Archive | June 2014

Today, a nice thing happened to me. My boss told me I inspired a student.

My boss had been out of the office at the end of the last week, so today, when he returned, one of the students we work with came to his office to talk. The student told my boss that last week he felt inspired after a conversation we had, when his mind had not been in a good place. I remember the day and the conversation, but I had no idea of the effect.

Now, I don’t mean to sound all high and mighty here about the great impact of my actions, or any one person’s actions, per se. Rather, I want to share this story because I’ve written before about feelings of uncertainty related to my career path and the decisions I’ve made to change it. The situation today made me feel more confident in my decision to do what I am doing. Especially having only worked this internship for about two weeks (though that means it’s already 20% complete – eek!), I know that my connection with each student here is nominal relative to what it could be over time. That being said, hearing those words today, in fact, inspired me.

Acknowledging those feelings, I did wonder for a moment, if perhaps my boss, in an effort to motivate me or make me feel good, exaggerated when he told me what the student said. I decided that scenario would be okay with me too. Either way, I believe that in student affairs work, the potential to positively impact students is there.

Many student affairs people joke that one does not join the field for the money. For that reason (or maybe it’s some kind of chicken and egg phenomena), the field attracts people who want to feel fulfilled from their work. Sometimes I think that life could be better compartmentalized and easier, if I did not look for meaning in my work, but I find myself doing so. As I write these words, I’m struggling a bit with the privilege I have in being able to make those kinds of decisions about the work I do. I am lucky to have had the means and option to quit my job and go to grad school, in order to change my career path.

Now, I want to acknowledge the power I have and do good with it. Through my work with students, I hope I can inspire and continue to be inspired – beyond this summer stint and well into a career.

06/07/2014

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First Days

On Sunday of this week, I embarked on a journey, driving down to Atlanta, Georgia from the Chicago area. Fortunately, my boyfriend accompanied me on what was supposed to be a 12 hour drive, but with breaks and the time change got us to my apartment around 11:30 p.m. after starting our trip around 8:30 a.m. Realizing we needed things like toilet paper before bed, we ran out to a 24-hour CVS and unpacked a little before bed. Having not slept great, out of excitement, that Saturday night leading into the long day of driving, I slept pretty well and got ready early with 15 or so minutes to sit around, waiting to hear from my new boss who said he’d pick me up at my apartment to head to my internship that Monday morning.

This week has been a good time of adjusting to a new place, feeling welcomed, and learning a new culture. I’m pretty far from home, but I’ve been building connections by reaching out to other interns – great part of living in this on-campus apartment complex – lots of other people transplanted here for the summer. My boss’s boss also welcomed me by taking me to dinner one night with his wife and baby. Generally, work is going great. I think that the internship here is providing quality opportunities for my career, and, plus, the boss and everyone I work with are awesome.

Besides those vague positive statements, I don’t have a ton to say, but just want to post that I’m doing well here so far. I also wanted to share some of the photos my boyfriend took on my phone for me because I couldn’t look around and take in parts of the drive, while driving. (Thanks, love.) Please see and enjoy below.