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...