CSSA Blog @ Oregon State University

David McCandless, CSSA graduate of 2007 has joined as an author.  Please see his author bio in the sidebar and check out his introductory post below.

Welcome David!

I am really excited to finish my first term in graduate school.
It was really challenging but at the same time I had great support to get through this challenge.
I am just thankful for all of the support I have had.

I wanted to write what I studied this term.I took four classes:

• History of American Higher Education (3 credits)
  
• Programs and Functions in College Student Services (3 credits)
  
• Principles/Theories of Student Development I (3 credits)
  
• Transition Seminar (3 credits)
  

I learned many things from each course. It is hard to summarize what I learned in a short paragraph because there are so many things to write. This term, I tried to relate all courses to my interest in the student affairs field, which is international student services and study abroad. I wrote a research paper on the history of international student populations in U.S. higher education. I did an interview with the international programs offices in three different university settings. It was a great opportunity to connect with people outside of campus. I learned about student development theory which I can apply to my work with international students.
As I studied more, I found that there are many offices on campus which provide services for international students. Now my new interest is in career services for international students. I would like to learn about career services so I will do an internship at career services next term. I am really excited about this opportunity.

I am more confident after completing my first term in graduate school. I am looking forward to next term to learn new things and meet more people!

- Naoko

This is an ironic time for a first entry, as many college campuses already on break or starting tomorrow.  Here at the University of Oregon, our students left last Friday, and I’m now experiencing my first taste of the “December Slowdown.”  Previously, my relationship to my various institutions has always been as a student, so it’s been very interesting for me adjusting to the role of a full-time staff member.  December has been a time to head home and settle in for a few weeks of relaxation, but now I’ll be working regular hours through the 20th, so I thought I’d reflect on the rare emptiness of the campus.

As a professional, I’m learning to value this time as an opportunity to play catch-up.  While the students are here, I rarely have any blocks longer than an hour where I can count on uninterrupted office time.  Of course, I love the opportunity to interact with so many students on a daily basis, and they bring a lot of joy to my work.  But I’ve had to adjust to working in short chunks of time and getting things done on the fly, which makes it harder to tackle big projects or time-consuming tasks like office cleaning.  The time of a Complex Director (or any live-in staff member) is spent largely in reaction mode, especially as a new professional, so much of my time is devoted to reacting to situations as they come up.  This is not necessarily bad or good, but it is certainly a particular and relatively constant state of being.

So I’m enjoying this time and the opportunity to take care of the little things and the big things that aren’t daily or weekly priorities but are important in the long term or important to my sanity (the piles on my desk have been consolidated from 6 or 7 to one).  I’m also glad, though, that the students will be back soon.  Because I do miss them.  Just a little.

 So what can you expect from my upcoming posts?  I’ve come up with a list of topics and I’m going to post some of them here, both to hopefully excite any readers for what is to come, and also to make sure I don’t forget them.  I may or may not be on to post again over the break, but you can count on hearing more from me once January rolls around.  Here are some things that I hope to share (eventually):

What surprised me most as a new professional
Emerging issues in Student Affairs
Life as a supervisor: Challenges and Thoughts
Adjusting to life as a live-in staff member
The role of political discourse on college campuses
and others as I think of them.  Suggestions are always welcome.

Well, I suppose this is enough for a pretty respectable first post.  I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season, and best wishes to all of you on a happy new year!

…Professional 

The term is over!  It has been a time of transition that has been very difficult at times.  However, it has mostly been extremely rewarding.

I took the Programs and Functions course and the History of Higher Education
course this term and I felt enriched by both courses.  It was good to get
a good overview of all the Student Affairs functional areas and I actually
really enjoyed exploring the CAS Standards.  This may make me a nerd, but
I have accepted the fact that this is probably true and have moved on. 
History has been a great course as well.  I have a history minor from my
undergrad, so it was fun to discover that I have not lost my love for history!

An assignment in the Programs and Functions class was a helpful reminder for me
as to why I chose a career in Student Affairs.  The “One functional area on three different Campuses” assignment was a fun assignment.  We were asked to contact three professionals at three different campus types.  I focused on the functional area of Campus Activities.  I really enjoyed talking with my colleagues, especially chatting with them about why they chose their careers.  It was great to hear them talk about their passion for students and their jobs; it reminded me to reflect about why I do my job and appreciate how lucky I am to work at WOU.  Mandy Ellertson from Portland Community College-Rock Creek shared with me something that really inspired me.  I asked her why she has stayed working at a community college setting for so long (15 years).  She explained that she really values the access that the institution provides and then said, “Everyday, I get to tell students something that many of them have never heard before, ‘You can do it!’”  I thought it was incredible to think that there are people who have never had someone tell them that; and also thought how cool that is to be able serve in a role where you can provide that reassurance.  I decided that I work with students who might
have the same experiences, so I am committed to helping students believe “they
can do it.”

I hope everyone had a good term and I hope you enjoy a well
deserved break!  Happy Holidays!

Patrick Moser

End of the Term 

While the end of the term seems to create a number of natural concerns – deadlines, finals, papers, professor quirks – it really is a rather exhilarating time. For many there is a need to cocoon in order to accomplish every requirement. For others there is a need to find study groups or more resources or some obscure fact which will raise the brow of a critical professor reading your paper. Many times we find ourselves bemoaning the amount of work we have to do, but the fact is, this process typically concludes with a large body of very good work. I suspect the glow which follows the last paper or test is not so much a symbol of being done, but due to what you have accomplished. 

Sometimes the end of the terms brings relief in that you do not have to take a particular class anymore, but often the end of the term makes you realize that particular class was not bad at all, the professor was actually good and you really enjoyed working with your classmates. There might be a slight sense of disappointment that you will not roll into that classroom every Tuesday at 2:00, expecting to see your fellow students and enjoy the respectful bantering which accompanies the aura of the class. Some classes are just plain old fun. 

If your game is off for a particular term you can put it aside and start over fresh. If you had a “knockout” term, you create huge momentum heading toward the next term.  

We all handle the end of the term in different ways which reflect our nature. Use it as a time to celebrate all that is good about you. Congratulations. 

Don

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I work in the Office of Judicial Affairs as the Coordinator at a large, public, tier 1 research institution. There are about 25,000 undergraduates–we see a sizable number of them each year for various violations, the most prevalent of which is alcohol, specifically, underage consumption. In 2005, there was an alcohol-related death in our campus community. It was related to a fraternity hazing ritual. There is a movie/documentary by Robin Wright Penn coming out in January entitled, “Haze”. The trailer in itself is quite disturbing, and shows highly controversial footage of students and their habits related to alcohol consumption. The trailer got me thinking…

Part of the reason why I enjoy student conduct work is that I gain the ability each day to speak with students in a developmental way about alcohol consumption. I get to be a part of the solution. I have to remind myself of that sometimes because of the things that I hear on a daily basis. It’s all too often that I ask a student how much alcohol s/he consumes on a regular basis and the answer is, “Not that much.” When I ask that statement to be quantified, the student more often than not replies, “6-8 drinks each time I drink, just on weekends, though.” This is a trend that I’m seeing on a daily basis; it’s a trend that affects not just my campus community, but campus communities nationwide. Overconsumption of alcohol has become not only acceptable but encouraged in our University campuses. To quote a parent, “When did we forget to send the message, ‘if your friend is passed out drunk, call 911!’ ” How did it become integrated into our culture that if you pass out with your shoes on, you deserve to have derogatory remarks and obscene caricatures drawn on your body in permanent marker? One of the things about which I often talk to my students is why binge drinking is acceptable in a University setting. I often pose the question, “Is this acceptable behavior after you leave college?” The answer? “Absolutely not.” So why do it now? “Because that’s what you do in college.”

My supervisor handed me a new analogy that I find interesting. What if, instead of alcohol, we asked our students to trade in their beer for espresso shots? For each alcoholic beverage a student would normally consume, why not trade it for a good ol’ cup of coffee? Play coffee/espresso pong instead of beer pong? What would it be like for a student if s/he consumed 6-8 cups of coffee in a 3 hour period? What would it feel like for his/her physical reaction? …So, if you think it’s a strange and irrational idea to drink that much coffee…then why would you drink that much alcohol?

If our goal as University Administrators (at AnyCampus, North America), is to ensure that our students are becoming good stewards in our communities, are growing as people, and are maintaining the health and safety of themselves and others, how do we shift the culture?

Does it just take one? How many more students will die of alcohol-related injuries before we can figure out how to shift the culture? We know our students are armed with the information. They know what alcohol can do to the human body. They comprehend the information. So where are we getting lost in translation?

…The biggest picture.

Jill Creighton

This term is almost over.

I have been trying to figure out how much I can do it by myself. But this week, it reached to the point that I could not do it by myself anymore.
I am learning how and when to ask for a help and support. I do not want to ask for help all the time because at first I want to figure out how much I can do it by myself. But at the same time if I try to do it by myself, sometimes it does not work. I think the balance is important. It is hard to find the balance at new environment and different culture. I am still trying to find the balance.

This week, I could not survive without help from my classmates, adviser, roommates, teacher, coworkers and writing center. I am really thankful to everybody who helped me to go through. There are many challenging here but at the same time there are many supports who help me to go through difficult times. This is the best learning environments for me.

The exciting news is that I am on the news paper. It is about monthly international women coffee hour.
It was really nice to learn about other cultures in a different country.
Click Here!

Three more days to finish this term. Time flies.