cheers!

Part 2

I finally arrived at Berkeley!!! The rest of the flight was really really long, and I spent most of it with some guy chatting loudly in front of me, and a screeching infant. I almost missed my connection at Nashville because the layover was wayyyyyy shorter than I thought, but on a brighter note I got to fulfill my dream of running through the airport like on Home Alone :-D At one point we flew over the Rocky Mountains, and it was absolutely beautiful. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here is one:

I met one of my supervisors (John) and the other intern (Mandy, who picked me up from the airport. They are SUPER friendly, and we had a great time getting to know one another on the drive from San Fran to Berkeley. My apartment/loft is absolutely amazing. Here are some pictures...I HAVE A KITCHEN!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m not going to write anymore because I’m tired and need to go to bed. I can’t believe I just moved 3000 miles away…crazy.

Cheers!