Manage Stress Properly

We all have stress.  We all deal with it differently.  Some people seem that they have no stress but that is not true.  We all encounter some level of stress in our lives.  Processing that stress though depends on our personality and temperament.  One thing I have learned in higher education is that you HAVE TO de-stress your life.  Learn how to implement boundaries. Keep to them. Find methods of stress relief that work for you and do them on a regular basis.

Rest Needed

It's amazing when you get a cold or are sick the need for your body to heal though rest. It's a subtle reminder to slow down. Sometimes we get going so quickly we don't rest adequately and out body breaks down. Remember to rest properly and take care of yourself so you can last for the long haul!!

Plan and Adapt

When it comes to the upcoming year in higher education, we must all have plans. However, I have learned that you need to have adaptive plans, meaning that you have a plan but then adapt that plan as needed. This has been my approach to the school year for this upcoming semester. I have planned and prepared but already have had to adopt a more fluid approach to those plans. If we don't have adaptive planning we will easily get frustrated at our job and eventually quit or burn out due to feeling like you are constantly running without any progress. What plans have you made that need to be adapted? Possibly even just a little?

Lifestyle of a Learner

I read a book called Strengthsfinder 2.0 last year and it was very insightful.  The book comes with a code to go online and take an assessment that then gives you your top five strengths.  My number 1 strength was LEARNER. It makes a lot of sense to me.  I have always loved the phrase, "grow daily or die gradually."

Personal growth is something I care deeply about.  Its something I try to challenge the college students I encounter every day with.  We have to grow and develop, we have to be continually learning. 

In our role of higher education this is imperative.  Culture changes so quickly and the generations that are attending college now and will in the future are forever changing and adapting.  If institutions in higher education continue to operate and do things as they always have, they will get the results that they have always gotten. 

Here are helpful tips to grow:

• google blogs or articles specific to your field and read them once a week
• find a podcast you can listen to to encourage your leadership abilities or style
• don't complain about how things exist in your organization now but learn new ways that could make it better
• invest in one conference a year that will expand your learning in the field you are employed
• network with other colleagues from other institutions that have been doing your job longer than you to learn best practices they do and see if you can incorporate them into your style
• always keep an open mind to change and you will always be prompted to learn new ways of doing things

Just the other day I received an email that had a digital version of a higher education magazine.  Inside if it had some great articles on retention of students through custom visits.  It isn't something that I even deal with but it was insightful to learn about it and how this could help our institution.

The process of learning is at times more valuable than the particular outcome.

Organizations that aren't growing usually have members of that institution or organization that do not take a proactive approach to learning new things.

The heart of every institution is to grow but the members have to ask the hard question...what am I learning that will help with that growth?

What is it that I have read or listened to lately that I can apply to my own life and to increase the value of the institution I work for?

If we can be real and honest with the answers to those questions it will force us to begin to adopt a lifestyle of learning and that will change not only who we are but will in turn add value to the institution we work for.

In This Together

We are all in this together.  If you are in an organization that wants to grow and continue to be healthy you have to believe that statement.  Otherwise, the organization will die because you won't be moving cohesively together forward.

When I arrived at my institution I began to look for ways to work together with other departments.  One of the biggest and easiest ways to start was with our college visitation days called Breakaway.  Admissions was the primary engine that made Breakaway happen but our department was in charge of housing the students once they were here. 

I asked to set up an appointment with the two admissions individuals responsible for the Breakaway process.  The result was a new process for check in that was more streamlined than ever before.  By the Spring and our third Breakaway here at the school, we were getting compliments from Youth Leaders about the efficiency of check in.  This was all as a  result of one meeting and asking the right questions to get us working better together to make an event that much better.

What lines do you need to cross over in order to work more efficiently with other departments within your organization? 

Set up that meeting.  Send that email.  Make that phone call.

Do it today. 

To Wait or Not To Wait...

Have you ever been waiting around for someone? 

It is pretty annoyinng at times isn't it?

When you are working in a larger organization like a college or university, there are multiple departments and people you need to work with.  There tends to be quite a bit of overlap across the multiple departments.  An important item to understand is to not wait around for someone to do something because sometimes you can miss a critical deadline while waiting for them.

But you have to be careful as well because there is a fine line between not waiting and taking initiative and becoming the guy or girl who "does everything".  Initiative is good but doing everything will lead to burn out.  Nobody wants to burn out.

When I arrived at my position there were a lot of tasks and procedures I just jumped into and began to learn and figure out myself. People are busy and I didn't want to wait on getting things done for someone to show me how to do something.  This is a good and bad approach:

Good - I figured out ways to do things better and more efficient than others had in the past

Bad - I messed several things up because I tried to do them without proper understanding of how to do it

Balance is the key in stepping out and waiting.  Strike that balance and you will be successful in higher education.

Here are some helpful tips I have found for myself:

• Search for previous documentation on a certain policy or procedure before you jump in
• If documentation exists, read it over and see if there is a way to adapt it to be more efficient
• Ask others how things have been done and why
• Put forth new ideas and ways of doing things (worst thing that can happen is that they get shot down)
• Be open to change...BUT don't try to change EVERYTHING

What are some things you have missed out on because you waited too long?

What things were better because you jumped in with initiative to make it happen?

What Do You See?

What do you see when you look at this image?
 
Do you see a broken car with no further purpose?
 
Or do you see a car that has the potential to be restored to be better than its original state?
 
I spent nine years in youth ministry in the local church I feel that this year I was truly able to say that the latter question is my new response now when I see a picture like the one above.  We tend to say that we "see potential" just as a knee jerk response.  This year, I feel that I actually bought into that phrase in regards to the students I interact with on a daily basis.  Here are some examples...
 
One student in particular ended up in my office as a result of needing a disciplinary action.  This student had previous troubles at our institution but at the conclusion of the semester, of which we spent time meeting weekly, he had changed completely.  God not only restored him but made him a better version of him.
 
Another student came to me and literally felt like he was this car.  He felt broken down and unusable.  Again, through explaining to him that he was not broken and that God was reshaping him to be better, he now sees a bigger purpose and lives differently.
 
The bottom line is that we often brush people off, especially students, who appear to be in the condition of this car.  Maybe we do it because...

• we don't have time to invest
• we don't know how to invest
• we simply don't care
• we feel like we are broken too

Whatever the case may be in Christian higher education, many students whether we want to beleive this or not, feel like this car and it is our responsibility in student development to help them see themselves as God sees them.

What student do you need to help see the potential in them that they never saw before?

 
Think of that student and make an effort to speak life into them this fall!

10 Things I Learned This Year

 

Grow daily or die gradually.  I have loved that phrase for years and tried to apply it to my life repeatedly.  So...here are ten things I learned this year.

1. Budget for interuptions in your day because they will come whether you want them to or not.
2. Learn to disconnect from work when you go home.  You can't do EVERYTHING in one day.
3. Students in higher education need as much if not more coaching than studnets found in youth groups within the church walls.
4. Discipline is not negative as many of us tend to categorize it.  Its all about a person's heart in wanting to stop their current actions and make the necessary course corrections.
5. Students want to feel they were heard even if they don't get the particular answer they were looking for.
6. If you take the time to explain the why behind the what, you will avoid a lot of headaches that could arise down the road.
7. Just because someone is a student leader it does not mean they don't have baggage they are working through.
8. Even the best students will break your heart.
9. Collaborate with other departments because if you don't your job will be that much harder to be effective and efficient in.
10. See how things are done first before you try and implement changes to a system or policy.  There may be a very good reason why it exists that you may just not see at the present time.

What is it that you have learned this year and how have you now applied what you learned to your everyday life?

 

 



Blur

The first year as Campus Director could be described in one word...blur.  Through the many meetings, committees, new policies, and navigating a new culture that is the best word I can use to describe the last 12 months!

Here's my story...after nine years of church ministry I accepted the role of Campus Director at Valley Forge Christian College in 2012.  I have definitely been learning and being stretched in this first year within high education.

I have now begun to understand my role in this institution and how I can contribute to the development of students in higher Christian education.

I created this blog as a resource to those in student development or residence life.  I found myself brand new to the field with little to no resources about what it meant to work in student development.  I am sure there were resources available but I couldn't find a simplified version...student development for dummies!

Hopefully, through my experiences you can compile your own "Student Development for Dummies" manual.

In the posts through this blog, I will give reflections and insight on how I have experienced residence life this past year and what I am continuing to learn.  I will share the highs and lows and hopefully by reading this blog you will get a sense of what it is like to be in residence life and will be encouraged to use someone's firsthand experience (mine) to help those you are investing in on a daily basis. 

Please feel free to comment or ask questions. I by no means have any of the right answers after only one year but am loving what I do and desiring to grow each day.

So in the words of Jerry McQuire...Help me, Help you!