Sink or Swim

My how time flies.

I haven’t written anything in months and I’m pretty sure it was my New Year’s Resolution to write at least once a week. We all see how that worked out.

Well this summer (Yes, I know it is November) was AMAZING. I went to China for 2 weeks and had an amazing time. And then I moved on down to Florida to complete my internship.

My time in Florida was so amazing. I was working at a very small institution and they wanted me to get the most out of my time there. I worked with some awesome people who I hope I get to work with again one day. I learned so much about myself and my future professional self in the short 6 weeks that I was there. My last post was Summer of Growth and boy, was that true.

I can’t wait to see where my profession takes me and what I end up doing. I do know that with the support of my friends, family, and coworkers that I will never be alone and will always have a listening ear or someone to push me in the right direction.

I have officially started my job search and this is when I learn if I will sink or swim as a new professional in student affairs. I graduate in 172 days. That is not much time when you think about it. And on top of that I have 110 days until I present at my first professional conference, 127 days until The Placement Exchange, and 144 days until the test that determines my fate. But before then I have to make it to Thanksgiving. I know that I can do it.

I’ll try to write more, I promise.

 

Summers of Growth

Y’all I am BEYOND excited about this summer.  This is going to be the best summer I have ever had and I can’t wait to share my experiences with you.

First off, closing is in 11 days. Yep 11 days. But before I can get to that I have to get past 3 tests, 1 paper, and a poster board session. I know that I can do it!

In just 19 short days I will be boarding a plane for China! It’s hard to imagine that in less than 3 weeks I will literally be on the OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD! I have a lot of concerns about leaving the country but that’s for a different post, this one is all about the AMAZING OPPORTUNITIES that I have been given.

24 hours after I get back from China, I will be heading to Florida. Yep, Florida. I get to spend 6 beautiful weeks in the Sunshine State completing my internship.

I’ve never been more than 2 hours from home and this summer I will be halfway across the world and then 15 hours from where my family is. Talk about scary!

I know that this summer is going to be the most perfect summer because I am going to be able to grow as an individual and as a student affairs professional.  If I had never realized that student affairs is what I want to do the rest of my life, I wouldn’t have been given these amazing opportunities.

Many people have been there for me and supported me in this journey and I can’t thank them enough for everything that they have done for me.

My summer of growth starts in just 11 days…

 

Internships and Study Abroad

This is a VERY busy time of year for me and my co-workers and my cohort members. The second years are busy job hunting and us first years are looking for summer internships.

I applied for summer internships through ACUHO-I because I LOVE LOVE LOVE housing and really want to stick with it. I’ve been in Arkansas ALL of my life. I need to get out and try new things if I want to be marketable when I start job hunting next year.

So far I have had 2 interviews and I have 2 more set up for next week. I’m still waiting to hear back from a couple places as well, so like I said, I’ve been busy.

One of the things that makes the internship search so difficult is that I have very specific dates that I can work. Why you might ask? Because I AM GOING TO CHINA!! I paid my deposit last week so in May I will be boarding a plane and flying halfway around the world! How amazing is that?  I’m really really excited but also really really nervous. Because I AM GOING TO CHINA!

Well that is what is going on right now. I don’t think I’m going to have time to post again anytime soon because this weekend I will be at SPE interviewing candidates for next year’s cohort and then next weekend I will be going to Fort Worth to SWACUHO!

It’s a very busy month! But I will leave you with this…my birthday is in 19 days!