ACUHO-I 2009: Day 3

Sorry for the late update… had quite an adventure yesterday evening where I just didn’t feel like writing (more at the end of this post).

Yesterday’s sessions were excellent. My morning session, Social Media Recruiting, was extremely engaging and energizing. I think back to my first course in the SAA program, SA & Technology, and it’s amazing to see what people are already doing with available and emerging technologies in higher ed just in terms of professional recruitment. There was totally a collective “why didn’t I think of that?” moment when the presenter, Steve Desir from Georgia State University, suggested using Skype for phone interviews. During the presentation, I started thinking about all sorts of other ways in which to use these widely available (and many free to low-cost) in just general operations within our department: RA selection & housing lottery updates via Twitter, creating a dept’l Facebook page – the goal is of course, to refer folks back to our University sponsored website, which is already very thorough anyway. I was even thinking of my own responsibilities of generating the dept’l newsletter – a blog is so much more efficient, and again, points people right back to our website.

Someone in this session also suggested using things like dept’lly created videos for programming, such as a user-submitted talent show. Residents film their own acts, submit them to YouTube, and then the RA coordinated the online judging process. It got me thinking – what does this mean in the context of passive programming? We’ve come a long way from door hangers and flyers in the bathroom stalls. Really neat, innovative stuff.

The second session I attended was about using a curriculum model for programming. The presenters were definitely greenhorns, but it was enjoyable and they had great energy. Introductory material with lots of great ideas to take back to my campus – curriculum-style programming really adds a whole level of intention instead of the RA just doing a program to complete a requirement.

The big exciting part of the day was the Case Study Competition. I paired up with a gentleman from Canada (University of Guelph). We had just met on Sunday, during the Strength-session. The competition was intense- 30 minutes to review a 2-page case study, 10 minutes to present, 5 min of questions from the judges. The scenario was essentially a potential campus shooter/loner who draws pictures of guns. The scenario described a series of events that vaguely allude to some kind of mental health/violence aspect to the student, but there was enough info in the case study to also allude that he’s just an emo guy who likes guns with no intent of violence whatsoever. Our role was that of the Area Coordinator, and basically, what we do next. Amir, my partner, had some great ideas and we collaborated and presented well, I think. I’m looking forward to the feedback session later today. The winners will be announced tonight; sadly, I’m flying back before the awards so I won’t necessarily know until tomorrow.

So, as promised, why I was up late last night: I won’t say that I saw a ghost, but- I definitely felt something very strange, like I was being followed on the 19th floor of my hotel, the Lord Baltimore Radisson. Just wanted to check out the floor, it was about 1am… it was pretty creepy. Go back to my room (on the 16th floor) and Google the hotel to see if there were stories about it being haunted… turns out it’s registered as haunted by the Historic Hotels of America!

ACUHO 2009: Day 2

What a day! 2 sessions, 1 rambling but fascinating/inspiring keynote, and I'm signed up for the Case Study Competition tomorrow. I'm also a hair buzzed *pinches fingers* from dinner.

The morning started bright and early with Phil Tompkin's (Central Arizona College) session on Strengths-Based Housing Programs. It was a rather inspiring way to start my ACUHO experience in terms of interest sessions. So much of our leadership development is based on weakness-eliminating; a strengths-based approach comes at it from the opposite direction. By actively engaging and cultivating our strengths, and thus, that which comes naturally to us, not only will we more effectively develop ourselves professional, but *gasp* enjoy more of what we're doing at the same time.

The Strengths session was mostly an overview; I was vaguely familiar with the Strengths approach already. Phil handed out free codes to Gallup's Strength Finder online- I'm looking forward to completing this assessment so I can create a more focused approach to my own professional development.

The second interest session I attended was Dr. Susan Komives' (Univ. of MD-College Park) Leadership Model in Theory and Practice. She reported on the findings of the 2006 Multi-institutional leadership survey of over 52 institutions to determine practical applications of the social change leadership model. It was a lot to digest, but I received a lot of great material on the social change leadership model, as well as the leadership identity development model as well. While the session was focused on student leadership, I think there will be many transferable themes revealed in SAA704: Interpersonal Leadership. I also saw Bob, an ACUHO veteran who lead my small group at the New Attendees Reception, and he highly recommended Dr. Komives' Exploring Leadership. So, naturally, I bought it from the ACUHO bookstore. I figure there's a lot I can glean from there to SAA704, and vice versa.

Lunch meant a stroll around the Expo Hall- so many booths, so little time! Got a free fun swag items: the usual assortment of pens, notebooks, and stress balls, but this time, I managed to win a free toss pillow too :) Thankfully, I have plenty of room in my luggage to bring it home.

After lunch I hit up the Case Study Competition Info Session, where I'm paired up with Amir from Canada. We met during the Strengths session, and were the only two to show up without partners, so it was a natural match. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's competition- a little nervous, but otherwise excited to test my skills. With 3 years of professional experience already, I'm surprised I haven't participated in one by now. It's also less intense than some other case study competitions- we only have 30 minutes to review the case, and 15 minutes to present- no powerpoints, no day of research: just kind of gut instinct, hands-on presentation.

ACUHO's keynote speaker was Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Apart from his odd fife and drum corps entrance (seriously), it was an engaging speech about the economic advantages of sustainability pursuits on a national scale. He kind of went over his time, mostly because I think he just had so much to share with the group. Not sure if there ever was a solid takeaway bit in relation to housing, but it was a fascinating keynote just the same.

Exhausted from the day already, my crew skipped out on Roundtables and headed back to our hotel for a lil decompression time. My colleagues headed to dinner in my hotel (I stayed in a different hotel b/c I found a wicked cheaper rate) and I trekked out to Fell's Point and had a simply scrumptuous meal at MELI, a French/Mediterranean inspired bistro, with a ton of honey-themed menu items. Grilled tomato salad, lavender honey salmon, and a Greek honey parfait - all prepared to perfection.

Now it's past midnight, actually closer to 1am. I need to get my rest for tomorrow- 2 sessions, a case study competition, and a corporate sponsored dinner tomorrow night. The adventure continues...

ACUHO 2009: Day 1

I am absolutely wiped after a long day of hoofing it all over downtown Baltimore today. I woke up bright and early this morning, headed up to Manchester, NH, and flew on a very pleasant flight down to BWI. Hopped on the light rail train and made it to my hotel. Room wasn't ready, told to come back at 3pm. Reduced down to a tiny purse, left the rest of my luggage in storage, and ventured to Lexington Market, just a few blocks from my hotel; it was certainly a NFT/Yelp treasure find. Definitely teetered on the edge of safe/unsafe neighborhood, but at noon on a Saturday, it was bustling with activity and people.

The people watching alone was amazing. I was very visibly the minority there, but hopefully I didn't give off too much of the tourist vibe. Stall after stall of just about any food you could think of, and lots of fresh produce, meats, seafood, and fresh baked goods. And live jazz to boot! It reminded me of a Southern version of Boston's Quincy Market, but earthier and with a lot more local heart as opposed to blatant tourist trap.

My work colleagues called me to meet up for lunch, and we ate some really delicious crab cakes. They splurged and went for the jumbo lump, but I was happy to save a lil cash and get a regular crab cake. I'm also on Weight Watchers right now, so I'm really trying my best to keep my points in check, despite lots of food temptations :)

Checked in at the Conference, picked up my goodie bag, headed back to the hotel. Rooms still weren't ready, but a few batted eyelashes and respectful assertiveness got me a room faster than the dozens of folks in line waiting for rooms to be freed up (hotel is sold out). Barely had time to change and headed to the New Attendees Reception. Met up with some old friends from another school at where I've worked, made some new connections, got some good insight to make the most out of my first ACUHO conference.

Then it was off to Camden Yards for the O's Nats game and a special picnic dinner in the bullpen area. Made healthy choices about food (just a taste of nachos as opposed to a whole plate, lots of fruit and veggies), but treated myself to a hotdog - no bun. It is a baseball game... you gotta have a hotdog! Game pace was wicked slow... O's walked 2 runs by the top of the 2nd inning, and my coworkers left just after the 3rd. I stuck it out until the top of the 5th, then called it a night. Hoofed it to the Inner Harbor area, stopped in the Harborplace Gallery just before it closed to pick up a pair of stretch pants (my legs got wicked chafed walking all over the place in a skirt) and took a cab back to the hotel.

I will have no problem getting to sleep tonight... I'm beat! It's been a whirlwind day already, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow, especially the Case Study Competition Info Session. My dogs are tired, there's a new episode of Law & Order: SVU on tv, and I'm ready to fall asleep sitting up. G'night!

Dusting off the ol' blog

It's been a while since I've posted here... my personal life has been all over the place the last 6 months, and I've been playing catch up.

I plan to post a summary of my experiences in my History of Higher Education course; it was a really fascinating course that allowed me to examine the history of my own home institution in the greater context of the growth of Student Affairs in higher ed.

I'm about to start my Interpersonal Leadership course on Monday... right smack in the middle of the 2009 ACUHO-I Conference in Baltimore, MD. Luckily, my hotel has free wifi so I'll be able to check in online in the evenings.

I am, in a very geeky way, incredibly excited about attending ACUHO. This is not only my first ACUHO conference, but my first out-of-town conference :) NASPA 2008 was in Boston, so it was just a hop, skip, and a jump on the T down to the Hynes Convention Center.

I'm sure I'll have more to post about the conference. I really need to get this blog back in shape!