Leslie Page – Office of Orientation – www.usf.edu/orientation
Keri Riegler – New Student Connections - http://newstudent.usf.edu/
CAS Standards to review: Prologue, Part One, Orientation Programs
Please review the questions and answers below from Leslie Page. I will post Keri Riegler's response in upcoming days as a comment beneath this post.
I got started in student affairs as a Resident Assistant at Bowling Green State University. From there I became involved in many different things on campus—one of which was being an Orientation Leader. After undergrad at BGSU I decided to go to Kent State University for my masters. During that time I worked as a graduate assistant in academic advising at Kent State and as a GA in housing at Ursuline College. After my first year at Ursuline I moved in to the role of Assistant Director of Student Activities. Also during grad school I did internships in Alumni Relations, the Dean of Students Office (which allowed me to do assessment and accreditation), and Campus Activities. After I finished grad school I became a Residence Life Coordinator here at the University of South Florida. I was in this role for two years in the Andros 2 area and then became the Assistant Director of Orientation. This past May I was promoted to the Associate Director of Orientation and I’m continuing to work in the area of the field that I loved so much during undergrad and grad school.
2.) Explain the particular challenges of your work. What are the special rewards?
There are plenty of challenges in Orientation—student transition issues, family transition issues, dealing with student leaders, etc. I’d say the biggest challenge we face in Orientation is ensuring that each student gets the best view of the university that we can possibly share and ensuring that all of our partners across campus feel like a part of the process. It is difficult to include everyone wishes in to the overall program because there is a limited amount of time throughout the day. Other challenges as an orientation professional are balancing the very demanding summer schedule when most people around you have slower work schedules. This causes difficulty in balancing the personal and professional and finding time for yourself.
The rewards are never ending. I get to see students and parents realize that they’ve chosen the right place for the student to attend for the next few years. Another huge reward in my specific position is working with the Orientation Team Leaders and watching them change and grow throughout their time in the position and beyond. Our students learn so much about themselves and their teammates and they truly value their experience as an OTL, it’s extremely rewarding to know I played a part in that development.
3.) Are there any problems you've faced that you would now handle differently? Can you describe one of them?
One of the problems I faced in student affairs was in a position when there was tension between various levels of employees. I was the newest person in the situation and felt like I didn’t have the ability at the time to change the feelings between people so I sat back and dealt with it the first year. During my second year I worked very hard to build a relationship between the levels and bring harmony to that portion of the office. If I had it to do over again I would have tried to help that first year instead of being saddened and frustrated that people couldn’t get along. There are some things you sit back for when you’re new, but when it starts affecting you personally you need to really consider stepping up and doing something.
4.) What advice would you give to a student preparing for student affairs work?
Lots of things! First, take complete advantage of grad school. Try not to completely overwhelm yourself, but seek out as many opportunities as you can handle. Find things outside your assistantship that make your experience varied and/or ask for new responsibilities in your assistantship if you know you can handle them. Try new things now so you can shape your job search in a few years. Also, take time to really learn who you are as a professional, colleague, supervisor, advisor, etc. Once you can learn your own style you can plan more easily for the future. Make great connections throughout your institution and do what you can to foster those relationships. Find professionals you want to know more about and schedule a meeting/coffee break/lunch with them to learn more about what they do and then maintain those relationships throughout your time in grad school. I have a bunch of others I could share, so ask me anytime if you’d like!
Below is Keri Riegler's response (Part I):
ReplyDeleteDescribe my career path-
Keri K. Riegler is the Director of the Office of New Student Connections at the University of South Florida. Ms. Riegler represents the Division of Student Affairs in its partnership with numerous university departments who implement initiatives that support a new student’s successful transition to college. She leads a team, consisting of staff and students, who develop programs that enable new students to establish meaningful connections with the USF community. In January 2006, Keri was named the Assistant Dean of Students for New Student Programs at USF. Her primary responsibilities included partnering with the Office of Orientation to plan and implement New Student Orientation, Week of Welcome, and new student success initiatives. Prior to this appointment she served as the Senior Coordinator in the Office of Student Programs at USF where she directed the planning of Homecoming, entertainment and lecture events, and the union art gallery. Keri has served as an instructor for USF’s first year experience class since 2002. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tampa in Biochemistry and a Masters of Education degree from the University of South Florida in College Student Affairs.
Challenges of your work-
The biggest challenge of our work (because we are a young department, established summer 2007) is that we are always developing new programs and services for our new student population. Creating new things takes time and time is not always the easiest thing to find at USF. We often have to create new programs and initiatives quickly, knowing that they will need to be refined the following year. Therefore, we rely heavily on assessing our programs. We are constantly developing new programs and assessing what worked and where we need to improve. Because of the nature of our work and the time we have to develop new programs, very few things are done 100% the first time around in our office.
Special rewards-
The best reward of our work is watching new students engage with our campus. When you get to witness a new student out with new friends, attending events, and making USF their new home, you know you have done your job. The rewards also come when a student walks in your office and you can help them learn how to navigate campus and find “their place”. After the conversation, you can see their face relax and you know that you have made a difference in their experience and for that moment (and hopefully more) you have made life a little easier. Those are the moments I live for. They are the ones that remind me why I work so hard day in and day out for USF students.
Keri Riegler's post (Part II):
ReplyDeleteProblems you faced? How you would handle differently?
Collaboration for our office is paramount if we are going to truly support our new students. Therefore, we have to work well with other departments to accomplish our mission. Building these relationships takes time and requires a certain type of finesse. Sometimes these relationships develop easily, other times you have to really work at them. My biggest challenge has been knowing that in order for an initiative to be successful it requires the buy in and participation from other departments (because they have the best connection to the students we need to help). Everyone at USF is busy. Figuring out how one can empower another department to fully participate in an initiative that is housed outside their department has been trickily.
If I had to go back and start again, I would include the key departments in the development of the initiative from day one. I would never start an initiative again without knowing that they were 100% supported of the work and time it would take to make it live. If we started over, I would have them contribute to the goals and outcomes of the program. I would make sure that they were equally invested in the initiative as our office is.
Advice for student affairs work-
Be open to new experiences! If Dr. Miller had told me 10 years ago that I would be leading an office that supports new students at USF, I would have laughed. I never imagined that I would not stay at USF for this long and I did not know at the time that I would have an interest in supporting new students. As you grow in the field, you learn your strengths, your interests, and more importantly, what you are passionate about. You think you know “what you want to be when you grow” but trust me, your classes and your interactions with students will present you new opportunities and life paths. As you grow in the field be open to new opportunities and experiences. I’m where I am today because I took an opportunity that was presented.
Lastly, some websites Keri wanted to share with you:
ReplyDeleteFY and Transfer National Resources
· http://www.sc.edu/fye/
· http://www.firstyear.org/index.html
· http://www.myacpa.org/comm/aofye/
* Institute on the Study of Transfer Students
o http://www.unt.edu/transferinstitute/
New Student Connections
· www.newstudent.usf.edu
· www.usf.edu/wow
· www.ctr.usf.edu/first8