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Check out this week's SA First Years post: "Hello/Goodbye"You're probably mentioned in this one, so go read it! Yes, you! 🙂 http://www.studentaffairsfirstyears.com/2012/08/hello-goodbye.html

Well all, it's been a great first year in Tallahassee, FL at Florida State University. I've had the chance to work with the most supportive Division of Student Affairs I've encountered in my career, a Student Activities staff that I have grown to appreciate as wonderful practitioners and friends, and a uniquely smart and competent … Continue reading Big News!

In addition to doing all the lovely writing I do here, I've also been given the opportunity to serve as a weekly contributor to the Student Affairs First Years blog.Rather than criss-posting content, I'll provide a link to my entries there, in case you're interested.This Week's Post: Leadership Lessons from the Summer Olympicshttp://www.studentaffairsfirstyears.com/2012/08/leadership-lessons-from-summer-olympics.html

As I write this, I am watching what ended up being the end of Oscar Pistorius’ individual medal bid at this year’s Olympic Games. His presence on the track at this stage in the Games was long seen as impossible, and to many unearned. I’ve had a lot of feelings about his bid for a … Continue reading Trailblading

Inspired by a friend I made through Twitter, I am challenging myself and you to put something positive out into the universe each day. She calls it 30 days of grace, and I'm sharing my list to hold myself accountable, not to toot my own horn.I invite you to do the same- by deciding to … Continue reading #30daysofgrace: A Challenge for August

I worry a lot about things. Having anxiety just makes such concern second nature. I even worry through any of the athletic endeavors that I engage in- ranging from more competitive aspects of my life (gymnastics, rowing) to what I do now (running, intramural kickball). But one thing I give very little thought to, both … Continue reading In Praise of Athletic Black Hair

Olympic Lessons from Inigo Montoya[On the word “inconceivable”]INIGO: Why do you keep using that word? I do not think it means what you think it means.There is a word that has surfaced more often in the commentary of the London Olympics than I remember in previous years (and unlike the more youthful members of the … Continue reading Olympic Lessons from Inigo Montoya

This might seem like an odd question, but I promise I'm going somewhere with it. I've been in a funk the last few days, for any number of reasons. But one is admittedly a struggle with the near breakneck pace of our programming schedule and, more importantly, the effect it's having on our students. We … Continue reading Does Your Staff Rival Michael Phelps?

 You can tell a lot about a race by its waiver. The Prison Break Mud Run, one of the inaugural events for Runners for a Muddier Tomorrow, was no exception. After surviving the race, here’s what I learned that I would have been able to tell from the waiver.NOTE: As I watch this, an episode … Continue reading "It’s Like We’re Breaking Out of Prison!"

For many of us, the tail end of our first year includes evaluations of our performance. We often get it from our supervisors and in some cases also from our students. In my office, an anonymous survey is administered via email, sent to our director, and then the results are forwarded to us. The process … Continue reading The Five Stages of Understanding Student Evaluations