Aimho Angle June 2019 edition
Laramie County Community College
Contents 4 President’s Corner 6 AIMHO 2019- Highlights to look forward to 7 New ERA in working with Corporate Partners 9 Welcome to the Region 10 AIMHO Regional Survey Results 12 ACUHO-I Foundation Regional Cabinet Representative to AIMHO 13 How AIMHO can help you host your state or regional drive-in 15 Tips for Self Care 19 Student CO/WY 2019 20 A Case Study: Pet Friendly Residential Learning Communities 29 Take a Peek
Presidents Corner
Cory Shapiro, AIMHO President, Arizona State University
Congratulations to those of you who have wrapped up your academic year over the last few weeks! I know how busy of a time this is for everyone as you prepare for next year and finish planning your staff training programs. While the past two months have been busy for all of us, AIMHO has been no exception. I would like to take a moment to share a few of the accomplishments within our Association and a few new ways for you to engage our Association. Â First, it has been inspiring watching how hard-working our AIMHO 2019 Host Committee has been working to prepare for our conference. Todd Justesen, Tim David, Jenni Schreiner, and the University of Utah have been busy not only planning to host everyone in Salt Lake City in November, but they have also prepared to host our AIMHO Summer Meeting and Site Visit this month from June 5-8, 2019 for our AIMHO Leadership Team.
We look forward to e-mailing out an update to the Association following our Summer Meeting and the ACUHO-I Convention & Exposition this month. Jumping forward a year, it is my pleasure to announce that Billings, Montana will be hosting our AIMHO 2020 Conference, and that three dedicated Local Arrangements Committee Chairs have been identified. Congratulations to Shaydean Saye, Aaron Like, and Korrin Fagenstrom for stepping into these roles! Thank you to the three of them as well as our Local Arrangements Committee Members Jacob MacKenzie, Katie DeVore, Elizabeth Hainsworth, and Amanda Tebay for the great work that we know you all will do in the coming year and a half. If anyone from Montana is interested in joining this committee, please let Shaydean, Aaron, Korrin, or me know.
During my time in AIMHO, I have noticed that many of our AIMHO members have been from Residential Life units, which is wonderful though there are much fewer AIMHO members across business & finance, facilities management, housing operations, guest & conference housing, and other Housing units. Several of you have noted this to me as well. As such, it is my pleasure to form the Housing Operations & Ancillary Partnerships Task Force, which will get up and running thismonth and over the coming months come up with ideas and implementation plans to engage units across Housing in addition to Residential Life in AIMHO. Please e-mail me at cory.shapiro@asu.edu if you are interested in being a part of this task force and helping our Association be even more inclusive. I have so enjoyed interacting with many of you and your undergraduate students who have applied for our various scholarships and awards over the last two months. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge our award recipients.
Our AIMHO New Professional Award recipients (to attend the ACUHO-I Convention & Exposition) are Tyler Thomas from Utah State University and Taryn Rae Wright from the University of Wyoming. Our STARS College Scholarship recipients from AIMHO are Grayson McKeown from the University of Colorado Boulder and Alison Brown from the University of Idaho. Our NHTI Scholarship recipient from AIMHO is Travis Gabriel from Laramie County Community College. Many congratulations to these five individuals and to any other AIMHO members who are attending NHTI or STARS College. If you missed my AIMHO President Address in April, feel free to watch my goals and announcements for the region. You can access this at http://tinyurl.com/AIMHOPresidentAddress. One more congratulations to our three newly-elected Executive Committee Members: President-Elect Dr. Chip Thomas, Corporate Relations Coordinator Jed Cummins, and Corporate Relations Coordinator Cassandra Balzarini! If anyone is interested in learning about our appointment process our Technology Coordinator position, please send me a note. Finally, I have enjoyed learning many of your stories over the last few months, and I look forward to continuing to do so over this summer. In the midst of all of your hard work this summer at your institutions, please remember to focus on yourselves as well. Think of AIMHO and opportunities to connect with us as you get involved in committees and task forces, submit AIMHO 2019 program proposals, and attend AIMHO 365 webinars. Please feel free to reach out if you have any ideas of how AIMHO can better serve you, your peers, or your institution. Have a great summer!
AIMHO 2019 Highlights to Look Forward to! Erik Buol, University of Utah Registration for the 2019 Annual Conference is almost here! Until registration opens on August 1, 2019, the Host Committee from the University of Utah wanted to share a little bit more about our 2019 Annual Conference and the host hotel, amenities, and the city we will November 19-21, 2019! Our hotel will be the Marriot City Creek, located in the heart of Downtown Salt Lake City. This hotel will be our hub at the conference, hosting everything from hotel rooms, Opening Ceremony and Closing Banquet, the Programming Sessions, to our Corporate Partner Fair. The hotel has an on-site restaurant, Elevations, and a bar as well. The hotel also hosts a pool, 24-hour fitness center, and some great meeting spaces for large and small groups! The Marriott City Creek is also near a large variety of great restaurants, bars, shopping and entertainment options! The hotel is located adjacent to the City Creek Shopping Center, there are so many things to choose from to spend your time outside of our amazing program sessions! From American style fare at Red Rock Brewing Company, to Italian food at Brio Tuscan Grille, there are a wide variety of options. The downtown area also hosts a variety of local restaurants featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, the Food Network show hosted by Guy Fieri, including Maxwell’s and the Red Iguana – great local favorites focusing on pizza and mole, respectively. The downtown Salt Lake City area is home to anything you desire to satisfy your sweet tooth too – with Last Course desserts, MONKEYWRENCH ice cream, and Gourmandise Bakery. Entertainment varies at the Keys on Main piano bar, to the Vivint Arena, home of the Utah Jazz and a variety of top tier concerts and stage acts! Salt Lake City is also home to Temple Square, home of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This space include vast gardens and is within walking distance of our hotel hub! The host committee at the University of Utah is very excited to host you at the 2019 Annual Conference! Hopefully this sampling of what you’ll experience will sate your appetite for Salt Lake City! We look forward to seeing you soon. Keep an eye out for Registration opening later this summer!
New ERA in Working with Corporate Partners A Note from Past President Brad Shade I am personally thrilled with where our association is heading in working with our Corporate Partners (CPs). We just elected our very first Corporate Relations Coordinators in the history of this great region!!!! They will help us greatly improve our communication and coordination with all of our CPs, showing them that we value and appreciate them. We have traditionally put the role of recruiting and communicating with CPs on host institutions & executive committee members and each year was a new adventure, particularly for our Corporate Partners. We have been inconsistent, oftentimes late in communicating which resulted in a huge variance of number of partners each year. So how does this affect you? Let’s look at last year’s annual conference in Phoenix - registration cost each of us $270 due to the support of our CPs. Without CP support, the registration cost would have been $622 for each of us. That would probably have limited our attendance substantially as we aspire to keep this regional training and networking opportunity to a minimum. It is not a stretch to say that our corporate partners are the life-blood for our region. All that to say that I wanted to welcome both Cassie and Jed to the Executive Committee.
Cassandra Balzarini Community Director Arizona State University
Jed Cummins University of Northern Colorado Assistant Director of Housing Services
Although they have both just recently started in their roles, they are going to be hitting the ground running as we are attempting to secure a sizeable number of corporate partners to support our conference in Salt Lake City, Utah this November. But we really want to improve our relationships with our CPs by communicating early in the year and often through-out the year. Being clear and providing one definitive and accurate voice to limit frustrations from our vital partners. So how can each of us help? Not all of us are buying furniture, hiring architects or purchasing SWAG, but all of us could be doing that someday. If you get the chance to attend ACUHO-I or attend AIMHO this fall, engage with as many of our CPs as possible. Introduce yourself, thank them for being there, learn about their products and ask them questions to help you learn. If possible, tag along with someone who has been through a few of these vendor shows, watch what they do, listen to the questions they ask and ee how many corporate partners are not just selling their goods, but they really want to build relationships. Take advantage of that opportunity.
Welcome to the Region! Emilie Waggoner
This is a special shout-out to our new-to-the-region folx! My name is Emilie Waggoner and I am the AIMHO Entry-Level Member at Large. As I enter into my last year in this position, I wanted to send out a final shout-out to anyone who is new to our region and to welcome you! There will be a new member webinar occurring later in June, but for now, if you’re new and don’t really know what to expect from AIMHO, I’ve prepared a quick list of reasons to get involved in our amazing region: 1. If you are looking to network, this is the place to do it! I never thought it was possible, but thanks to AIMHO, I now consider other institutions and states to be second-homes to me (shout-out to ASU! Love you!). This is a great chance to build your network of housing professionals, learn from other institutions, and grow closer to your profession and your institution. 2. Great professional opportunities. From presenting at the annual conference, hosting a webinar, or publishing an article in the AIMHO Angle, you can work on a variety of skills and grow your resume with these amazing opportunities. In addition, every year at the annual conference, we have the opportunity for people to join a committee, either as a member or part of the committee leadership team. This is a great chance to funnel you passion into our organization and keep it growing each year! 3. Become a part of the AIMHO Family. I am not kidding when I say that being a part of AIMHO is like being a part of an extended family. When I first got involved, I only knew the people from my institution, but now, three years later, going to the annual conference is like a giant family reunion! AIMHO truly wants you to become an integral part of the region and the organization. I hope this helps you get a sense of AIMHO and why it’s a great professional move to get involved in and become a member. We hope to see you this November at our annual conference! If you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out to me at waggoneremilie@gmail.com, I’m happy to chat and help you out!
The AIMHO Assessment and Information committee are finishing up data compilation for the 2018 member survey and are excited to share the results with the region. This year we had a 41% increase in response rate with about 40 schools responding. While we would love to one day see all 97 member institutions complete the survey, this is great progress in achieving a sample size that allows us a glimpse into happenings in the region. This year, one quarter of respondents were representing institutions from schools with 500 beds or less. As we have long known that small schools face unique challenges, we are excited to have a sizable response rate that shows the experience of these schools. We have highlighted a few quick facts in the attached infographic and will be publishing the full results shortly at .www.aimho.org/page/assessmentarchive If you are interested in a particular outcome or would like a more in depth analysis, please reach out to the Assessment and Information Committee Chair at mjcole@coloradomtn.edu.
ACUHO-I Foundation Regional Cabinet Representative to AIMHO Barb Remsburg ACUHO-I Foundation Representative to AIMHO I am putting an early-summer plug in for you to consider becoming involved as the Foundation representative to AIMHO. The Executive Board will put a call out for nominations early Fall, but we know how Fall is, so give it some thought now. This person would be advanced from the region in September for recommendation by the Foundation in October. I would show you the ropes and transfer knowledge during the AIMHO 2019 annual conference in SALT LAKE CITY (Go Utah!) and then you would go to the national meeting in January to meet the rest of the board and receive additional training. It has been a fantastic professional development opportunity for me to connect with colleagues across the country and to gain a greater understanding on how the future of our profession is supported by the Foundation. For more information, please review the AIMHO Gives page, https://www.aimho.org/page/AIMHOGives
Instead of presents Is your birthday coming up? Many individuals have asked for donations to a “charity of choice or giving destination” for their birthday instead of presents. Have you considered identifying the ACUHO-I Foundation as your “giving destination”?
Pledge So, you are good for a couple of raffle tickets each year at the AIMHO Annual Conference Foundation table, I encourage you to think about making a pledge for giving to the Foundation on a monthly basis. You can engage a pledge for any amount of your choice. I look forward to hearing from you at the conference about setting up a pledge.
Not heading to the Annual AIMHO Conference?
No worries, you can still complete a pledge or support the Foundation by donating online, just type in the text box that you are giving at a conference- AIMHO.
How AIMHO Can Help Host Your State or Regional Drive-In Jediah Cummins, AIMHO Technology Coordinator/Corporate Partner Coordinator and UNC Assistant Director of Housing Services Cassandra Balzarini, AIMHO Corporate Partner Coordinator, ASU Community Director
We wanted to take a moment to introduce ourselves to the region and to our Corporate Partners! We also wanted to talk a little about our role in AIMHO. Jed: My name is Jediah Cummins and I am one of our Corporate Relations Coordinators. My involvement in AIMHO began when I was honored as one of the association’s outstanding undergraduate students in 2006. My first AIMHO Conference was in 2013 and I really fell in love with the region and with the folks I met there. I have served as the AIMHO Technology Coordinator for a few years and have enjoyed being able to help grow the organization in its technological capacities as well as helping to create a great organizational culture. In my role as UNC’s Assistant Director of Housing Services I work with corporate partners every day.
I hope to cultivate my existing relationships and form new ones in my new role in AIMHO to build our offerings with the Corporate Partner Reception, Fair, and Luncheon at the Annual Conference both for partners and attendees. I also hope to develop opportunities for Corporate Partners to help become integrate into the daily life of AIMHO. Cassie: Hi AIMHO! My name is Cassie Balzarini and I am excited to be joining the Executive Committee as a Corporate Relations Coordinator. I first joined AIMHO this fall as a member of the AIMHO 2018 Conference Host Committee, my first AIMHO conference was here at Arizona State University and I loved getting to know so many of you from throughout the Region. I have worked closely with Corporate Partners for several years know in a variety of conference and
professional association capacities and I really look forward to continuing to develop my skillset and professional network through this position. Feel free to reach out with introductions or questions at any time. We can’t wait to see all of you in Salt Lake City in November! We look forward to serving as the AIMHO Corporate Partner Coordinators. We hope that these new roles help make AIMHO innovative in our approach to working with our Corporate Partners.
Not only will we take pressure off our treasurer and annual conference host committees in their roles with CPs. WE also hope to create a more fluid and year-round approach to work with corporate partners. We hope to work with our CP Advisors to ensure that they can work with us to ensure that our day-to-day work as housing professionals serves the needs of our students!
Tips for Self-Care Success By: AIMHO College Committee, Justin Peterson, USU Josh Hutchinson, UU Andrew Laursen, Central Arizona University Nina Noronha, University of New Mexico Kyle Oldham, Colorado State University Self-care is an essential component to a welloiled professionally run organization. It is an imperative measure to keep stress at bay in order to function productively and efficiently. Unfortunately, this process can be overlooked easily in the pursuit of accomplishing all the many tasks and situations that may arise. Self-care is necessary for healthy workplace relationships and job satisfaction. In housing specifically, self-care is something that professionals ranging from entry-level to upper administration need to implement in order for overall mental, physical and emotional health. Self-care can be difficult for entry-level professionals as burnout is common and it is difficult to self-advocate as a new employee. In addition, social identities, personal experiences and issues of equity and inclusion can also impact and influence how self-care is viewed or defined by staff. It is important to remember and navigate the perspectives and perceptions we have based upon our lived experiences regarding understanding concepts of self-care. It is important to be mindful of burnout and figure out ways to implement self-care. Members of our AIMHO College Committee have identified several of their effective self-
care practices that can help prevent you from crashing: Identify 2 things to do for yourself every week, find the time to make sure you complete these items for your own personal benefit. Schedule a 1:1 meeting with yourself at least 1/week, this can provide you the time to get those two things done or provides you the time to take a walk, read a book, focus your thoughts or be intentional with your personal time. This can also lead to creating habits in your workplace. If possible, hold 1:1 meetings at different locations and settings besides only your office. Meet a staff member at a cafe or offer to do your meeting during a walk around campus. See if your supervisor would be open to doing this with you as well. The change in location can break up monotony as well as provide an environment where natural conversations can manifest themselves. It can be an effective tool with preventing burn out.
At some institutions you may have the autonomy to be very flexible with the office hours that you schedule. If this is the case, then it may be beneficial to schedule some “secret” office hours for yourself to have time to take care of issues without interruption. This may help address the constant walk ins that can occur when trying to take care of administrative tasks, ultimately contributing to a lower stress work environment. One way to accomplish this is by scheduling meetings or blocks of time in your professional calendar with yourself or a colleague who supports your self-care, so that others can see you are occupied. Shut your door, put up a “Do not disturb” sign, and get some work done. Self-care isn’t always fun. Sometimes, the most important thing you can do for yourself is cross things off the to-do list. It’s okay to politely tell your colleagues at the end of the day that you would love to chat but really need to get some work done instead. Great time to schedule that meeting with yourself (#4).
Staff should work to develop a selfcarplan with input, guidance and support from supervisor (where applicable) detailing and outlining the times/days of week you will be unavailable by phone and/or email (withinreason of job schedule, duties, responsibilities, etc.). An example of this could be times you enjoy exercising, worshipping, hobbies, family time, other events, etc. To develop your self-care plan, you should identify what you value and need as part of your day-to-day life (maintenance selfcare) and the strategies you can employ when, or if you face a crisis along the way (emergency self-care). There is no “onesize-fits-all” self-care plan, but there is a common thread to all self-care plans: making a commitment to attend to all the domains of your life, including your physical and psychological health, emotional and spiritual needs, and relationships. (UBSSW, n.d.)
Examples of items to include in a self-care plan are as follows: 5 - 7am: Fitness time - unavailable Be direct and intentional when setting 12-1pm: lunch hour - unavailable unless appropriate boundaries related to a working lunch is scheduled communication after hours or on days off. After 6pm: available only by phone in Share with your supervisees, if you prefer the event of an emergency (active fire, text, email, phone calls, Facebook suicide ideation, health emergency). messages, Groupme, or other forms of 7:45am – 8:45am – Conduct notes/case communication. Live-in staff, should also processing consider having expectations and 30 minutes for community walk (select intentional conversations about student floors of your building each week or staff knocking on your door. day).
Research shows that professionals who practice self-care are found to experience benefits such as better productivity, enhanced self-esteem, increased selfknowledge and compassion for others in the workplace (Hurst, n.d.). We hope you gained some useful tips to implement in your day to day routines. We would also like to leave you with this reflection question: How might you reflect upon your own self-care as a part of your professional development? And remember, self-care is autonomous to each person’s needs and responsibilities. Share knowledge and ideas with others at AIMHO Professional Development conferences
Coming soon November 18 - 19, 2019. Salt Lake City. Innovate. Collaborate. Demonstrate. Registration coming this Fall! References: Hurst, K. (n.d.) What is self-care and why is self-care important. Retrieved from http://www.thelawofattraction.com/self-caretips/ University of Buffalo School of Social Work (UBSSW) (n.d.). Developing your self-care plan. Retrieved from https://socialwork.buffalo.edu/resources/self -care-starter-kit/developing-your-self-careplan.html
New ASU University Housing Staff Members: · · · · · · · · · · ·
Christina Gastelum, Department Human Resources Manager Danielle Galindo, Community Director at ASU Tempe Campus Emily Hummel, Community Director at ASU Tempe Campus Fernando Jimenez, Assistant Community Director at ASU Tempe Campus Jared Kasten, Community Director at ASU West Campus Jeffrey Marcano, Community Director at ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus Jess Leong, Community Director at ASU Tempe Campus John Jaso, Community Director at ASU Polytechnic Campus John Yap, Administrative Assistant at ASU Tempe Campus Kaitlyn Gumann, Management Intern at ASU Tempe Campus Sean Strickland, Community Director at ASU Tempe Campus Send us your new staff members to showcase!
Student CO/WY 2019 By: Alisha Maes
Colorado Mountain College (Spring Valley) had the honor of hosting the annual Student CO/WY on April 13th. The event was a huge success with 60 attendees from UCCS, Western Colorado University, University of Wyoming, CSU, CMC- Steamboat & Rifle. The conference focus was- Leadership Is ‘In-Tents’, with sessions focusing on leadership, diversity, and self-care. Top Programs: Leadership- Dakota Roark, CMC- Leading When You’ve Never Led Diversity- Jonah Heintzleman, CSU- Why Fidget Spinners Are Necessary Self-Care- Ben Schmidt, CMC- Mohawk Walk Most Spirited School- CSU Attendees enjoyed student and professional staff led sessions covering a wide variety of topics, to help enhance their leadership skills. There were also incredible spirit challenges to keep the energy up including, building s’mores towers, photo scavenger hunt, and tent-rain-fire (spin on rock-paper-scissors). The philanthropy project this year was putting together wellness packages for the homeless population. Supplies were donated by each delegation and in return each school was able to take 15-20 packages back to their communities to either hand out individually or to donate to local homeless shelters. The day wrapped up with s’mores and the award ceremony. Thank you to everyone who attended and a job well done by the host committee!
A Case Study: Pet Friendly Residential Learning Communities Drew Lail, The University of Northern Colorado and Alicia Sepulveda, University of Colorado Boulder
Pets are considered an important part of life for most people living in the United States today. According to the Humane Society (2017), more than 50% of households in the U.S. own a pet and a subsequent 50% of those own a dog. Of those households who have pets, most consider their pets to be family (Fox, 2006; Humane Society, 2017). Many benefits exist with having a pet. Companionship often comes with owning a pet, and this companionship has been found to enhance quality of life (McNicholas, Gilbey, Rennie, Ahmedzai, Dono, & Ormerod, 2005). While pets are a large part of the general population, they have largely been missing in the college setting. When a person attends college and moves away from their family (and often, their pets), they sometimes find difficulty when transitioning to their new environment. Having pets along their side may provide some benefits in their transition and serve as a social catalyst to make friends. However, pets also can prove to be distractions and more responsibility for the already stressed college student. In this mini case study, we explore the experiences of college student pet owners living in a pet friendly residence hall. The Case We decided to study a small pet community using a case study methodology. Case study was chosen because the research was bounded by time and location (Creswell, 2013). We acknowledge this study was completed on a small population concerning a specific aspect of higher education. The case study methodology was fitting for this type of research. The institution is located in the Mountain West region of the United States at a 4-year public, mid-size teaching institution. The pet friendly community consisted of three floors in one residence hall where pets were permitted. There were various requirements that were to be met before students could bring their animal to campus, including an application, up-to-date shot records and restrictions on breed.
Data Collection Interviews were used as the initial method of data collection to explore the experiences of students living in this community. Four students participated in semi-structured interviews occurred in the fall 2016 semester. Semi-structured interviews were chosen to allow the researchers flexibility to explore topics that arise during data collection (Merriam, 2009). Informed consent was requested prior to the first interview. All interviews were transcribed verbatim shortly after the data was collected.
We used the following pseudonyms for the various participants in this study: Jenna, Cierra, Angela and Brandi. We then created a survey based on the interviews were conducted. Open-ended survey questions were developed to confirm or challenge findings. The survey was sent to 34 students and 16 students completed the survey. We share quotes from the semi-structured interviews and survey responses in the next section.
Major Themes Through the synthesis of the participants overall experiences, we found four unique themes related to the student experiences living in a pet friendly learning community. These themes include the community and pet acting as a social catalyst, the atmosphere providing a level of mental health support, an increase in the personal development and overall responsibility of the students, as well as a demonstration of the overall benefit to the university itself. Social Catalyst and Sense of Belonging The majority of participants from both the survey and interviews repeatedly mentioned their pet represented not only a social catalyst for themselves, but also individuals whom they came in contact. We also saw this in the survey responses with students who lived in the pet friendly community and experienced social benefits without owning a pet themselves. The pet was seen as a way to increase social interaction, ultimately developing the individual’s overall sense of belonging with the larger group, in this case, the pet friendly community (Lambert, Stillman, Hicks, Kamble, Baumeister, & Fincham, 2013). Jenna, one of the interview participants, described how even brief conversations with her roommate about her pet helped her develop interpersonal relationships. Jenna stated, “they [roommates] seriously are the most helpful people this semester. And like I can tell because of the whole pet friendly community, it’s brought us all together.” This statement was confirmed through a survey response explaining how their pet became the initial way they interacted with their roommate, and how meaningful that interaction was for them. The community positively influenced participants’ connection with individuals. Jenna went on to explain “I just feel like the community itself is really inviting… like they want you to be involved…which is nice… even though you’re not ready to get involved… like me… But I’m getting there.” She used the pre-established community as a way to feel comfortable first and develop a sense of belonging, then she planned to branch out and experience new things in the broader campus community.
Cierra used her cat as an example of a social catalyst. When people would approach her on campus, they would remember her cats name before they would remember her’s, leading to a brief conversation and social engagement. She shared how the cat was a “big benefit for me that allows me to make friends more easily”. This brief example offers a demonstration of how an animal can be tied to a students’ sense of belonging, and subsequently, how this can relate to more social aspects of the college lifestyle (Hoffman, Richmond, Morrow, & Salomone, 2002). Brandi supported this idea by discussing the community as a whole. She referred to the individuals on the floor as “pet-people” and went on to say that they “just seem friendlier to me and they are easy to relate to. So I feel like that, that’s what makes our community strong, that we can all relate to each other through pets.” Additionally, Cierra explained “I am kind of antisocial so I do not meet people well, so this has helped a lot because people will approach me and ask me how [my cat] is doing… It helps me build those connections.” The survey results found over 90% of the respondents felt the same way about their animal, in that it served as a way to overcome the initial social barrier of introducing themselves to someone new. Pets helped to ‘break the ice’ and form new connections. Almost all participants experienced how being part of a community and having a pet served as a social catalyst as well as an instrument to increase their own sense of belonging. However, one survey participant stated “I know it’s called a ‘community’ but I rarely talk to other people in pet friendly (other than my roommates)… Feels more like an apartment complex than a residence hall on a campus.” While the majority of participants felt part of a community and developed friendships through their pet, not all had the same experience.
Mental Health Support One of the most notable findings from this study came from the idea of animals serving as support systems, specifically for mental health and overall life satisfaction of our participants (Norris, Shinew, Chick, & Beck, 1999). Some participants self-identified as having anxiety or struggling with mental health, while others did not. Jenna summed up her relationship with her pet by saying, “If I’m feeling stressed out, I’ll just take a minute away from my homework, or an Mental Health Support One of the most notable findings from this study came from the idea of animals serving as support systems, specifically for mental health and overall life satisfaction of our participants (Norris, Shinew, Chick, & Beck, 1999). Some participants self-identified
as having anxiety or struggling with mental health, while others did not. Jenna summed up her relationship with her pet by saying, “If I’m feeling stressed out, I’ll just take a minute away from my homework, or an assignment or a paper that I’m working on and I’ll just go hang out with her [pet]”. Angela supported this idea by sharing “my dog relaxes me because she makes me take time away from my schoolwork and everything else stressing me out. It is a good support system because I don’t get super angry or worried about anything.” She referred to the pet as her support since she was away from home and did not have easy access to her parents. Jenna stated her animal “is a stress reducer… like knowing that I can just go home and I can take a minute to just hang out with her and not have to worry about anything else.” This distraction allowed her to re-focus on whatever she was attempting to finish and, ultimately, produce higher levels of academic work. Cierra, a participant who we interviewed, identified with having anxiety. She explained, “It has actually helped me become a better studier because I can base it around studying with him [her pet].” She went on to describe the difference the pet made when it came to her school work by saying, “Last year I took some college classes and I didn’t really have him, I have noticed I get better grades and do better in class because I have that resource.” The direct effects of our participants’ pets were apparent, but participants also shared the benefits experienced by roommates. Those who were either unable to bring their own pets or decided against it and then opted into this community appeared to have benefitted from having an animal in their environment, even if it was not directly their responsibility. Survey participants shared how their pet relieved anxiety and stress, improved their overall health and wellness and boosted their mood and overall quality of life. Cierra discussed her own transition was easier because of her cat and she referred to him as “family.” The cat was the closest thing to family she had, confirming prior research related to pets as family (Fox, 2006). The transition into college is a tough one, but the pet friendly learning community helped students who desire this connection to home. Cierra also explained that if a student was considering which college to attend, the pet friendly community “will definitely enhance the overall experience of being at college.”
Personal Development & Responsibility All of the participants in this study were clear that having a pet with them in their college environment increased the level of personal development. Jenna shared how her animal constantly had an effect on her daily life by saying, “I’ve got to attend to her needs every day, 24/7.” This personal development manifested itself in multiple ways. Brandi discussed the idea that her pets increased her personal need for communication skills. She was forced to navigate her relationship with her roommates because of her pet’s personality and how she interacts with the other pet in the room. The survey data indicated all respondents mentioned the positive effect of having an animal in their residence hall space when it came to cultivating relationships with their roommates. This learning takes place because of the shared spaces, and thus shared knowledge facilitated through the learning community (Tinto, 2003). She described her relationship with her roommates as, “working on it together.” Cierra reiterated this experience by saying, “most of the roommates really enjoy the animals and help the roommates get closer and find a middle ground. Without my cat I don’t know if it would have gone that smoothly because she is so different from me.” She went on to describe how, by having the pet around, her and her roommate were forced to have conversations about the living environment that would not normally have occurred. While she acknowledges her cat was “self-caring,” she wanted to make it clear she had to constantly monitor the physical space in order to maintain a positive relationship with her roommate. The use of pets in order to increase the level of interaction among the residents is a unique way in which the cognitive learning experience takes place in this residence hall (Tinto, 2003). This constant attention to the pet taught our participants how to effectively communicate with their roommates and look outside themselves. Survey responses indicated that, because of their pet, they felt they were better students, as they were forced to manage their time more efficiently. Angela described this personal development by sharing, “It has made me more responsible having to take care of her and not just myself.” Although participants perceived they were much happier and healthier because of this opportunity, the transition to living with a pet did have its challenges. Brandi described the day to day interaction with her pet as needy and how she was learning so much about herself and her pet, because of this experience. The learning curve with this level of responsibility was not always positive. Jenna was hesitant to make a commitment to another organization on campus because she did not want to take time away from her pet. She sometimes felt like she held herself back from getting involved because she wants to be a good dog mom. Findings illustrate the idea that creating a sense of belonging does not rely solely on positive interactions, the common stressors of a
community also play a role in this development (Hoffman, et. al., 2002). Angela reflected on routines and priorities explaining, “I now have to care for another living thing. I have to feed her, walk her and take care of her. I take care of her better than I take care of myself. It has made me more responsible having to take care of her and not just myself.” This reflects the overall mentality and responsibility of our participants and highlights the improved sense of wellbeing and life satisfaction experienced by our participants (McConnell, Brown, Shoda, Stayton, & Martin, 2011; Norris, et al., 1999).
Selling Point for the University In addition to the positive benefits experienced by our participants, having a pet friendly community could be an effective marketing tool for Housing departments and institutions alike. Cierra explained, “if my parents had known about it they would have advocated for me to do this because I wouldn’t have been able to make this transition without having a pet. A lot of my friends stayed home because they didn’t want to or were scared to leave. This type of marketing would help parents of these students.” Brandi explained how influential the community was to her when choosing a college by explaining, “I think the deciding factor was that they had a pet friendly community here. Like it feels like a home away from home. And adding pets to that makes that even more so.” Jenna explained how the “pet friendly community just had me sold.” These responses have established a need for a conversation around increasing the visibility of programs that allow pets on campus. One of the survey responses stated, “I think this community is one of the greatest assets to Housing. It allows for such a warm environment and there’s a strong sense of community when pets are involved.” While not every participant described the pet friendly community as the sole reasoning for choosing the institution, we believed this was an unexpected finding that needs to be explored further.
Discussion and Implications As institutions compete for students, allowing pets on campus who do not qualify as service or emotional support animals may be one way to compete and proactively support students (Von Bergen, 2015). The participants of this case study benefitted socially and personally by having their pet on campus.
Housing professionals may want to consider having this type of community on their campus. Currently, only 20 colleges across the country are considered pet friendly (restrictions and policies vary) and providing a welcoming community for student pet owners could set institutions apart (Pittman, 2018). We acknowledge the idea that the concept of pet friendly communities is not widespread in higher education; this is why the case study methodology was chosen for this study, as it was intended to explore and understand a specific community at one institution. The data gathered here can be used to inform housing departments who are considering this type of community or would like to implement some of its aspects. The benefits and overall learning outcomes can work to increase not only student development and support, but also the community experience of our students on campus.
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Merriam, S.B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass. Norris, P.A., Shinew, K.J., Chick, G., & Beck, A.M. (1999). Retirement, life satisfaction, and leisure services: the pet connection. Journal of Park & Recreation Administration 17, 65-83. Pittman, O. (2018, January). 20 Pet-friendly college campuses. Retrieved from https://www.collegeraptor.com/find-colleges/articles/student-life/20-pet-friendly-college-campuses/ Tinto, V. (2003). Learning better together: The impact of learning communities on student success. Higher Education monograph series, 1(8), 1-8. Von Bergen, C. W. (2015). Emotional Support Animals, Service Animals, and Pets on Campus. Administrative Issues Journal: Education, Practice, and Research, 5(1), 15-34.
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