Again taking an idea from Nathanial. His latest entry on his blog is entitled "10 Things I Have Learned at UCO" and talks about what he has learned from being a GA for the past few years. I've decided I would like to list mine.
So I present to you, 10 things I have learned as an Assistant Residence Hall Director.
1. It is okay to be a nerd. No really. It's completely okay, and this is the right field to be a nerd in. Not only has it given me something to bond with residents, students, and RAs about, it gave me the first connection I needed with my supervisor, and now mentor, Matt. Also being a nerd is so much of who I am and allowing bits of that part of my personality into my professional world allows me to have so much more fun and enjoy things so much more.
2. Failure will happen. Before this job I was someone who feared failure. I feared letting people down and would beat myself up if I messed things up. Then my first semester happened and I fell flat on my face when it came to being a professional. But I learned and I have grown and I am so much better for it. Falling is the only way we learn to grow...having to pick ourselves up off the floor and keep going makes us a better person. This is now a lesson I use with my students.
3. Take time for yourself. There are days when you absolutely cannot leave the office and need to be there, and it happens. But knowing when to take a step away, even for 5 minutes, and go by myself in my apartment/office and get away was a skill that I have learned. Sometimes that little mental break is what you need to be re-energized and ready to go.
4. Get to really KNOW your students/residents/staff. My first semester here I was very closed off because I was struggling to maintain the boundary of "I just graduated from college and I need to distance myself from the students in my building." But as I grew as a supervisor/advisor/hall director I learned how to do this without crossing a line. I have been able to have wonderful conversations with students, staff, and others because of this. This year I had an amazing bond with my staff and it was the most amazing feeling.
5. Enjoy the little things. I always have music playing in my office, and occasionally I can be found singing and/or dancing to whatever song is playing while I work. I also have enjoyed little things like grabbing a snack before work, or Starbucks runs...or just having a nice day where I can open the window and let the breeze flow in.
6. Networking is your friend. I have been to two large-scale conferences as a grad and I really enjoyed both of them. I have also enjoyed getting to know people from other schools who work in the same field as I do. In fact, I met Nathanial at ACPA last year and now he's one of my closest friends. I have also worked to network through Twitter with people within the field. I love that there are constant hashtags going on for the things we all care about and its easy to join the conversation at any given moment.
7. Be open to trying something you're not sure you can do. Two years ago most of the things I do in this job would have terrified me. Last year when Matt told me he wasn't going to be there for closing and that I would be closing the building on my own, I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it. I was only a grad...how would I ever close a building by myself? But thanks to my awesome staff...we got it done. And at that moment I realized that maybe...just maybe...I could actually do this job.
8. Organization is key. Anyone who knows me knows that I am super detail oriented. But I still realized how much I had to learn in organization, documentation, and figuring out the details. I was able to build on my already good skills and I have learned so much. My organization skills went way up in the past two years and I know that will help me out wherever I end up.
9. Trust that you will end up where you're meant to be. I have always been one to worry about the future. I was super worried when looking for a GA in the first place. I was worried looking for a summer job last summer. But I have learned both times that things will come through. I ended up where I was meant to be, both times. If I hadn't been hired late as a GA, I probably wouldn't have been paired with Matt, which was something that was meant to happen. If I hadn't worked with Upward Bound, I would have never developed some of my confidence and public speaking skills I now have. Everything will work out in the end...I just need to trust that it will.
10. Find what you love and then figure out how to do it for the rest of your life. I never expected to fall in love with this field as much as I have. But there are so many moments where I actively felt that I was making a change in the lives of my students. I know I have made an impact on students...and I realized that if I can do that for the rest of my life, I will live a very happy and fulfilling life. I've had moments where I've been doing something for my job and then realized that "hey I'm getting paid to do this!" A wonderful example of this happened during opening where I led my staff in several line dances to keep our energy up throughout the very long day of opening a building. Moments like those are what I have lived for these past few years.
And there you have it. My clock says it's 5:00pm on May 13, 2013. My time as an ARHD has officially ended. I will be endlessly thankful for the opportunity this department has given me and for the people who I have met and interacted with over these past few years. I cannot believe it's over.
But it's not an ending. It's a beginning. The beginning of the rest of my life.
Goodbye, Kent State. You will always hold a very special place in my heart <3
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