THE
AIMHO Angle February 2018
Pictured: University of  Northern Colorado
OVERVIEW The AIMHO Angle is the official publication of the Association of Intermountain Housing Officers (AIMHO). The AIMHO Angle is published on a quarterly basis throughout each year and includes submissions and articles by staff and students of the region. The AIMHO Angle is compiled and distributed by the AIMHO Marketing Committee. The purpose of the AIMHO Angle is to provide additional, year-round, out-of-conference opportunities for associated members to share information and learn. All members of AIMHO are encouraged to write for and submit articles to the AIMHO Angle about topics such as passion areas, research, hot topics in housing, projects happening on their campus, and best practices in the field. If you are interested in submitting to the AIMHO Angle, learn how to on AIMHO Angle website at http://www.aimho.org/?page=SubmitAnArtlcle. You will also find previous issues of the AIMHO Angle on the website for your reference and to download. If you have any questions, please email aimhoangle@gmail.com We look forward to receiving your submissions!
MARKETING COMITTEE Cathering LaRoche (Chair) - Arizona State University Matthew Linton (Co-Chair) - University of Arizona Sue Belatti - Northern Arizona University James Bradley - Arizona State University Megan Letchworth - Prescott College Anthony Pegg - Arizona State University Shirl Portillos - Colorado State University
CONTENTS 4-5..................President’s Corner (Brad Shade - AIMHO President, University of Northern Colorado) 6-7..................Awards/Recognition (Stephanie Jones - Awards/Recognition Committee Chair, University of North Colorado) 8......................Program Updates (Megan Chibanga - Program Committee Chair, University of New Mexico) 9......................SPR Updates (Jessica Siegfried - Senior Member-At-Large, Snow College) 10-12...............AIMHO Foundation (Barb Remsburg - AIMHO ACUHO-I Foundation Cabinet Representative, University of Utah) 13.....................Conference Corner (Richard Clark - AIMHO Past President, University of Nevada - Las Vegas) 14-15...............CO/WY Drive-In (Jediah Cummins, AIMHO Technology Coordinator, and UNC Assistant Director of Housing Services, 2018- Colorado/Wyoming Drive-in Committee Member) 16-18...............AZ Leadership Conference (Sammie Linton - University of Arizona, Cameo Davis - ARLC Co-Chair - University of Arizona & Jesse Lafarga - ARLC Co-Chair, University of Arizona) 19-22..............IACURH Updates (Jamie Lloyd - IACURH Regional Advisor, Northern Arizona University) 23-29.............Featured Articles • 23-25 New Year Check In (Emilie Nemchak, Colorado School of Mines) • 25-28 Finding the Magic: Making the Most of 1:1s (Alex Baker, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs) • 29 Unique Facts About New Mexico (Ruth Stoddard New Mexico State & Provincial Representative, University of New Mexico) 30...................Winter New Hires
PRESIDENT'S CORNER To Tweet or Not to Tweet By: Brad Shade - AIMHO President, University of Northern Colorado They say you can’t teach old dogs new tricks, but our technology coordinator for AIMHO, Jed Cummins, said that our President really needs to tweet. So bear with me as I dust off the old twitter account and start tweeting again for the first time since August 2017, when I was merely replying to other sweet tweets. Is replying to a tweet really tweeting? Some say “no” that you need to create and send the tweet out yourself. So that means that my last real tweet was actually back in 2015 and that was, somewhat ironically, at AIMHO 2015 when I was calling out a great Sage address that had just been given by Sue Belatti. I will attempt to live up to the expectations of my colleagues that are pushing me to learn a new skill set while doing my best to keep the region informed as we navigate 2018! Just as I am learning some new skills, I have asked our chairs, co-chairs and executive board to closely examine all that we do for the region, how we do it and why we do it. I have encouraged them to identify potential areas for improvement in their respective areas and opportunities to make AIMHO relevant year round. I am so impressed with the efforts of our AIMHO 365 committee and their commitment to providing professional development opportunities year round. They have sought out so many committed individuals who have presented webinars on a wide variety of subjects. Just today, Emilie Nemchak presented a great webinar on Burnout and she has stepped up and is providing multiple webinars. I guess she knows her limits and won’t over do it!! I know that the AIMHO 365 committee would love to have many more people reach out to them who are willing to present a webinar. Should this be a desire of yours, please fill out the AIMHO 365 Webinar Submission Form and share your expertise so all of us can learn some new skills – LIKE TWEETING!!!
PRESIDENT'S CORNER I am exceedingly pleased with the extra efforts that have been made by many of our new leadership team to not just learn their new role, but to truly immerse themselves in their new positions and dedicate to making a difference. From the Assessment and Information crew examining how they can provide an appropriate amount of surveys that are timely and helpful to the association, to the new direction our Technology Coordinator is leading the team to utilize the google drive more effectively. Not to mention our new Treasurer who has been instrumental in updating policy, procedure and working with our 2019 Host Committee to secure the conference hotel in executing the contract for the region. So many great things are already in motion this year. I will close with my great anticipation of the upcoming trip to the NWACUHO Annual Conference that will be held in Victoria, British Colombia in mid-February. I will have the chance to represent AIMHO, observe and learn from our sister region and hopefully identify some potential opportunities to enhance our region through this partnership. I am so very thankful for those who came before me and afforded me the opportunity to be part of this vital exchange and partnership with NWACUHO. So as we continue into the spring semester please take care of your students, your staff and yourself. Be sure to thank all of those vital volunteers who are working hard to enhance your experiences in the AIMHO Region. I hope that each of you will look for new opportunities to enhance your skill set and maybe try something new! Sincerely, Your Senior Tweeter (Brad Shade)!
AWARDS/ RECOGNITION Awards/Recognition Committee Upates By:Â Stephanie Jones - Awards/Recognition Committee Chair, University of Northern Colorado With the ringing in of a new year comes new and exciting changes for many of us! On behalf of the Awards and Recognition Committee, we wanted to provide you with an update on the new and exciting things happening this year as we focus on recognition and appreciation throughout the region. ONGOING RECOGNITION SPOTLIGHT IN THE ANGLE: In each edition of the AIMHO Angle, the Awards and Recognition committee will be spotlighting the work of individuals who have made an exceptional impact on your residential life community, staff and campus. We challenge you to take time to recognize the hard work of individuals who go above and beyond in their job requirements as we know that many times these actions go unnoticed. Nominations are due the following days: April 15th, July 15th, October 15th. Nominations can be found on the Awards and Recognition committee page. ENGAGE IN RECOGNITION ON SOCIAL MEDIA: The committee welcomes you to engage in our social media recognition challenge! Using the hashtag (#recognizeAIMHO) we ask that you take the time and post on twitter, instagram, or facebook, and share about the amazing accomplishments of those within the AIMHO region. The committee will spotlight these on the Awards and Recognition committee page for the AIMHO Region.
AWARDS/ RECOGNITION PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: In each edition we will be providing some opportunities to develop your professional skills of recognition and appreciation. For February, March and April, we encourage you to take some time to read through “The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace” by Gary Chapman and Paul White. Many of us have become familiar with “The 5 Love Languages” and what better time to utilize a similar concept than during a time when stores are filled with heart shaped candies. Chapman and White provide great insight on how to apply the love languages concept in to your work environment in hopes of increasing job satisfaction and relationships within the workplace. In addition, as many campuses enter a heavy season of recruitment for either student staff or professional staff, it is a good time to reflect on how to increase appreciation in order to decrease staff burnout. ANNUAL CONFERENCE AWARD: It is never too early to start thinking about individuals who are deserving of the awards that are handed out at the Annual Conference in November. Nominations for the awards will open in May but we encourage you to start planning on the nominations so that by the time the nominations open, you are ready to go. For more information about the awards, please visit our Award Description page. If you have any suggestions that you would like the committee to consider, please feel free to contact Stephanie Jones (stephanie.jones@unco.edu), Chair, or John Terry (john.terry@usu.edu),Co-Chair.
PROGRAM UPDATES Input Needed-2018 Keynote Selection By:Â Megan Chibanga - Program Committee Chair, University of New Mexico The Programming Committee is about to do a deep dive into searching for the 2018 keynote, but before we take the big leap, we would love your input to help guide our selection. Keynotes are an essential part of the AIMHO Conference experience, and we can learn a great deal form those who we select for this role. We would like to hear any suggestions you may have regarding the keynote selection for 2018. All it takes is a couple minutes to complete this quick 4question form https://goo.gl/forms/KW1gjTI1ydUihUix1, and your suggestions will be on the table for consideration!
SPR UPDATES 2018 State and Provincial Rep Updates By: Jessica Siegfried - Senior Member-At-Large, Snow College I am very excited to announce our State and Provincial Representatives (SPR’s) for 2018. You are welcome to contact your SPR with state updates, concerns, comments or even just to share resources! An SPR acts as a liaison to members in their respective state or province. They represent the concerns and voice of the Association’s membership. Representatives also work closely with the Past President and Senior Member-At-Large through the year sharing information regarding their state or province through ongoing reports and in preparation for their role during the annual conference. We currently have a vacancy in Colorado and would like to see someone take on this swell opportunity. If interested in being the SPR for Colorado (Colorado has two SPRs) or would like additional information on responsibilities. Feel free to email Senior Member-At-Large, Jessica Siegfried at jessica.siegfried@snow.edu. Take a look at your state and see who represents you! Expect a phone call soon from your SPR.
AIMHO FOUNDATION AIMHO Foundation Updates By: Barb Remsburg - AIMHO ACUHO-I Foundation Cabinet Representative, University of Utah
The Annual ACUHO-I Conference (ACE) Will Be In Our RegionDenver July 7-10 There will be a grad student rate this year- watch for it. Registration will open around February 7, 2018. (The Embassy Suites hotel is closest to the Convention Center). http://www.acuho-i.org/events/ace There will be a call for ACE silent auction items. This would be a great time to share your talents (photography and other arts, homemade items, Foundation counts on contributions from people like you. Items that have been donated in the past include: gift cards; wines, coffees, and teas; apparel (especially with the ACUHO-I logo); artwork; homemade items and jewelry; and technology gifts (FitBit, iPad, etc.). The call for silent auction items will be coming up soon, so please start thinking about it.
AIMHO FOUNDATION
Campus Housing Index There are many schools that have engaged to be part of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and have completed the ACUHO-I Campus Housing Index. These schools are part of the larger Sponsored Research Program to gather data about the outcomes of living on campus. This is will be an incredible resource for all of us as we continually tell our story about the work we do in Housing & Residence Life. To learn more: http://www.acuho-i.org/resources/cid/6410 . Are You Passionate About Your Work? Give to the Foundation who is dedicated to Knowledge Resources, Community, Education, and Influential Leadership & Advocacy. http://www.acuho-i.org/foundation/give ACUHO-I Parthenon Awards The Parthenon Award recognizes outstanding collegiate housing professionals for their service, leadership, achievement, and contributions to the housing field. Nominees are submitted by their colleagues, and must have at least ten years of service in housing, residence life, or an affiliated field, have at least five years of service at the regional or international level with ACUHO-I, and have demonstrated an impact on the campus housing profession. http://www.acuho-i.org/foundation/cid/6352
AIMHO FOUNDATION There have been individuals selected for the 2018 Parthenon awards. These individuals have a champion person who develops a fundraising effort to raise funds on behalf of these individuals to recognize their contributions to ACUHO-I. The funds raised go to support the funding of the educational mission of the Foundation. Psst… if you are interested in knowing who has been identified as the Parthenon award recipients for 2018 so that you may give to their campaign, please contact me. This is confidential. Barb Remsburg AIMHO ACUHO-I Foundation Cabinet Representative 801-587-0851 BRemsburg@housing.utah.edu
CONFERENCE CORNER 2018 Conference Corner By: Richard Clark - AIMHO Past President, University of Nevada - Las Vegas As the new year begins, I want to wish everyone a Happy Belated New Year. By now your all open for spring and settling into a daily routine. As you settle in, I want to share conference and professional development opportunities through ACUHO-I and NWACUHO this year along with AIMHO Webinars and the Annual Conference. Be sure to check your email for Webinar dates and times. Also remember that NWACUHO and AIMHO have a precipice agreement whereby our members pay the membership rate to attend each other’s conference. This provides a great opportunity to connect with colleagues across the Northwest. Below is a list of this year’s events. Academic Initiatives Conference October 15-17, 2018 NWACUHO Annual Conference Pittsburgh, PA February 12-14, 2018 Victoria, BC Housing Facilities Conference October 29-November 1, 2018 2018 Mid-Level Managers Pittsburgh, PA Leadership Institute April 16-19, 2018 ACUHO-I Business Operations Montreal, Quebec Conference October 2-4, 2018 2018 ACUHO-I Annual Pittsburgh, PA Conference & Exposition July 7-10, 2018 AIMHO Annual Conference Denver, CO November 13-15, 2018 Phoenix, AZ
CO/WY DRIVE-IN Colorado/Wyoming Drive-in 2018 – March 23rd @ UNC in Greeley, CO By: Jediah Cummins, AIMHO Technology Coordinator, and UNC Assistant Director of Housing Services, 2018- Colorado/Wyoming Drive-in Committee Member Calling all Coloradans and Wyomingites! The University of Northern Colorado is excited to host the AIMHO CO/WY Spring Drive-In Conference at their campus this year. Please mark your calendars for Friday, March 23th, 2018. Any institutions and their staff in either state are invited to participate the daylong event. A modest registration fee will be charged to help pay for meals, parking, and other conference materials. Learn more at: http://bit.ly/2018cowy_drivein. This one-day conference will focus on connecting Housing & Residential Education/ Residence Life professionals all across the spectrum including Administrative Staff, Custodial Staff, Residence Hall Directors, Housing Maintenance Staff, Mid-level Staff, Occupancy Managers, Senior Housing Officers, and more. This is our chance to share policies, procedures, ask pressing questions, and share new ideas. You will get to hear from colleagues across our two states, including AIMHO president, Brad Shade, on how to get involved in AIMHO. There will also be a tour of UNC’s residential facilities, opportunities to present, roundtable discussions, and a chance to hang out in fabulous Greeley, Colorado. For those with a long drive to or from Greeley, limited overnight housing opportunities are available on UNC’s campus. UNC is also hosting the student drive-in conference the next day, Saturday, March 29th so student group advisors planning to attend are welcome to take advantage of a two day stay. Night activities in the Greeley community will be provided for those who need to stay so you can experience all Greeley has to offer.
CO/WY DRIVE-IN Programs and presentations are being accepted via the website. Roundtable discussion topics will be facilitated and could  include student/professional staff recruitment,  student/professional staff recruitment training, desk management, emergency response, residential living-learning communities, facilities management & planning conference on campus, judicial processes/policies, housing assignments, housing operations, budget management, diversify & social justice, and advising student groups. Please submit your desired discussion topics via our website. Thanks to our committee, including Co-chairs Stephanie Jones and Jordyn Baker, for organizing this event.
AZ LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Arizona Regional Leadership Conference By: Sammie Linton - University of Arizona, Cameo Davis ARLC Co-Chair - University of Arizona & Jesse Lafarga ARLC Co-Chair, Univesity of Arizona The University of Arizona is pleased to share that it will be hosting the Arizona Regional Leadership Conference. This conference, hosted March 16-18. 2018 will provide resident student attendees the chance to gain knowledge from other institutions along with continuing to build a strong state-wide community. The Arizona Residential Leadership Conference is hosted every year by a school in the state of Arizona to provide leadership training, programming and share experiences between different universities and colleges with on-campus housing in the state of Arizona. This year's theme, "ARLYMPICS: Lead for Gold", is made up of core values. These values are Educational, Inclusive, and Sustainable and will be the cornerstone to training our future medalists into success on their campuses. Attendees are asked to plan programming sessions around four tracks. These tracks, Leadership, Advisor, Diversity, and Service, offers each attendee the opportunity to expand their knowledge and reach out for their gold medal. LEADERSHIP
AZ LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Residence Hall leadership is at the very core of this conference. Student leaders from across the state of Arizona are looking to become universal and dynamic thinkers. Each year, we strive to develop a track that allows delegates to create an innovative approach to their leadership values. The ARLC Conference Staff described the developmental experience of a student is through networking and allowing leaders from other institutions to come together. ADVISOR This is one of few times that an advisor track has been incorporated into an ARLC conference. The Conference Staff for ARLC wanted to make sure that although the conference is primarily serving for te students, they wanted to create a purpose to the advisor presence. They have been strongly encouraging advisors, especially with ART training, to expand their knowledge about RHA and NRHH. It was also intentional to create a track where advisors could come together and get better acquainted with their role as we do have a couple of new advisors coming into the role. DIVERSITY Diversity and Inclusive excellence is an important facet to the University of Arizona campus. The student leaders involved in the planning process of the conference, felt that it was important to foil a core value of the campus into this conference. Especially with political and social climate of our world, student's recognize that it may be uncomfortable or straining to allow themselves to express who they are and how they feel about it. The conference staff felt that it was important to create a platform where student leaders in Arizona could create a space where we can create these intentional interactions about identities, cultures, and communities that can add an educational component to this track. SERVICE There are a variety of different definitions of what it means to serve your
AZ LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE campus or servant leadership. The Programming Chair, Lilly Witting wanted to create a track for the conference that universal and would allow everyone to define what it means to add purpose to your respective institution. Many institutions implement service onto their campus in various ways whether that'd be philanthropic or institutional based. ABOUT OUR STAFF The Arizona Residential Leadership Conference Staff is comprised of (14) campus leaders including a Conference Advisor, Chair, Vice Chair, and (11) Staff Chairs including: • Entertainment & Philanthropy • Mass Gatherings • Housing • Finance & Sponsorship • Spirit & Recognition • Dining • Programming • Volunteers & Security • Transportation, Facilities, & Logistics • Marketing These student leaders come from a wide range of majors, campus involvement, and ages. The University of Arizona feels confident in their endeavors because they all bring a different skill to the table that has made the planning of this conference Olympic Champion material. The Conference Staff have one primary goal which is to represent our institution and all that it offers well. They also have stated that they truly want to allow other schools to see the University of Arizona and all that it has to offer to research, environmental causes, and student development theory that you cannot get anywhere else!
IACURH UPDATES My Students Want to Host a Leadership Conference - Help?! By: Jamie Lloyd - IACURH Regional Advisor, Northern Arizona University At least once a year, usually after returning to campus from the IACURH Regional Leadership Conference (RLC) or RAppin’, my students ask if we can host a conference on campus. If you’re like me it's exciting to consider the prospect of showcasing campus, but I’m always a little skeptical that this excitement is anything more than just the high of the conference and that in a week or two those same students will move on to other ideas, at least until the next conference. In our region, students have multiple opportunities each year to attend student leadership conferences. Between AIMHO’s RAppin conference, NACURH’s regional conferences, and potentially even smaller state conferences, our student leaders and professionals may eventually find themselves with a group who is committed, motivated and excited to make hosting a reality. Hosting a student leadership conference is rewarding but also can be scary, especially when there are so many concerns or things to worry about. The most common concerns campuses have about hosting a student leadership conference are related to student buy in, finances, and campus limitations. Let’s look at a few concerns a campus may have and how they can be addressed. What sort of on-campus engagement do you need to host a student conference? No matter what size of conference is coming to campus, a good starting point is to have at least one professional staff member who plans to advise
IACURH UPDATES and support the conference. In addition, it is helpful to have a core group of 2-4 students who are committed to making the conference a reality and will be present from conference vision to conference reality. For a smaller one day conference, like COWY hosted by schools in Colorado and Wyoming or ARLC the two-day Arizona Residential Leadership Conference, a small team could plan from start to finish in a couple of months, versus a larger conference like the NACURH Annual Conference which may start out with a few key people but will quickly end up requiring a more complex staff of chairs, advisors and committee members to achieve bringing 2000-3000 students to campus. Beyond student and advisor engagement, it's also helpful to have buy-in from various departmental and campus stakeholders who can help navigate campus policies and procedures that may come up along the way. What sort of funding do we need to make hosting a reality? Funding the conference depends on the kind of conference your campus plans to host. A conference like RAppin’ has financial accounts that transfer from host site to host site. For state-wide, multi-state or NACURH affiliated conferences it is necessary to have some startup money available on campus. The amount you need starting off may vary based on if it is an overnight conference, if classroom and event spaces on campus are free, if you hope to bring in a keynote to speaker, where food is being purchased from, or if you hope to have swag and other items for people to receive once they arrive. For the NACURH affiliated conferences and even some of the state conferences there are templates, guides and even professional staff at your disposal who can help answer questions about what the conference may need. For most student conferences, a campus is usually hoping to make back the money they put in, which means that a part of the conference process is determining how much each attendee will need to pay to make that a reality.
IACURH UPDATES Once the totals cost of lodging, food, rooms, marketing and supplies are established, most campuses may be able to host an affordable conference to meet any learning outcomes while also creating memorable experiences for those involved in hosting and attending the conference. Sponsorship is a great way to lower the cost. Some student groups may want to offset the conference cost by sponsoring the cost for a more expensive room, or businesses in town that your campus works with frequently may be willing to provide a discount or free items to offset a meal or t-shirt cost. Often times campuses greatest financial hurdle is identifying how they will accept payment from other institutions, and where that money will go. At some institutions the RHA budget has the flexibility to house the funds for the conference, where at others the housing department may set aside an account that can be used. In some instances, the student organizations may have access to off campus banking accounts that could also host the financials for the conference. While it is typical for campuses to accept credit card payments now, identifying any fees or procedures to set up a payment system will also ensure that schools can pay for their conference experience easily and in a timely manner. Campus Limitations For campuses that are smaller or have limited spaces for programming, locating enough spaces to accommodate a conference might be a more unique challenge. Some conferences have noted that there are spaces where programs can happen in academic buildings or residence halls, but that the schedule might need to be adjusted so that these spaces are only needed on weekends. For larger group spaces, some campuses have found success in working with the hotel or rarely used campus spaces (i.e. Gymnasiums, multi-use rooms, theaters) Â to host banquets, keynotes or times when having 100-300 people might be necessary.
IACURH UPDATES It’s Worth It Hosting a student leadership conference definitely takes time, and for the students and staff involved it's usually added time on top of busy schedules and commitments. However, the experience is one that can do far more than show off a great campus. Hosting a student conference can reinvigorate staff and students to carry out their “why” in new ways and develop skills that otherwise wouldn’t be possible to obtain through a campus role. So if your campus has never hosted a student leadership conference, or if it’s been a while, consider if the next time your students return from a conference excited about hosting if it's a possibility worth pursuing. Resources for hosting a student leadership conference: IACURH Regional Director: ia_director@nacurh.org IACURH Regional Advisor: ia_advisor@nacurh.org NACURH Website: http://nacurh.org
FEATURED ARTICLES New Year Check In By: Emilie Nemchak, Colorado School of Mines In 2016, James Ryan, then Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, delivered a keynote address at their graduation about the five essential questions of life. Ever since then, I have watched this video twice a year: once when students move-in during August, and once in January before they return from our winter break. This video is how I check-in with myself, both mentally and professionally. The work we do is tough. I do not need to state that, but it is tough. We all have those days (or possibly months) where it seems everything that is a policy gets broken, your staff are getting burnt out, or your team is going through a tough time, either connecting or working on filling roles. Therefore, I turn on this video. It reminds me of the “why” behind my work. It makes me look into my work and reflect on the year to see if I am truly able to answer those questions. The questions Ryan poses are also thought provoking and are meant to light a bit of a fire under your possibly-dulled passion for your work. I say possibly-dulled because some, not all, may ask, “Why am I doing this again?” and the answer to that question may not come as quickly as it used to, which is why this video by James Ryan is a lovely tool when you are struggling to find the answer to that question. To summarize, Ryan asks the following questions: Wait, What? I wonder…? Couldn’t we at least? How can I help? What really matters?
FEATURED ARTICLES In these questions, he goes on to explain why they are important to ask yourself. He notes that “Wait, what?” is at the root of all understanding. It helps us clarify why we do what we do the way we do it. It allows us to question practices in a way that seeks to understand, so that we can get to the root of why we do it. “I wonder?” is at the root of all curiosity. As Ryan explains it, it allows us to imagine, to think of what something could be like if we tried a new approach or looked at it from a new perspective. “Couldn’t we at least?” gets to the root of all progress. Ryan talks about how saying “couldn’t we at least” can allow us to bring in people or perspectives who may not be at the table, but does so in a way that asks the group to consider it and open it for discussion. Ryan then goes into “how can I help?”, which he states is at the root of all relationships. Since most of us work in a helping-field, this question is sometimes hard to ask, especially if you are burnt out and aren’t sure you can give more of yourself and your time to another person. However, if we lose that ability to offer help, or empathy, that’s when we know we need to take a step back and ask the next question, which is “what really matters?” This question, Ryan states, gets to the heart of life. It allows you to pause and say, “what does really matter to me?”. For me, every time I ask this question, I always go back to doing the most good for the most people, which allows me to re-center my work and what I do day-to-day. At the end, Ryan goes into the bonus question, which is, “And did you get what you wanted out of life, even so?”. This is my favorite question, because Ryan acknowledges that with life’s ups and downs, challenges and wins, highs and lows, can you take a moment and ask yourself, “even through all of that, did I still get what I hoped to get out of life”? This question sat hard with me this year. My family friend unexpectedly passed away at the age of 48 in April 2017 and on October 26th, 2017, my father suddenly died in a home accident at the age of 66. Losing a parent and a friend at the age of 25, or really any age, is not an easy thing.
FEATURED ARTICLES Therefore, this last question hit me because I thought of my friend and my father. Did they get what they wanted out of life? What would they have done differently? I believe Ryan calls this the bonus question because it makes you run through the first five questions and reflect on your answers. Did you spark curiosity in your life? Did you seek to understand? Did you work towards progress? Did you show empathy? Did you do something that really matters to you? If you answer yes to these questions, my theory is that you can answer the bonus question confidently. This semester, I encourage you to reflect on those five questions and see how your answer to the bonus question is coming along. I believe our work feeds our answers to these questions and I hope you are able to find meaning in your answers this year.
Finding the Magic: Making the Most of 1:1s By: Alex Baker, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs It is not a new concept for professional staff to meet regularly with student staff to give and receive updates, check in to see how things are going, and to discuss upcoming events on campus. Like many new professionals, I found myself going through the motions of a one on one without putting much thought into it. After a couple of semesters of this, I began to feel disengaged with the conversations, even though I enjoyed the people I was meeting with. In reflecting on this in my second year as a new professional, I knew that if I was not looking forward to these conversations, my students likely felt similarly. Our department is currently in the second year of curriculum implementation, so I began brainstorming how I could utilize this to help get me and my staff excited for one on ones. Since the foundation of a curriculum is an intentional plan for learning, I knew this would be a great
FEATURED ARTICLES start. Through trial and error, some informal research, and the desire to make the most of my one on ones, I found a strategy to simultaneously receive the information I need from these conversations, while making them engaging and an opportunity to teach and learn. I now have my one on ones structured in a way that focuses on three key areas; community check in, individual check in, and student development.
In the first two sections of the conversation, I am able to give and receive information to ensure the staff are feeling supported through their community needs and individual needs. Questions I typically ask here are: How are things in your community? o Are there any resident/roommate concerns or follow up o Are there any community damages to note or to follow up on o Assess any high number of incidents o Any staff concerns or things happening that I should know about How are you doing? o How are classes going and any concerns o How are you doing emotionally, mentally, and physically o What self-care strategies have you used recently o Is there anything you would like me to know about or anything I need to know about The third section, student development, is where I have taken our curriculum and adjusted my one on ones so that my staff are gaining valuable insight and/or training to help them in the role and in their personal development. Admittedly, as I write this, I feel silly for not doing this all along. However, as a new professional I know that it took time to understand my role, my team, and myself as a supervisor so it is okay that it
FEATURED ARTICLES took time to understand my role, my team, and myself as a supervisor so it is okay that it took some time to find this magic formula. I also believe that there is an unspoken pedestal we often place Resident Assistants on. What I mean by this is using the mindset that “we trained you on this already, so you should know how to do this.” Clearly, this is not the case and what I have found is this; we can use these conversations to continue that training as well as learn a few things while we are at it. Within our curriculum, we have four learning goals and narrative that we support with our learning outcomes. These goals are Belonging, Individuality, Citizenship, and Growth. When I began this process, I knew that I wanted to utilize these four areas as my baseline for the last section of my conversation. I looked for applicable learning outcomes and found activities that support these outcomes. Within the outcomes selected were topics such as identity, self-care, personal interests, leadership styles, and academic progress. I knew that these areas would have activities that could easily connect my one on ones to our curriculum. I looked at the one on ones now and knew that they were already improved from my previous structure, but I wanted to truly make the most of these conversations so that my students and I would gain the most from them. I began to think about when I was a student, and I realized it was the conversations that I was most passionate about that I remembered first. I tossed around this concept for a while, and came up with the next piece to my student development puzzle; allow each staff member to choose. I also remembered that some weeks it felt good to just have fun, whatever that looked like for me at the time. I wanted to incorporate this into my structure as well, and let each staff member choose how this was executed. Lastly, while it’s not development, I know that there will be unexpected things that pop up that will require a significant shift in one on ones or even cancelling them for the week altogether. Because of this, I built in a couple of “free weeks” to use if I needed them.
FEATURED ARTICLES After looking at my plan, I began to get genuinely excited for these once boring conversations. I created a schedule and distributed it to my staff so that they knew what was coming up for each one on one. The staff loved the idea of teaching and learning, and they immediately began tossing out ideas and thoughts of this new structure. After an incredibly successful year of this, it is something I plan to continue to do throughout the next steps of my career. An example of the schedule is below.
If you would like to make the most of your one on one conversations, think about your curriculum or programming model, take the time to understand your students, their passions, the needs, and don’t forget the fun!
FEATURED ARTICLES Unique Facts About New Mexico By: Ruth Stoddard - New Mexico State & Provincial Representative, University of New Mexico 1. New Mexico is the 5th largest state in the United States of America 2. New Mexico was the 47th state to join the union. 3. Santa Fe the state capital is the nation’s highest capital at 7.000 feel about sea level. 4. A small black bear cub was rescued in New Mexico after the Capitan Gap fire of 1950, which burned 17,000 acres. This cub later became known as Smokey Bear who educated the public about the dangers of wilderness fires. 5. According to the Washington Times, New Mexico has more PhD’s per captia than any other state, mostly due to many government and private research facilities in the state. 6. Santa Fe’s Governors Palace is the oldest government building in the country. 7. In New Mexico it is illegal to dance wearing a sombrero. 8. The White Sands National Monument isn’t actually sand at all, its white gypsum crystals. 9. The Gila National Forest is the largest in the country. 10. A third of New Mexicans speak Spanish while at home.
WINTER NEW HIRES Colorado School of Mines Jordan (JB) Burkhart is a new Residence Life Coordinator Paul Carey is a new Residence Life Coordinator Sadie Downs is a new Residence Life Coordinator Samantha (Sam) Hille is a new Operations Coordinator
University of Arizona Danielle (Dani) Godin is a new Community Director Cylan Shaffer is a new Coordinator of Desk and Summer Operations Luke Symington is a new Coordinator of Desk and Summer Operations
Colorado State University Phillis Duncan is a new Residence Director for Special Projects Lisa Gilbert is a new Residence Director Nick Rhodes is a new Residence Director Sydney Spiller is a new Residence Director
If you want to see your institution's new hires on the next edition of the AIMHO Angle, please email aimhoangle@gmail.com!