OMG. FY WoW 2009

Sunday, August 23 : 8:30am - 5:00 pm

Trained 65 Orientation Leaders on communication, millennial students, and 2 hours of team building activities. We practiced the essentials: name games and 4 generic scenarios that could happen in their groups of 25 students. We practiced what to do when your group doesn't show up anymore, what do to when one student dominates the conversation, what to do when a student hates BSC and poisons the whole group's experience, and what to do when students just want to get drunk or know about parties. Laura Hill Rao, Susannah White, and I also gave an introduction to the Saturday of Service, where the OL's were responsible for soliciting participation and some of them were site coordinators. The Juggling team builder worked out very well.

Tuesday, August 25: 8:00am - 8:30pm

Freshman Move-in Day.

My role was trouble shooting all day, which consisted of breaking up the OL's when they were congregating to socialize rather than help families, encouraging them to carry things for students and parents, finding folders if they were not in the bins outside residence halls, etc. Beginning at 5pm I took tickets for the planetarium shows which occurred every half hour for parents and families. Biggest problem was that despite a confirmation the day before, the bus company never sent a bus for the parent trip to Niagara Falls. We issued "rain checks" to the parents and offered 2 trip times the next day (which did happen).

Wednesday, August 26th: 6:00am - 10:00pm

6:15 -7am: Commuter check-in set up and OL check in/staff meeting. Distributed "green sheets" for Saturday of Service where OL's would get an accurate number from their group of 25 students of who planned to participate.

7am-9am Commuter student check-in, and get assigned to orientation groups. OL's put group stickers on commuter name tags, and let them know the first time they will be meeting. Also breakfast and separation of commuter students from parents. Parents went into the sports arena to sit in the bleachers and await the freshmen procession. Students ate breakfast according to their school in the ice arena bleachers.

8:30am : Resident OL's bring their groups over to the Ice rink to line up for convocation.

9:00 - 10:15am First Year convocation. Every first year student was wearing a bright orange shirt that said "Buffalo State...The Right Choice"

Students dismissed by school from convocation to various quads, then broken up into individual majors from the quads to be led by OL's to "Meet your Faculty" session

10:30 - 12:00pm Meet your faculty

residual OL's went through residence halls waking up and pulling out reluctant or sleepy students. I hung and distributed flyers for Saturday of Service.

12pm-1pm Lunch with academic departments

Some departments had students pick up lunches and bring them back to classroom, other just told students when to return to their room.

1-3pm Major expectations

Students return to their rooms to meet with faculty.

3pm-5pm 411 from an upperclassman

Student meet with their orientation leader. Biggest problem was OL's not knowing enough ice breakers, or letting their group go early "because they wanted to leave." I let them know this was unacceptable, especially since we practiced that exact scenario in training.

5pm-7pm Chiavetta's Chicken BBQ dinner

BIG HIT with both students and parents.

7 - 10pm Hypnotist Tom DeLuca

The first show was for commuters and we only had about 60 students attend, however the second show (residents) had about 250 students in attendance. I supervised OL's during the show.

Thursday, August 27 7:00am - 5:30pm

7:30am - 9am Breakfast in the union
Students and OL's ate breakfast in the union lobby. We held a staff meeting in the lobby from 7:45am-8:15am, distributing a list of "updates" or schedule changes for that day. at 8:45am i cleared students and OL's out of the union to go to the next session.

"Engage in Buffalo" workshops were tremendously successful - I was stationed with Roz Park in the Library with "Engaging in Academic Success" and we filled the room for each of the 4 sessions between 9am and 11:45am

11:30 - 1pm LUNCH

1:00 - 3:15: 411 from an upperclassman and campus tours

This time, no one let their group out early.

3:30 - 4:15 Intellectual Foundations Requirements.

4:15 - 5pm CIRP freshman survey

5pm-7pm DINNER

Friday, August 28th 7:00am - 5:30pm

7:30 am - 9:00am Breakfast/staff meeting with updates

Generally for the entire day I was either in the library or at the classroom building directing lost souls or trouble shooting if faculty failed to show up.

11:30am-1pm LUNCH

1pm-2pm Schedule confirmation (students met with their academic advisor)

2:15 - 5pm 411 from an upperclassman and Acting Out: Insight into College Life
Presentation of information from theatre students was incredibly well received - nearly 700 resident students in attendance. Students receive information better when it's presented by their peers.

5:30pm celebratory dinner and drinks with Trish, Bob, Katie, and Tim Eklund.

Saturday, August 29th:9:30 am - 5:30pm

Saturday of Service

Set up from 9:30am to 10:30am.

OL's arrived at 12:30 to be trained in duties (either registration or site coordination)
1pm FY students arrive.

1:30pm last group of students leaves for site

Trouble shooting throughout the day

5pm last group of students arrived back on campus.

Thursday, August 20

Hours: 8:00am - 6:30pm

Trained Orientation Leaders from 9am-12pm, leading a communication icebreaker from 9am-10am. If I could go back in time, I'd make sure I was present for training every day this week, instead of just tuesday and thursday. If i mandate the OL's to be present, I ought to be present, too. The teambuilder involving legos and communication worked out really well and I was impressed with the reflective thinking that the students did.

Personnel troubles concerning 2 Orientation Leaders - I got really angry today, but I handled the situation appropriately and removed myself when I needed too. In addition, I told my supervisors that I choose not to have a conversation with the individual because I wasn't comfortable and I wouldn't be able to censor myself/not yell. They were wonderfully supportive and receptive to this. I basically said, "I don't trust myself to have a conversation about this with this person." and they said "ok. we can run interference and take care of it." I really appreciated that.

Today was Kim's last day; she will not be present for the First Year Week of Welcome. We had cake and celebrated and went out for drinks and fare following the interim President's (Dennis Ponton) splash party held at the president's house on Lincoln parkway. We took a tour of the lower level of the lovely house.

Tuesday, August 18th

Hours: 7:45am - 4:30pm

9am-12pm Trained Orientation leaders in the morning utilizing a "train the trainer" methodology. Instead of me running ice breakers, I asked the orientation leaders to run the ice breakers. It worked fairly well, and I'm hoping that it builds my own confidence in the OL's ability to facilitate ice breakers in groups, and demonstrates to them that I trust their facilitation skills. Ayan, a new orientation leader did the name game, Lafayette facilitated 4 corners with me, and Sean facilitated two truths and a lie. We have an orientation leader in a wheelchair, so it's especially good practice for the OL's to be thinking about different ability levels of students that may be in their group - visibly and not visibly.

12pm-1pm Brainstormed a running list of tasks for OL's to work on during their mandatory "office hours" that take place from 1pm-5pm every day this week.

1pm-3pm Met with Orientation Saturday of Service committee to iron out details, work through the logistics of the day.

Transfer Session #2

Tuesday, August 11: 8:15 am - 7:15pm

Trained Orientation Leader staff in preparation for Thursday Transfer Orientation Session #2. Specifically, I conducted training in Engagement, focusing on Maslow's hierarchy (meeting th basic needs of students permits then to engage in their education at deeper levels) related it to Dance Floor Theory (The 5's are asking what they can do for others/better their community and society as a whole), and talked about kinds of power.

Wednesday, August 12: 8:00am - 6:15pm

All day preparation for Transfer Orientation. Specific accomplishemnt - we were doing tasks usually done at 5pm, at 11am - which means that due to efficiency, excellent communication, and division ofresponsibility, we were running 6 hours ahead of schedule. :)

Thursday, August 13,: 6:00am - 5:30pm

Transfer Orientation Session #2

The OL's lost their minds....we were under staffed, leaving orientation leaders with groups of more than 40 students to manage in crowded spaces on a hot day. For as smoothly as things went during session #1, this session did not run smoothly. I failed in communicating that the function of OL is to keep the group together. At the end of the day, we reprimanded/punished the OL's for their poor performance. I learned to focus on the basics. Insterad of how to motivate the students to intellectually engage in "OL time" i should have been focusing on public speaking, group facilitation skills, and how to keep a group of people together.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Hours: 8:00am - 4:00pm
1. Finalized Lesson Plan for the Civil and Caring Community
2. Met with Art at the Planetarium to preview his 25 minute session(s) to take place on August 25th from 5pm-8pm. Kim will be in charge of making tickets for the event, advertising, etc.
3. Created a lesson plan for the upcoming 1 day TR2 session OL training. My topic is "Motivation & Engagement". Plan plan is to begin with the "Evaluated Experience" exercise (photo above),sharing evaluations with the entire group, and in doing so focus the conversation on some specific goal setting focused around engaging transfer students (in accordance with OL feedback immediately following the last session). How to engage students will be put into the context to Maslow's Hierarchy; mainly on "Social and Belongingness Needs", with specific attempts to relate it to Dance Floor Theory from the last training session. Finally, I'll end by "building them up" by validating their authority over new students through a discussion of the 5 different types of Power.
4. Cruised 4imprint promotional products for a giveaway for the saturday of service
5. Compiled a list of events happening in the immediate community the weekend of August 29th and 30th as part of "Discover Buffalo" planning.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Hours: 8:00am - 4:00pm

1. Began the day by compiling time cards/hours from Orientation Leaders, who over the past couple weeks have become increasingly tardy and inconsistent in completing hours. I've made a commitment to hold my OL's to high standards of professionalism and this is a fundamental part of that. A conversation today revealed that in the past OL's were not held accountable for completing the hours. That's not the case this year.
2. 9am one-on-one meeting with my supervisor to go over tasks/progress. Meeting went well. We had briefly checked in the day before regarding setting in stone a "registration process" for the FY WoW Saturday of Service. TD has practice managing large groups, so Laura Hill Rao and I thought she would be a good source of advice.
3. In keeping with the Saturday of Service, I finished checking and re-entering that information for FY students into Banner. from the first two weeks of registrants, I projected that we would have 375 students signed up to participate (and planned budget and project-wise for that number). Instead, as of yesterday, 1,243 FY students had registered, and only 224 have indicated interest (18% interest rather than 25%). There are positive aspects of these adjusted numbers as well as negative aspects.
4. Put together a "lesson planning guide" for OL's to work through in structuring activities that accomplish the goals/learning objectives for the Civil and Caring Community. Submitted to TD and Katie for review.
5. Established the time and place the VSLC staff would come to FY OL training to discuss the Saturday of Service

Hours:8:00am-9:00am; 11:00am - 3:00pm

Compiled time cards from last week, putting together a "Naughty List" of those OL's that have not been religious about time cards. I sent out a strongly worded e-mail last week letting them know that if i had no record (timecard), then I would assume the work hours were not done.

Put together a quick-reference guide of "OL time Discussion Topics" for the OL's to have as a resource during their small group time. It includes quick information about campus resources, office locations, free stuff to do both on and off campus, etc. I submitted it to Katie and Trish for feedback beginning tomorrow.

Interviewed Bob Mead-Colegrove and Kristin Catalano for CSP 624 Class Assignment. I got to know both at the ropes course we did for part of OL training, and was really interested to pick their brains a little more.

Hours: 8:00 - 4:00pm

Above: the other interns and I at the ropes course with an OL.
Staff meeting from 10am-11am. Mostly consisted of progress reports from each staff member. Lunch meeting with Kate regarding OL training to take place in August. My session will be "Motivation & Engagement". We brainstormed ideas for our presentation. Compiled feedback from Orientation Leaders from Transfer session 1 into one document. And updated new student interest in the Community Service Project in Banner.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Hours: 8:00am - 4:00pm

Had a 1:1 check in meeting with my supervisor, followed immediately by a meeting with Fred Howe, and Ron George in the Residence Life Office concerning RA training to take place in the middle and end of August. We discussed the topics the counseling center would present and how they would be presented.

During the first 2 weeks first year students were permitted to register using the online FastTrack form, the administrative assistant did not record whether or not the student indicated interest in participating in the Saturday of Service Community Service project. It's ecessary to obtain a prediction of how many students will be participating for planning purposes in every respect (bus reservations, number of projects, registrations, staffing, etc.). Today, i went through the first 2 weeks of registrants individually and updated his or her record in Banner to say if he or she indicated interest in the Saturday of service.

Then, I ran a report through Banner and found only about 13% (138 of 1051 students) had indicated interest. It turns out that the administrative assistant has not been consistently recording the data on Banner. it is now my responsibilty for tomorrow to go over what she has already done and fix it.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Wrote up a review of the transfer orientation on thursday, answering the questions:
1. What went well during Orientation?
2. What didn’t go well during Orientation?
3. What are some things you think we need to fix or improve before the August Orientation? Identify the problem areas and be sure to include some suggestions on how to fix it!
4. How did you facilitate the Compact for a Caring & Civil Community exercise? (Describe in a sentence or two). How do you think it went? Would you facilitate it that way again? If yes, why? If not, how would you change your delivery style to be more effective?
5. How can Trish / the staff better support you during the next Orientation?

Discussed with supervisors alternatives to facilitating a civil and caring community, while empowering our student leaders. Organized materials from the past two weeks.

Transfer Orientation # 1

The past Two week have been a combination of orientation leader training and Transfer Orientation # 1. Below is a summary of my hours and tasks from that time:

Monday, Jun 29: 8:30am-12:00pm
Last minute preparations with fellow interns for training beginning Wednesday, including last minute OL staffing changes (2 OLs left, we hired 1) and housing arrangements.

Wednesday, July 1: 7:00am - 9:00pm
Day 1 of OL training. Facilitated ice breakers, coordinated meals, presented on communication and active listening, and ran an evening photo scavenger hunt. Guest presenters included Bryan Le Duca and Melissa Williams from Commuter/Minority Student Services, Ray Lorigo from Disability Student Services. Note to self: allow presenters more than 15 minutes. 20-25 is ideal.

Thursday, July 2: 7:30am - 7:30pm

Training Day 2:
Presentation on a Civil and Caring Community from Dr. Kenyon, observed by select administration from the counseling center (Ron George, Meredith Beck, Tammy Kresge, etc.) The CACC committee planned out how the OL's would spend their 1 hour with the transfer students by 5 and 10 minutes increments. It was not accepted by the OL's at all. We debriefed later in the day, and my groups constructive feedback (we practiced compliment sandwiches) will be used to construct the CACC exercises in the future. Guest presentations from Kim Jablonski, Tammy Kresge, Dierdre Kennedy, Curtis Brickhouse. I presented Dance Floor Theory as Leadership Training. The OL's (in core group debriefing sessions) said it was their favorite part of the past 2 days:)


Monday, July 6: 6:00am - ?

The professional and paraprofessional staff met at the office at 6:00am to prepare for our trip. The OL's arrive beginning at 6:15am to load the bus to go to the low ropes course at the SUNY Fredonia College Lodge. We departed BSC at about 6:45am, and arrived at the Lodge to do ice breakers and safety information (lifting, etc.). Ropes course exercises all afternoon, followed by more icebreakers, 1:1 chats with OL's and a bon fire. Evening debrief session with the professional staff. Went to bed at 1:30am.

Tuesday, July 7: 8:30am - 2:30pm, 5:30pm-6:30pm

Ropes course projects in the large group in the morning (after breakfast), followed by boxed lunches and diversity workshops in small groups in the late morning/early afternoon. Left the College Lodge at SUNY Fredonia at 1pm, arrived at BSC and released OL's by 2:30pm. Met again in the library at 5:30pm for an evening session with Maureen Lindstrom and dinner.

Wednesday, July 8: 8:30am - 9:00pm

Bookstore session and breakfast with Kathy Hanaka and staff in the Bookstore Java U. Banner training with Bob Mead-Colegrove, and transfer orientation prep the remainder of the day. Prep included, location set up (outside, rockwell hall, library, and social hall) distributing signage, and stuffing envelopes with degree navigators, etc.) It takes until 9pm to print and stuff 400 envelopes.

Thursday, July 9: 5:30am - 6:00pm

TRANSFER ORIENTATION SESSION #1
Supervised core staff throughout the day, mainly in Rckwell hall lobby. Kept OL's on task, smiling, being spatulas. Reprimanded tardy OL's effectively, supervised resource fair that took place in the library - was the designated "damage control"/ "troubleshooting" person throughout the day. [also attended class at Hilbert College]

Week of June 22-June 26

Hours:
Monday: 8:00am - 12:00pm
Tuesday: 8:00am - 3:00pm
Wednesday: 8:00am - 12:00pm
Thursday: 8:00pm - 12:00pm
Friday: 8:00am - 10:00am

This week I prepared presentations for Orientation leader training that begins next week. Tuesday was the Campus Life retreat, where the different campus life areas under Tim Ecklund got together to discuss assessment results. It was a day in heaven for me and I developed 2 goals for this summer and the upcoming year:

(1) To develop a system for assessing a campus culture quickly. Basically I want to be able to walk onto a campus and have a "5 easy step" system for understanding what the existing interaction between academic and student affairs is, do things get done? how do things get done? who are the movers and shakers on campus? who are the Debbie Downers, and what's my role in it all?

(2) Develop a framework for communicating assessment data and results to a variety of audiences. Everyone in that room was coming from a different level of understanding of statistics, assessment, data, etc. I want to be able to identify the "Need to Know" background stuff, communicate it so people with no previous experience can understand enough of it, but so people with some experience still get something out of it. Also, I think what should drive the results section is Meaning. I'm finding that when it comes to assessment results, student affairs (generally speaking) people firstly enjoy cartoonish assessment tools, and secondly expect the data to speak. How do I say, "the question(s) you begin with determine what statistical analysis you use, which determines how you can interpret the results. All assessment needs to be theory and hypothesis driven.

Hal Payne made a cameo and stressed the importance of the post-product marketing...or something of that nature. In essence, once students make their deposit, convincing them that this is that right place for them - get them to participate and buy into the community and the experience. He thinks we should get shirts that say "Student Affairs: We're here to help" and shirts for students that say "BSC the right choice for me"

I think that's a little too obvious.

I thought about that for awhile, and building off of x+1, My vote is for a "You are Here" campaign. It's broad enough that it can be customized by each department, e.g. "You are Here: discovering your future" for student employment or career services, or "You are Here: at the beginning" for orientation, or "You are Here: so are We" for counseling services or another support office.

Hours:8:00am - 12:00pm

Finished off training materials for Orientation Leader Training, beginning in July. Coordinated training content with Katie. Talked about strategies for training in leadership and diversity with bob. The vast majority of the day was spent doing desktop publishing for training materials. Leadership training will focus on increasing relationships; building relationships; accomplishes goals through people.

Hours: 8:00am - 12:00pm

Had a one on one meeting with Trish - she loved the idea of toolboxes for the OL's. We ordered the fun stuff from orientation trading and will use the materials as a welcome activity for the OLs. Went over Saturday of Service details: how will be include commuter students in evaluations if we're not feeding them (send them a google doc or survey monkey survey later). not signed on to that yet. I need to be convinced a survey will replace a "reflection activity" sufficiently. Took a campus tour. Learned some new things about BSC, e.g. "Buffalo State is 99% wireless" and "there are 150 computer labs on campus."

As a student ambassador, I would get pretty nervous when staff members were on my tour, and I guess i was right to be nervous. I also understand the value of taking a campus tour once year as a staff member in student affairs. This is the campus marketing - they shoul dhave the mos tup to date information about the campus, and if the tour guides are giving out incorrect information, it needs to stop. And if i were to give feedback to the dean, it's not a poor reflection on the individual student giving the tour, it's just feedback about the information on the tour. I would hope that the hiring process for tour guides is enough to weed out people that don't like attending school or know how to properly promote the campus.

Literature indicates that reflection components to service activities increase the value of the service experience exponentially. I'm not looking to intimidate new students or make the experience more academic than it is intended to be, but i think it will be much more successful if they interact with the service experience a little bit more than going to point B, clean up, have a snack, clean up some more, and go home. And I'm learning now that students won't reflect on their own; they need to be poked an prodded. I really appreciate the resource that Americorps as put together to help structure reflection activities properly and effectively (http://www.studentsinservicetoamerica.org/tools_resources/docs/nwtoolkit.pdf). We used part of it this past April for Community Service Day, and I'll continue to use it in the future, along with Edward Zlotkowski's Journal "rubric". Also, Portland State is well known for its volunteer and service-learning initiatives. They are a good model to follow.

June 11-June 12

Hours:8:00am - 12:00pm (twice)

Thursday: Set up a time to meet with jess in admission to talk about how to train OL's to give campus tours. Met with Kim and chatted about tasks again. Developed presentation on Leadership utilizing Tim Milburn. Love his leadership materials. I think they are incredibly appropriate and easy to use - especially for millennials. I especially like his e-book on student leaders vs. student workers. Very relevant considering these OL's are paid a stipend. RECEIVING A PAYCHECK IS NOT FEEDBACK ON YOUR PERFORMANCE. Read thoroughly through Danni Weaver's transition Binder (thank you a million times over for making one) and got a better idea of the kind of rapport i can build with my core team and the OLs. For transfer OL training, I'm scheduled to do training in (1) leadership (2) communication styles (3) active listening (4) giving and receiving feedback. I have 2 hours between 4 things, and right now i'm thinking about doing an hour on leadership, and then chunking the other 3 together since they overlap so much...

Past two days

Hours: 8:00am - 12:00pm (twice)

The past two days, the other interns and I have been focused on OL training and how to make it enjoyable, yet informational to students. we decided that "Discover your Truths" is a really difficult theme to plan around, so we opted for the more ostensible theme of "Under Construction". We've been brainstorming ways of incorporating it into the theme topics of our presentations, e.g. "blueprints, a toolbox for transitions, zoning, constructing, connecting, building, etc." there are really some very clever things. I've also been reading literature regarding transfer transitions to be able to add some questions to our existing parent and transfer student assessment tools that will help us benchmark against national averages. I'm also reviewing transfer student orientation surveys developed and used by UC San Diego and Colorado University (available through Trish's participation with StudentVoice). Also still working on structured evening programming activities.

True Colors

Hours:8:00am - 12:00pm

Tracked Orientation Leader office hours, comparing with res. life tracking. helped bob and Trish prepare for meetings later in the day. One on one meeting with Trish; discussed assessment strategy. Kim taught Katie and I the True Colors GOLD Personality Assessment. I'm Green and Orange. (see below). It's probably the most accurate (least manipulative personality quiz I've taken, and the explanations really appeal to me. Katie and Kim are both BLUE (emotionally driven), which i think makes for a strong intern team. This afternoon, a group of about 10 administrators met to discuss evening programming. There are improvements to be made on the schedule.

Green

I seek knowledge and understanding.
Analytical, Global, Conceptual.
I live life by my own standards.
Cool, Calm, Collected.
I need explanations and answers.
Inventive, Logical, Perfectionist.
I value intelligence, insight, fairness and justice.
Abstract, Hypothetical, Investigative.
I am a natural non-conformist, a visionary, a problem solver.

AT WORK:
I am conceptual and independent thinker. For me, work is play. I am drawn to constant challenge in careers and like to develop models, explore ideas, or build systems to satisfy my need to deal with the innovative. Once I have perfected an idea, I prefer to move on, leaving the project to be maintained and supported by others.

IN LOVE:
I prefer to let my head rule my heart. I dislike repetition, so it is difficult for me to continuously express feelings. I believe that once feelings are stated, there are obvious to a partner. I am uneasy when my emotions control me; I want to establish a relationship, leave it to maintain itself, and turn my energies back to my career.

IN CHILDHOOD:
I appeared to be older than my years and focused on my greatest interests, achieving in subjects that were mentally stimulating. I was impatient with drill and routine, questioned authority, and found it necessary to respect teachers before I could learn from them.

Orange

I act on a moment’s notice.
Witty, Charming, Spontaneous.
I consider life as a game, here and now.
Impulsive, Generous, Impactful.
I need fun, variety, stimulation and excitement.
Optimistic, Eager, Bold.
I value skill, resourcefulness and courage.
Physical, Immediate, Fraternal.
I am a natural trouble-shooter, a performer, a competitor.

AT WORK:
I am bored and restless with jobs that are routine and structured and satisfied in careers that allow me independence and freedom, while utilizing my physical coordination and my love of tools. I view any kind of tool as an extension of self. I am a natural performer.



IN LOVE:
I seek a relationship with shared activities and interests. With my mate, I like to explore new ways to energize the relationship. As a lover, I need to be bold and thrive on physical contact. I enjoy giving extravagant gifts that bring obvious pleasure to my loved one.


IN CHILDHOOD:
Of all types of children I had the most difficult time fitting into academic routine. I learn by doing and experiencing, rather than by listening and reading. I need physical involvement in the learning process and am motivated by my own natural competitive nature and sense of fun.


We know that millennials at times rely on their helicopter parents. They (we) are a generation that have had play dates and scheduled, organized activities for as long as they (we) can remember. So, i think it's unlikely that if we set out Frisbees, footballs, kick balls, etc., new students will organize themselves into physical activities. Ever been to a high school dance? they won't even dance when presented with music, dance floor, low lights, etc. So, i think more structured social activities are still appropriate. My favorites (tries and true - thanks Naz (Jane): Dave Binder or Playfair. brilliant. i could not replicate what Dave binder or play fair does if i tried.

One sense of collaboration

Hours: 8:00am - 12:00pm

Finished up a presentation proposal for CSPA. Put together driving directions for 5 buses for service day to tag on to a residence life bid for NFTA buses. Counted how many out of the 486 orientation registration webforms we have received, how many students indicated interest in the saturday of service. (25.3%, which projects to 379 first year students participating in the saturday of service; not much above the VSLC's typical spring service day amount.)

Today I learned the very hard way to save my document when i download it from my e-mail. special thanks to Ching from the help desk. I owe him cookies and my first born for finding all the changes I made to my proposal.
When trying to determine projects that we would need buses for (keep in mind we haven't even started soliciting projects yet because Phil has taken more than 2 weeks to have a student assistant put together a webform). So - how to you not only give someone a number of buses, but also firm destinations for those buses without having talked to community partners? (1) make some phone calls, (2) evaluate relationships/partnerships, (3) figure out agencies that are physically located near each other. The real answer is anything and everything you can when free transportation is on the line. In the process of putting information together, i was working between 2 buildings, 2 computers, and 3 user accounts, and 3 e-mail addresses...that's 12 different hard drive locations a document i needed quickly could have been. it's time to consolidate.

We didn't end up getting free buses for reasons beyond my control. The more exciting part of the day was actually in tallying up who is interested in the saturday of service. Looking at the webforms, i realized that not only do we have e-mail addresses and banner ID numbers for tracking purposes, but we also have other useful information, e.g. what classes they sign up for, majors, learning communities, etc. knowing the correlates will allow the VSLC to be able to target marketing initiatives to those specific populations. For example, if students who opt in to the service day tend to be undeclared majors and also in learning communities, we can market in those communities more, give specific information/conversations to advisors for undeclared students, and maybe even purport that students that sign up for the service day option are looking for social connectedness with BSC and peers. pending further assessment, of course.

Hours: 8:15am - 12:00pm

Recorded weekly hours from OL's. Checked on res. life time cards upstairs, research a CSPA conference proposal idea. staff meeting/coffee in the bookstore - used the "Deal Me In" cards from yesterday's conference to talk about strengths and weaknesses. Gave Katie (from UB) and Kim a "campus tour" to help acquaint them to BSC. Kim briefed Katie and I on OL training. We found out that there are two sets of OL trainings and two sets of orientation. over the summer are the Transfer student orientations, and then the first years get a whole new training.

This time of the year seems slow because it's heavy in preparation and planning, and most of my tasks take place closer to the end of summer. I feel like I have an abundance of time to dedicate to extra projects or assessment. or to just procrastinate. i'm the type of person that works better when my schedule and tasks/duties are full.

At first separating transfer OL training from First year (FY) OL training confused me, and seeemed less efficient, but i'm seeing now that the end result will be better. The transfer OL training is more need-based and specific to the individual transfer student - some students want to get in and out and have an "i've already done it" attitude. That's ok, and we should be prepared to offer that to them, they still have to attend an orientation and make contact with a person to connect them to campus, even if briefly (if not, we block them from registering). Some transfer students may be having a more difficult time with transferring and want to talk about why they are here at BSC now, and what they expect and hope to get out of it. I hope the OL's focus on goal setting, and actions to prevent transfer students from transferring again (as is an emerging trend with millenials). FY students have much different needs, even commuters and residents have different needs, but tailoring the OL training to FY students and preparing OLs to be receptive and patient to high maintenance and low maintenance FY students and parents will be useful to them and us in the long run.

NYLEC Conference

Hours: 6:00am - 7:00pm

Attended the 2009 New York Leadership Education Conference at SUNY Cortland with Bob, Trish, and the 2 other graduate interns. Attended 3 ed. sessions (Leadership through experiential education, Leadership course development, and developing peer mentor programs) and 2 keynotes (RandyMcCrillis - Infusing diversity into your leadership programs; and Joyce Cohen - Leadership in relation to career development and interests). Networked with a number of professionals at other SUNY schools including SUNY Oneonta, RIT, Brockport, SUNY Purchase, SUNY Geneseo (Tom Matthews), Alfred University, and UB regarding topics such as millenials, parents, diversity, service-learning, and diversity.

I gained new appreciation for SPA professionals as faculty members. it's a tough position to be in, especially without a Ph.D. because we are charged with course development, and have similar responsibilities to faculty members, but don't have the credibility without the degree. Especially when it comes to a concept as ill-defined (literally - there is no single definition) as "Leadership".

In teaching/discussion diversity, the conversation seems to have been focused on a sociological perspective (power, privilege, and oppression), then a business/management perspective (communication/conflict), and now given the millenial perspective on diversity, it may be time to take a more skills based psychological approach to "teaching" diversity. We've deconstructed the concept for so long that "diversity" has little meaning to millenial students. In addressing diversity, especially in regard to leadership development, we need to lead by example by NOT segregating the conversation on diversity - integrate it into every part of every thing that we do. We should focus on the skills to recognies stereotypes and biases in ourselves and others, and what to do about it once we do acknowledge prejudices. It's time for the conversation to move forward.

Identifying Student Leaders

Hours: 8:00am - 12:00pm

Revised student work schedule and brought it to Brenda in Residence life. Created an Agenda for Tuesday meeting with the Volunteer & Service-learning Center and orientation to plan and design the division of responsibility for the Orientation Day of Service. Ray Lorigo stopped by with a student, and I listened in on how the advisement process works in conjunction with orientation; the order of things, and how to answer questions when students say, "do i have to go to orientation?" and "i just want to do what i have to do to get this degree as quick as possible" . Also, I identified a student that is and has been extremely active on the Class of 2013 facebook group in answer new student questions with accurate information. I sent her a facebook message and asked her to be an "Honorary Assistant Orientation Leader" to recognize her early initiative as a student leader. Also worked on some assessment stuff applicable to both the VSLC and orientation: mostly related to how to Sum categorical data in a useful way. Above is my graph from SPSS summarizing our Community Partner Survey Data from Spring 2006 - Spring 2008 about How interactions with BSC have influenced the organization.

Reaching out to the student on facebook was an initiative I borrowed from Kevin Prentiss at SwiftKick. They address head on a lot of the questions about how to incorporate social media into college life, since it's a natural extension. I'm really happy that Bob gave me the go ahead..some people take strong stances either for or against using social media, but it's nice to figure out where some boundaries are, and have a supervisor that is open to using the technology to our advantage instead of being afraid of it.

It's not only important to identify student leaders, but also to connect them with campus. I hope that we have offered that to the new student who's basically doing a good part of our job in the Class of 2013 facebook group. She should be recognized for her efforts, and rewarded. I took a chance on the advice about monitoring the incoming class's FB group to find out what the students are talking about and who the leaders are, and i hope that it pays off and S. feels connected to campus. we'll see.

Both Flavors of Assessment

Hours:8:00am - 12:00pm

Finalized time card system for tracking OL hours, sent an e-mail to all OL's letting them know what to do. Took care of some more payroll paperwork, visiting Foundation Accounts in Cleveland Hall and Brenda Marshall in res life (saw Kevin wogenrich there. small world). Finalized my "Core Team"; the OL's I will be directly supervising, then began my outreach to them by e-mail a "bio sheet" asked for basic biographical information as well as some leadership questions. Spoke with L.W. about his interest in the SPA program, and learned how Bob tracks EVERYTHING the happens with orientation in quantifiable terms - weekly numbers for every thing your could possibly imagine at his finger tips. incredible.

I've decided that I'm definitely ready to begin working with students. I understand the preparation and administrative side of things, but I'm actually really excited to start having staff meetings, collaborating on projects, and talk about programming, and build skills with students and orientation leaders.

My strategy for team building is getting buy-in; i'm asking the team members to choose our team name, and set group goals and personal goals for the summer and doing little things often, rather than rare grand gestures. I'm utilizing a qualitative leadership assessment tool authored by Tim Milburn of studentlinc (see right) I also plan on really incorporating his "Seasons of Leadership" resource (technically called "Core Leadership Training Lessons") at my fall GA in student activities in the Fall. Although, now that i think about it, since OL's are leaders too, i wonder if they go through an accelerated "Seasons of leadership" cycle...

First Impressions

Hours: 8:00am - 12:00pm

Created time sheets for Orientation Leaders to log hours in both the Residence Life Office and Orientation Office. Trish, Bob, and I stuffed envelopes with transfer orientation materials. Met the NODA intern from Indiana University, Kim Kushner. We chatted a little bit about our programs and career aspirations/goals with stuffing envelopes. I sat in on a "make-up orientation" Bob conducted with two tansfer students. The first Orientation Leader (OL) came in to do some office hours, so she (Jordan) will be testing the time card/hour tracking system that is still forming.

We haven't really done a formal GA/intern training yet because Katie, the third intern hasn't started yet, so I feel a little lost around the office. I have confidence that my learning curve is steep, and that after the NYLEC conference on Monday of next week and the formal training scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday morning of next week, I'll start to feel much more settled in.

Transfer students have seperate needs that first year students. Part of the reason for putting a hold on their account for registration until they complete a mandatory orientation, even if it's only 30 minutes long, is twofold. (1) Seperate colleges have seperate systems for registering for and taking classes,as well as distinct cultures. Orientation serves as an introduction to the particular student services that are relevant to those students for meeting their individual needs. (2) Whether the students are pursuing a second bachelors degree or transferring institutions in pursuit of their first degree, it's important for them to make a personal connection with the new campus for the purposes of retention. Especially at BSC where students primarily commute - making an initial personal connection with campus is key.

Collaboration and Efficiency

Hours: 8:00am - 12:00pm

General acclamation to the office setting. Figured out a workspace and set a stable schedule for the remainder of the summer and filled out payroll paperwork. Created a framework for tracking Orientation Leader work hours in both Residence Life (3hrs/week required) and the Orientation office (2hrs/week required). Joined an in-progress discussion with Fred and Janelle from Residence Life as well as Dr. Kenyon aimed at combining Orientation Leader and Residence Assistant training.

The important part of the day was the meeting with Dr. Kenyon and residence life staff to discuss how orientation leaders and resident assistants can share training, especially because some of the topics overlap and a significant number of the individuals overlap. The challenge is that the content is not exactly the same because the audiences are different. The interactions that each student leader will have with the first year student take place in a unique context (residential vs. non-residential), and so the focus of implementing each training topic is unique. While this is inconvenient for speakers like Dr. Kenyon, who want to speak to both groups about implementing a Civil & Caring community, the efficiency in the short run does not outway the efficiency in the long run. Additionally, the student leaders will benefit from a presentation that is more tailored to them.

Collaboration is always a goal for student affairs. As academic are the primary mission of the college/university, and the role of student affairs is to support the academic mission, collaboration is necessary. In this case, we have good intentions to collaborate, and absolutely see the usefulness in collaborating, but the struggle is where do res.life and orientation leader training meet? They definitely overlap in terms of skills, topic areas, and concepts, but how do we get the focus and timelines to meet while giving enough attention to the specifics of each area?