Cafe Victoria

This semester I am observing Marci Sanchez’s Tuesday/Thursday 8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Counseling 98: Learning Community Experience/Community College Experience. The Counseling College Success course is paired up with English 85 as part of the English Learning Communities. The ELC program has had excellent retention rates and has done my favorite student affairs thing; built community for those students. I decided to make time in my schedule this spring to observe because I learned over winter break that the graduate program I was part of less than a year ago added one more course requirement and changed the degree to Master of Science in College Counseling and Student Development. It originally was called Master of Education in College Student Affairs (CSA).  I am scheduled to take the additional course in summer of 2009.

During my time researching and writing about the field of student affairs, I discovered that I also have a passion to engage students about the college experience at the classroom level as well. I’ve really enjoyed sitting in her class. I hope down the road I can be part of the ELC teaching community or teach one of many counseling college success courses colleges offer.  I think understanding more of the faculty site of the house will make me a better college leader and advsor to students.

Since being part of Marci’s class I have learned:

• what needs to be in a syllabus such as information on learning accommodations, attendance policy, late work policy and grade chart.
• how to use Career /Personality assessments such as CareerDimension.com and the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI)
• how to write class objectives and be flexable at the same time.
• teaching “College Success” really comes down to helping students understand why they are in college in the first place and helping them to over come the fears they carry with them about learning.

I’ve been noticing something new about myself in the last couple months. I’m discovering my own style of leadership. But at the same time, I’ve felt uneasy about showing it. One side of my leadership style is that I want everyone around me to have the same kind of energy and excitement as I do. I want them to follow through and aim to do great work. But the reality I’m facing is that what might be a priority for me, might not be for that person.  I saw this poem on my co-hort’s member Tira’s blog. It rings true to what I’ve been feeling lately.  Thanks Tira for sharing!

Anyway

People are often unreasonable, Illogical, and self-centered
Forgive them anyway
If you are kind People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives
Be kind anyway
If you are successful, You will win some false friends and some true enemies
Succeed anyway
If you are honest and frank, People may cheat you
Be honest and frank anyway
What you spend years building, Someone could destroy overnight
Build anyway
If you find serenity and happiness, They may be jealous
Be happy anyway
The good you do today, People will often forget tomorrow
Do good anyway
Give the world the best you have, And it may never be enough
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway

You see, in the final analysis It is between you, your self, and God . . .
It never was between you and them anyway

During Lent, I remove the candy from my candy bowl that sits on my desk. I’ve discovered, that when working at a Public College, it can be a challenge to work in the Spirituality. In away, taking away chocolate for 40 days creates a conversation about religion can trigger a fun reminder that they need to pencil in some faith on their must get done list.  I am not sure if I will make it to mass today. My local Catholic churches are still not advertising mass times on the Internet. In my heart, I will keep today’s daily word meditation.

Today, I learned the important lesson of loving the place you call home. I had a very Student Affairs day. It was filled with catching up on unanswered emails due to being out sick on Tuesday, getting in a 30 minute lunch before running off to a committee meeting to than turn around and advise an extra long student government meeting . As I was driving home, I got the craving for Thai Food and went down to the Sonoma Plaza. As I was walking to the restaurant, I realized how much I love Sonoma, and in away, I can’t do all I do with college students without having a place I love to call home.

We must refuel. To be our best to ourselves, to our students, to our staff, we must have a place, a way to refuel.