Summer Training: Week One

Where do I begin...This past week has been crazy, logging over 70 hours in the office, but so much fun! Summer training for the Patriot Leaders began on Monday so we are busy bees from at least 6am to 9pm everyday. Retreat was on Tuesday and Wednesday and words really can't describe the experience. It was physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging. We did a high ropes course (which is one of my biggest fears), listened to everyone share deeply personal stories around the campfire (again words can't describe this experience), learned about the FISH! philosophy, build bikes for the Boys and Girls Club, worked on team-building activities and learned more about Mason and orientation. This week we met with quite a few campus stakeholders (Specific Colleges, Admissions, The Freshman Center, etc.), which was especially helpful for me to grasp a better understanding of the campus culture and services. It has been a great learning experience to watch the Head Team members put summer training together, as corny as it sounds I can truly see student development theory playing out before my eyes. Our mornings are mostly spent in meetings then we all have lunch together in one of the student centers which has been great to learn more about where the PLs are coming from while living the dream of life with a meal plan. In the afternoons we work on our specific projects and program pieces. This past week we had quite a few song and dance practices, to learn their alma mater Patriot Pride and the orientation rendition to Tik Tok, needless to say both are humorous. Speaking of laughs, every night from 6-8 we have skit practice. Skits are a critical part of orientation at Mason and it is the job of the interns to make sure they run smoothly. While every day has a schedule, no two days have been the same. The new environment here is amazing. I absolutely love the students I work with! They are so much fun, have high skill-sets, and are the most diverse group I have ever worked with. The ProStaff clicks as well. We already hangout outside the office and while at work the laughter and jokes do not stop. One of our supervisors Katie graduated from HESA a few years ago so it's been nice to have her perspective and understanding of where I'm coming from. On Friday the other intern Katie (from Elon) and I met up with our supervisor Katie and her friend in Georgetown to see SATC2, which was so cute! We also decided that we need to find boyfriends in Georgetown because it may be my new favorite place. Saturday we went shopping at Tyson's corner and then had a relaxing night in. Yesterday Katie invited us to her pool and we had time to chat about South Carolina so that was refreshing. Today we will most likely hangout with one of our other supervisors, Cal, who started the same day as us and has really clicked with us. We've also been really good about running or going to the gym everyday which has been great to get back into. I'm so grateful that I have other grad students here to share my experience with and can't wait to get back to Cola to hear about all of my friends' adventures! Looking forward to what the next week will bring!

Orientation...A Day in the Life

I am quickly discovering that to work in Orientation one must wear many hats. Every day has been exciting but very different. I have already had the chance to meet quite a few campus partners who I am looking forward to working with this summer. Also, one of my supervisors included me in a development meeting with Ikea last week which was so interesting. Ikea will be donating over $15,000 worth of merchandise to the program and decorating the display residence hall rooms during Orientation sessions. I was fascinated to learn about the whole process. I have also been working a lot to plan Family Programs during Orientation as well as helping the Head Team girls with their projects, mainly preparing for retreat and summer training. Today the Patriot Leaders arrived which was very exciting! Katie and I had been learning their names and hearing stories about them all week. They are an energetic bunch that are all beyond passionate about Mason and providing incoming students and their families a welcoming visit and transition to college life. Katie and I facilitated a namegame and team-building activity before dinner with the PLs. We can already tell that it is going to be an entertaining bunch! Some of the students have already gotten very deep with the stories that they have shared, which is so wonderful to be a part of. We leave for a staff-wide retreat tomorrow to Maryland. I'm excited to be able to spend so much time with the PLs, Head Team, and ProStaff to increase the family feel even more, but I'm also nervous about the second high ropes course of the week as heights are not really my thing (I'm sure there will be plenty of challenge and support), also we're meeting at 5:30 am so it's bedtime for me!

Welcome to Mason :)

So much has happened in the last week, I don't know where to begin! I moved to Fairfax, Virginia last weekend (which is the cutest town ever) and started my internship in the Office of Orientation and Family Programs (OFPS) at George Mason. Mason is an amazing place and I'm even more excited for this summer than I already was. OFPS is going to be a great place to work-my supervisors seem like a lot of fun and will definitely help me develop as a young professional. This week has been a lot of meetings, 1:1s, getting to know the office and campus culture, learning about the projects I'll be working on this summer, staff bonding over team building ropes course retreats, personal story sharing, and family dinners. I'm realizing more and more everyday that student affairs is my passion. Mason is an up and coming school with a lot of new construction and traditions developing daily- definitely an exciting time to work in student affairs here! Mason has an absolutely beautiful campus and my roommates and I are taking advantage of the paths to go running every night and are planning on signing up for a few races this summer. The students here are some of the most energetic, passionate, and diverse that I have ever seen. I know we will have a lot of laughs this summer. It feels like my co-intern (twintern as we have been called) Katie from UGA and I have known each other for ever- it's nice having a fellow Elon alum here. Our other roommate also named Katie is in my program at USC which is nice to have a piece of HESA with me here. On Friday we all took the Metro into the city and went to the Nats game. I love summertime and nothing says summer quite like a baseball game, fireworks, cold drink just minutes from the monuments! On Saturday we brainstormed team-building activities, made door decks for the Patriot Leaders, went to Target, and then cooked dinner for the Head Team girls- who are hysterical. This weekend we also set up our apartment and relaxed getting to know each other. Sunday my Dad and sister stopped in for lunch on their drive back to New Jersey which was a nice surprise! The Patriot Leaders all moved into our building tonight so I'm excited for training to begin tomorrow!

Goodbye. Au Revoir. Adios.

May is graduation month, which means goodbyes are happening left and right. I don’t like goodbyes, but I don’t know many people who do. This weekend I had to say goodbye to most of my friends from HESA, our graduate program. When I think about the fact that we only really became friends last August, I have a hard time comprehending why it is so difficult to say goodbye. I know that it will only be a few short months before I see most of them again. This summer we will all be traveling. Our second year friends will all be starting their first jobs as student affairs professionals, while my fellow first years will be completing Orientation or Housing internships all over the country. I think that it is challenging because we have all grown so close this year, in the classroom discussing our passion for student development, and outside having fun at tailgates, happy hours, and weekend trips. When I think about how hard it was to say goodbye to my close friends from college, I am reminded that I have stayed in touch with most of them and that “goodbye isn’t really goodbye”, but more “I’ll see you later.” Dr. Seuss said it best with “Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.” I have so many great memories from this past year and could have never imagined how much fun I would have in graduate school and what amazing relationships I would form. I can smile whenever I think about the fact that I’m pursuing a degree in Higher Education in South Carolina.

The same thing can also be said while traveling. I hate leaving a vacation or trip where I've formed new friendships, found new favorite restaurants, and finally learned the local culture. The nice thing about traveling goodbyes is that they don't have to be permenant, you can always return.

The Journey Begins!

While I have never blogged before, it seems "blogging is the new black". Most of my friends decided to start blogs for this summer as we will be moving all over the country for our summer internships and I am jumping on the bandwagon. In the next few days, I will complete my first year of graduate school at the University of South Carolina in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program. Then, with my pearls on, I will drive from South Carolina, home to New Jersey, and then back down to Fairfax, Virginia, my home for the summer. I will be a NODA Orientation Intern at George Mason University. This blog will hopefully capture my experience in D.C. this summer, as well as some of my general thoughts about traveling and life in general. Enjoy!