Bidding Farewell to a Graduate Resident Director

My office at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg is home to two graduate students. These graduate students are resident directors enrolled in the local Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE) graduate program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP).

The partnership between our office and IUP is a great one.  We are able to provide practical experience for these two students, and they have their education paid for in exchange. As an alum of the IUP SAHE program, I can attest that the plethora of assistantships offered is one of the great features of the student affairs master’s program at IUP.

Because our two grad assistants are on a rotating schedule, we welcome a new graduate resident director each year; but that means we lose one, too.

Yesterday was Ms. LaNighta Sales’ last day here at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. She earned her master’s degree earlier this month and has already been offered a job at Miami University of Ohio. She is moving on to “bigger and better” things.

LaNighta (center) with her staff at the end-of-year banquet

Oftentimes we hear about the lessons our supervisors have taught us. However, I am turning the tables today and using this post to talk about a few of the lessons LaNighta has taught me, her supervisor.

LaNighta taught me that professionalism is important. The way you speak, act, and carry yourself does not go unnoticed by those around you. At the end of the day, professionalism will earn you respect.

LaNighta taught me the importance of being genuine. Those around you will appreciate it. Your colleagues, students, and other staff will find it easy to warm up to you if you’re genuine. LaNighta’s staff of RAs and her residents absolutely loved her, and I credit it to the fact that she is one of the most genuine people I’ve ever worked with. Being genuine will also earn you respect.

And, finally, LaNighta taught me the importance of having priorities in life. LaNighta is a woman who knows what she wants out of life. She knows where she wants to be professionally and personally, and I can appreciate that.

Everyone will miss having LaNighta in the office. She’ll go on and prosper, I’m sure of it. She dreams way too big to do otherwise. 

And so this post is dedicated to LaNighta. Thanks for teaching an old dog a few new lessons. Best wishes for a prosperous future.



"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou

"There isn’t anyone you couldn’t love once you’ve heard their story." -Mary Lou Kownacki 

"Everyone has a story; you must go seek it out."

And so it is.

Last Thursday, during our professional staff retreat, we established this mantra.  A simple statement that will not only guide our practice over the coming year, but a statement that will help our Resident Assistants understand the importance of getting to know their residents’ stories.

We discussed at length the importance of building positive communities within our halls. After all, we know what kind of impact of a positive community can have on each student living within it.

We acknowledged that it’s hard work getting to know peoples' stories. You can’t just sit back and wait for students to share their stories with you. Oftentimes, you have to “go seek them out” by reaching out to others, even when it's sometimes uncomfortable or difficult for you.  We want to push ourselves and our Resident Assistants to go seek out the stories of the students we struggle to connect with the most.

I’m hoping that this focus by our department on getting to know our students’ stories will help us build better relationships and create stronger, more positive communities.

Imagine the impact this simple question can have… “What’s your story?”

I’m challenging myself to learn the stories of my students this coming year. I will be challenging my Resident Assistants to do the same.

I challenge you to learn your students’ stories, too.

There's Always Room for Improvement

It’s very late on a Wednesday night… Tomorrow, I will join the other professionals in my Housing & Residence Life office for a day-long retreat. It’s one of my favorite days of the year.
 

For me, personally, there’s a lot of excitement surrounding this day. I find it invigorating to talk about how our department is performing and about what we can be doing better. It’s also a great opportunity for me to personally reflect on how I am doing my job and think about how I can better serve the students I work with.

Tomorrow will be a reminder that there is always room for improvement, there is always room for thinking outside the box, and having fun while we work.

There’s something special about sitting around a table with the other folks in my office and having a good discussion or brainstorming session. At that very moment, everyone in my department will be playing an equal part in contributing to the future of the office.

There are a few things I’m looking forward to discussing with my fellow colleagues. The first of which is our programming model and how we can be more intentional about building positive communities throughout our residence halls. The second is staff morale and how to make sure our RAs are having positive experiences, or what I like to call, “making sure we’re using the appropriate amount of challenge and support.”

What about you?  Do you look forward to staff retreats or planning sessions? What is on your project list of topics to discuss as you enter the summer months?

Why I Love this Time of Year...

Stacy Oliver took the words right out of my mouth...

I've been trying to put my finger on why I love this time of year so much, and I think Stacy nailed it.  After all, I don't really love this time of year because my students are going home. I love a campus full of life and energetic students! It's why I do what I do. Instead, I love this time of year because of all the things Stacy noted above.

Above everything, there are really two things I love about this time of year. (And I promise you it's not because of key inventories and room checks!)

Celebrating the Accomplishments - I think it's so important to celebrate our students' accomplishments, both great and small. I absolutely love celebrating with my students at the end of the year. It partcularly hit me while sitting at our very own Commencement ceremony this past weekend watching six of my Resident Assistants walk across the stage.  I felt so much pride watching each of them accept their diplomas.  

RA of the Year Plaque

I also find great joy in giving out our annual "RA of the Year" award and telling my student leaders how much I appreciate their contributions. Our annual end-of-the-year staff dinner is one of the highlights of my year because it provides me with a formal way to tell all my students how much I appreciate them. 

This year, our department purchased a very nice perpetual plaque (pictured at right) that we plan to update each year with the winner of our coveted "RA of the Year" award. This will not only help us formally recognize a staff member who performed above and beyond the call of duty; but it establishes another annual tradition for our department.

How are you celebrating your students' accomplishments this time of year?

Reflection - I love this time of year also because it's time to start preparing for the start of a new year.  This is a crucial time of year to start reflecting both internally and externally. What can I do to better serve my students? What can our office do to better serve our students? 

Each April, our office gathers a few informal groups of Resident Assistants to ask them to give us their feedback on our department's practices. We have also been known to use SurveyMonkey to get our students' feedback.  In addition, I personally have taken on the practice of holding informal exit interviews with any of my graduating RAs.  This year, I took two of my graduates out to dinner and held this exit interview in a more relaxed, casual setting.. 

All of this culminates with a day-long retreat at which my colleagues and I get together to critically assess how we're doing, and if we can be doing anything better.

After all, I think we should always be asking ourselves if we can be doing anything better in an attempt to better serve our students.