Congratulations on graduating all you higher education administration/student affairs administration Masters students. If you already secured a job at your dream institution or any job at all, a big kudos to you all. I celebrated my one year anniversary of the first day of the rest of my life (graduating with my MA.Ed) and am about to celebrate my first year as a new professional. Sure there have been lots of changes and challenges, but as I watch the HESA grads from my institution go off and begin life as student affairs professionals, I can’t help but pay forward some words of advice that I have learned in my first year. My advice below is a springboard from the book Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life) by Cathie Black, head of Hearst Magazines.

Don’t forget where you came from, but don’t always compare. I believe this is the most important thing to keep in the back of your mind. I’m sure all of you have these wonderful experiences from prior institutions, and you should be proud of what you did and what you learned, but to me, I’m in a new place and I need to learn the how my new institution functions, rather than “well at xyz university… we did _______________”. I think new professionals need to understand why their institution does things the way they do. Look at the history of the department – get to know the people who have been there for more than 10, 20, or even 30 years so you can understand where and how your department has grown to where it is now. It is great to bring a different perspective and offer it in the form of a solution to a problem. When you feel comfortable, suggest something without mentioning that you did it that way at another institution. For example, at my graduate school, we collaborated a lot with campus partners. At my current institution, we need to build on that. Once I was comfortable being in my current position, I suggested we collaborate with campus partners in order to make RA training more engaging and also to avoid reinventing the wheel. Bringing your experiences to the table is a great way to bring in a different perspective, but remember to do it in a way that is constructive.

Be yourself. I once got the compliment from a colleague who interviewed me on my campus interview. He said “you are exactly the way you were on your on campus interview”. I was flattered. I stayed true to myself on all my on campus interviews because, in the end, that’s what you’re going to get. Some of my colleagues also commented that they’ve hired a lot of people who may seem like the best candidate on their interview, but once they take the reins of the position on campus, their personalities change… and sometimes not for the better. So please, be yourself because that is why the department hired you! As Cathie says in her book “Be who you are in whatever you do”.

Eat a slice of humble pie. You may have been the best graduate assistant or professional in your old position and while it is ok to have confidence, please don’t let it spill over into cocky territory. Your experiences and your professional reputation are definitely known to your colleagues, so be humble and take the criticism. Like I said above, not all departments are created equally at different institutions, so expect the change and learn. I still am not above working in the trenches with my RAs – hauling personal belongings into storage after closing or working desk hours to alleviate the desk workers. If your staff sees you working hard, chances are in the end, they will have much more respect for you.

Be open. We work in a field where we need to be non-judgmental toward our students/residents, but, if you’re like me and are moving to a different region for a job, be open about the changes in culture and environments in your new position. Be open to the opportunities to get involved in the community. Many places have young adult organizations and many have volunteer opportunities. If you’re moving to a place where you don’t know anyone, this is a great way to get out there and meet the people in the town/city where you work. Don’t limit yourself to hanging out with people from your office/department.

Steer clear of the office drama. It’s very easy to get sucked into the gossip and drama going on in your department/silo/residence hall. Keep to yourself and all will be fine. Once you get sucked in, it’s hard to regain/ give trust to anyone in your area and that means you won’t be able to enjoy your job. If you have a problem with someone, live by the 48 hour rule: confront that person within 48 hours and talk about it. Once 48 hours passes, just forget about it because it’s probably not worth your time.

I’m sure people will comment with more advice to all you brand new professionals. Congratulations again and good luck in your new positions.

I work in a residence hall made up of a very diverse group
of residents: athletes, transfer students, and a few Living and Learning
communities. While all of the above keep me on my toes and very busy every day,
I always seem to run into diversity emergencies that are the crux of every
roommate conflict. In the heat of passion during a conflict, most of my
residents are unwilling to step out of their box to see the argument from a
different perspective.  As a new
professional, this is something that I am still learning, especially moving
from one geographic region of the United States to another that is completely
different.

Last month, I had the opportunity to be a facilitator on a 3
day diversity retreat that was held in a “mystery location” off campus. It was
also a prelude to my institution’s diversity week. I seized the opportunity,
hoping that it would give me a new light onto diversity and how it will play a
role in my future as a student affairs professional and as a human being. I was
whisked away late on a Friday afternoon, along with 4 other professional staff
from different areas of campus and about 26 undergraduate and 4 graduate students.

Over the course of 72 hours, we bonded, we drew our “Ouch!”
cards on each other, and we learned a lot about how we self-identified as well
as the prejudices we use against each other on a daily basis. The first night
of the retreat included many ice-breakers, and then the next day, we jumped
right into all the “tough stuff”: listing positive and negative characteristics
about our heterogeneous populations (we used “majority”, “minority”, “women”
and “men”), the fishbowl exercise- where we discussed an opinion about a specific stereotype , breaking down stereotypes on campus, and
after breaking out into small groups, facilitating the social barometer and
privilege walk exercises to the participants.

One of the most humanizing experiences throughout the
retreat was the privilege walk exercise. I don’t know how many of you out there
have actually facilitated this exercise, but it can be very powerful for you
and your students if executed correctly and with the intentionality of showcasing
diversity among a student group. There were many tears with my group, but they
all came to acceptance and understanding of each other.  All were not ashamed of where they came from
or the struggles their parent’s went through in order to help them.

I left the weekend with a new outlook on diversity. I am
more aware of issues of diversity on my campus and in my residence hall. I now
strive to help my residents see and understand the diversity issues in my
residence hall. I still can’t describe the typical student at my institution,
but I think that is a good thing because it truly does show the multitude of
diversity among our students and residents.