Thanks to everyone who participated in today’s #SAchat focusing on Institutional Fit. Each week, we continue to grow our numbers and today’s chats produced over 1,000 comments from over 100 student affairs professionals,  graduate students and undergraduates interested or working in the Student Affairs field!

In case you missed it, below is a quick recap. If you haven’t yet participated in an #sachat, learn more here.

Full Transcripts
DAYTIME:
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EVENING:
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Today’s Top Contributors

@The_SA_Blog
@jpkirch
@JennaMagnuski
@debrasanborn
@slhealy
@jesstini85
@maddyfacepants
@JGinese23
@NASPAtweets
@ChrisMacDen

Thanks to Stacy Oliver, we now also have Student Affairs links and resources related to the chats! Thanks Stacy!

Get A Life (Not A Job)
Where You Work Matters
Three Signs of a Miserable Job
The Toxic Workplace Test
Don’t Drink the Water

Here’s to another successful set of #sachats!  What are some other topics you would like to see us cover?  Please let us know your ideas and feedback to keep #sachat growing strong.

Until we next week, (if you haven’t already done so) please make sure to join our growing Facebook Page, currently over 2,800 and adding new #studentaffairs friends every day!  Thanks for your continued support!

Thanks to everyone who participated in today’s #SAchat focusing on Engaging College Men in Campus Leadership. Each week, we continue to grow our numbers and today’s chats produced over 1,000 comments from over 100 student affairs professionals,  graduate students and undergraduates interested or working in the Student Affairs field!

In case you missed it, below is a quick recap. If you haven’t yet participated in an #sachat, learn more here.

Full Transcripts
DAYTIME:
View as webpage
Download as PDF

EVENING:
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Today’s Top Contributors

@The_SA_Blog
@jpkirch
@JennaMagnuski
@MikeJHamilton
@reyjunco
@frankmichael
@mikesevery
@clconzen
@ARL275

Here’s to another successful set of #sachats!  What are some other topics you would like to see us cover?  Please let us know your ideas and feedback to keep #sachat growing strong.

Until we next week, (if you haven’t already done so) please make sure to join our growing Facebook Page, currently over 2,800 and adding new #studentaffairs friends every day!  Thanks for your continued support!

So last night, I logged on to Twitter to return some @ mentions, DM’s and generally see what was going on and apparently, an impromptu #sachat had been going on.  I read a few of the tweets and could tell that there had been some spirited debate centered around the #sachat hashtag and how folks had been using it.  This was very intriguing, so I asked some questions about when folks thought the conversation had started, and all roads lead to this tweet from Eric Stoller on Friday night:

All the subsequent tweets debated the pros and cons of using #sachat for just professional development content only.  Others raised the point that part of that professional development was found in the personal side of the tweets. It even raised questions from some of the newer #sachat folks.  Julie Kirchmeier‘s tweet was great in further developing the question:

I support Eric’s thought process in the context of the bigger picture of #sachat.  When you think about how groups build community, they first try to find common ground.  While we all started with Professional Development topics, it has certainly evolved to include all our personal interests and passions.  These conversations have contributed to building our online relationships and added fun to our online conversations.  But, has it helped build our overall #sachat brand of “professional development for Student Affairs professionals”?  If new Twitter users, especially Senior Student Affairs Officers, joined the #sachat conversation and do a search on Twitter for #sachat, what would they see right now?  On Thursday’s, it would be rich with professional conversation around a Student Affairs topic.  Other days, it may include many of the things that we personally talk about.

So, #sachat folks, what are your thoughts on all this?  Is it time to have a hashtag revolution and reframe the way we use #sachat?  Are we simply evolving #sachat’s scope to include it all in the conversation?  Maybe we are simply going through the “Storming” phase of Tuckman’s Group Development Model. How do you define proper hashtag etiquette in Twitter?

Please read the #SAchat Transcript (taken from Friday Night through Saturday Night) to get more insights to the online conversation.  I realize that I wasn’t involved in the entire conversation, so I hope this captured what everyone talked about, and if I missed anything, please comment on it below!

The great thing about all of this is that it can be whatever we want it to be.  I’m curious to hear your thoughts!

Thanks to everyone who participated in today’s #SAchat focusing on Transitioning Experience Between Student Affairs Functional Areas. Each week, we continue to grow our numbers and today’s chats produced produced record numbers, coming off the ACPA 2010 Convention in Boston, with over 1,500 comments from over 200 student affairs professionals,  graduate students and undergraduates interested or working in the Student Affairs field!

In case you missed it, below is a quick recap. If you haven’t yet participated in an #sachat, learn more here.

Full Transcripts
DAYTIME:
View as webpage
Download as PDF

EVENING:
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Today’s Top Contributors

@The_SA_Blog
@jpkirch
@JeannetteMarie
@JennaMagnuski
@jmayojr
@JGinese23
@reyjunco
@edcabellon
@m1hamilton
@BeccaFick

What an amazing day of #sachats!  For those of who were new and either participated and/or lurked today, what were your overall thoughts?  What about our veteran #sachat-ers, what was the overall feel today like?  To give you some perspective, the afternoon #sachat produced around 1,100 of the 1,500 tweets. It looks like our afternoon chat has really taken off!

What are some other topics you would like to see us cover?  Please let us know your ideas and feedback to keep #sachat growing strong.

Until we next week, (if you haven’t already done so) please make sure to join our growing Facebook Page, currently over 2,800 and adding new #studentaffairs friends every day!  Thanks for your continued support!

Thanks to everyone who participated in today’s #SAchat focusing on Creative Judicial Sanctioning. Each week, we continue to grow our numbers and today’s chats produced over 900 comments from over 100 student affairs professionals,  graduate students and undergraduates interested or working in the Student Affairs field!

In case you missed it, below is a quick recap. If you haven’t yet participated in an #sachat, learn more here.

Full Transcripts
DAYTIME:
View as webpage
Download as PDF

EVENING:
View as webpage
Download as PDF

Today’s Top Contributors

@The_SA_Blog
@reyjunco
@m1hamilton
@JGinese23
@jesstini85
@jpkirch
@BeccaFick
@beekayroot
@ericstoller
@HFIELDS33

Here’s to another successful set of #sachats!  What are some other topics you would like to see us cover?  Please let us know your ideas and feedback to keep #sachat growing strong.

Until we next week, (if you haven’t already done so) please make sure to join our growing Facebook Page, currently over 2,800 and adding new #studentaffairs friends every day!  Thanks for your continued support!

A month ago, I shared a very personal story and I wanted to write a quick follow up.  After posting it, I received an outpouring of support  as well as ideas and feedback on what they would do if that same scenario happened to them.  Many of you also stated that this opened up conversations with your colleagues about “Ethics”, which I’m glad happened, since more of these conversations need to occur, especially in our Higher Education Graduate Programs.

Having said this, I wanted you all to know that I received a handwritten letter from Jodie.  I’m still not sure if it is in response to or independent of my blog post, but needless to say, it came as a surprise.  When I got back from my NYC trip two weeks ago, it was sitting in my work mailbox.  The letter was forwarded to me from my friend who made the initial contact in person with Jodie last month in jail.

The letter was well written and gently tugging at my heart strings.  She expressed complete remorse for her actions, recognized the fact that she needs help for her addictions, and is on her way to reaching out to some key people that she wanted to personally apologize to.  I still have the letter and have read it over and over again to try and gain some perspective on my old Mentor’s state of being.  It is all so surreal.

After all the advice and feedback I received, I was still on the fence of what to do and it wasn’t until I had an insightful conversation with a former student of mine that really cemented my plan.   In that conversation, she told me that she was in Jodie’s corner because she understood how powerful addictions (gambling, alcohol and other drugs) can be, since she lived through it growing up.  She hammered home that trying to “wrap my brain around the why’s” of  her actions would do me no good.  She encouraged me to reach out to Jodie, forgive her, and move on.  She made me realize that no matter what I did, Jodie would still have to live with her decisions and spend the rest of her life making amends.  For those of you who may have experienced addictions first or second hand, I’m sure you can empathize with  this train of thought.

So,I’ve decided to practice what I often preach and that is to “Build a Bridge and Get Over It”.  I’m writing her a response letter and get everything off my chest. I’m using this as a cathartic process so I can move on.  I’ve already started the letter and feel better.  I can’t even begin to imagine what she is going through daily.  However, I do believe that pieces of my old mentor are still in there, and I hope that someday, she can rise above all this and live the life I know she can.

Who in your life do you need to “build a bridge” for in order to “get over it?”

I appreciate the support and feedback you all have given me with all this.  Thank you!

(This is a cross post with On the Go!)

All of us the Student Affairs Collaborative are thrilled at the response of the #NASPA10 demo of #SACHAT this past Monday that focused on How You Use Twitter in Student Affairs and today’s weekly #SACHAT that focused on Best Student Development Strategies. We’re thrilled to welcome all our new participants from ACUI and NASPA and hope that we gain even more friends at ACPA in Boston in 10 short days!  Each week, we continue to grow our numbers and this week’s chats produced over 1,800 comments from almost 200 Student Affairs professionals,  graduate students and undergraduates interested or working in the Student Affairs field!  WOW!

In case you missed any of it, below is a quick recap. If you STILL haven’t yet participated in an #sachat, learn more here.

Full Transcripts

#NASPA10 #SACHAT Demo: “How You Use Twitter in Student Affairs” (3/8/2010)
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DAYTIME: How You Use Twitter in Student Affairs (3/11/2010)
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EVENING: How You Use Twitter in Student Affairs (3/11/2010)
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Top Contributors

@The_SA_Blog
@reyjunco
@edcabellon
@m1hamilton
@ARL275
@cindykane
@debrasanborn
@AndreaHart
@jesstini85
@BeccaFick

Here’s to another successful set of #sachats!  What are some other topics you would like to see us cover?  Please let us know your ideas and feedback to keep #sachat growing strong.

Until we next week, (if you haven’t already done so) please make sure to join our growing Facebook Page, currently over 2,700 and adding new #studentaffairs friends every day!  Thanks for your continued support!

Thanks to everyone who participated in today’s #SAchat focusing on Career Decision Making: Where Do I Go From Here? Each week, we continue to grow our numbers and today’s chats produced over 1,000 comments from over 100 student affairs professionals,  graduate students and undergraduates interested or working in the Student Affairs field!

In case you missed it, below is a quick recap. If you haven’t yet participated in an #sachat, learn more here.

Full Transcripts
DAYTIME:
View as webpage
Download as PDF

EVENING:
View as webpage
Download as PDF

Today’s Top Contributors

@JGinese23
@jmayojr
@edcabellon
@Geralyn5
@The_SA_Blog
@cindykane
@reyjunco
@debrasanborn
@AndreaHart
@bryan_koval

Here’s to another successful set of #sachats!  What are some other topics you would like to see us cover?  Please let us know your ideas and feedback to keep #sachat growing strong.

Until we next week, (if you haven’t already done so) please make sure to join our growing Facebook Page, currently over 2,600 and adding new #studentaffairs friends every day!  Thanks for your continued support!

I’ve been holding back for a long time on writing this.  This is the first time, publicly, I’m sharing my perspective on the scandal that went down at Tufts University two+ years ago.  It’s very personal for me, but something that I wanted to do because I’m ready for closure and need your help in making an important decision.  So here goes.

November 14th, 2007 is a day that will forever be etched in my professional and personal life.  The ACUI Regional Conference was starting and my dear friend and colleague, Erin Morrell and I were waiting in the hotel lobby for our 30+ International Delegates from Ireland and the UK to arrive.  We had worked hard for months to pull together a fantastic program for them and it was just about to start.

Then, a phone call came from my friend Laura:

“Hello?”

“(crying, sobbing) Ed? Is that you?”

“Yes, Laura?  What’s wrong!?! Why are you crying?  Is everything OK?”

“No, it’s about Jodie.  You need to sit down.  I wanted you to hear this from me before it hit the papers tomorrow.  Jodie has admitted to stealing over $300,000 from TSR (Tufts Student Resources business) and our department account.  Apparently, she’s been doing it since 2000 or so.”

<silence>

“Ed?  Did you hear what I just said?”

“WHAT?!? I can’t believe this, are you sure?”

“Yes, she just admitted it to the investigators.”

In that moment, my entire professional career seemed a fallacy.

Jodie Nealley was the Director of Student Activities at Tufts University and my first supervisor out of graduate school.  She was my mentor.  As the Assistant, and subsequently, Associate Director in the Office of Student Activities at Tufts, I worked closely with Jodie and our staff to build student life on campus.  From 2000-2005, I served as adviser to the Programming Board and multiple Greek Organizations, and was also responsible for the building the Leadership Program.  From 2005 – 2006, I was responsible for the operations of the Mayer Campus Center and worked closely with student employees.   According to testimony, she started taking money slowly (due to a gambling addiction) and over the course of six years, the numbers added up.  After hearing this news, I felt so stupid for not knowing this was happening right under our noses.  How did we all miss this?

I was hurt and betrayed beyond anything I had ever felt before. This was worse than anything I ever thought I have experienced in Student Affairs.

At that time, many of my former students called and/or visited me to process what had happened.  They wanted to go through the grieving process with me because the vision of Jodie as the mentor, friend, and supervisor they knew was no longer there.

As the story developed, we all learned that a second co-worker, Ray Rodriguez, was also charged with embezzling of over $600,000 of the Student Senate’s money.  According to reports, both of them were stealing INDEPENDENTLY of each other.  It was another punch to the gut and I was shell shocked for a long time.  Honestly, I’ve never really gotten over this feeling of betrayal that I buried deep inside.  However, last summer finally brought closure to the case, as both Jodie and Ray were found guilty and got two year prison sentences plus restitution obligations.

I thought I would find closure through the numerous conversations I had with students and staff, but I haven’t.  Think about your professional MENTOR.  How would you feel if you found out that during your time together, she or he lied to you everyday they worked with you?  All of those staff meetings, retreats, one on one meetings, and “teachable moments” would be faded, stale memories.

However, I won’t allow this to tarnish the honest, hard work that the rest of the staff and students put in.  I know the work we did was excellent and I believe that through our experiences together, I’m a better professional today.

Last week, I was contacted by a former Tufts staff member over Facebook chat.  He told me that he visited Jodie in jail and shared with me that she looked better, had done a lot of reflecting, and wanted to relay a message to all of us that she was truly sorry and knows that she let us all down.  He sent me Jodie’s mailing address as well as information on visiting if I chose to.  He thought it would be good for me, but I’m not so sure.  So far, he’s been the only person from Tufts to visit her, other than her partner and son.  The last time I spoke with Jodie was when I served as a reference for Laura.

Part of me is curious and wants to go and confront her to give me “closure”.  Another part of me wants to let things be, and just move on.   I’m so torn.

What would you do? Thanks for reading and letting me share my story.

More Online Articles About This Story:
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/2.5511/tsr-tcu-senate-have-evidence-suggesting-nealley-took-funds-1.589564 (2007)
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/alleged-embezzlers-arraigned-1.613895 (2008)
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/nealley-and-rodriguez-plead-not-guilty-during-arraignment-1.613284 (2008)

This is a cross-post on the Student Affairs Blog and On The Go!

Thanks to everyone who participated in today’s #SAchat focusing on Job Search and Interviewing Strategies for Student Affairs Graduate Students.  Each week, we continue to grow our numbers and today’s chats produced over 1,200 comments from over 100 student affairs professionals,  graduate students and undergraduates interested or working in the Student Affairs field!

In case you missed it, below is a quick recap. If you haven’t yet participated in an #sachat, learn more here.

Full Transcripts
DAYTIME:
View as webpage
Download as PDF

EVENING:
View as webpage
Download as PDF

Today’s Top Contributors

@debrasanborn
@edcabellon
@thestacyface
@ARL275
@cindykane
@hiedcareercoach
@m1hamilton
@JenPaulin
@reyjunco
@pereirap80

Here’s to another successful set of #sachats!  What are some other topics you would like to see us cover?  Please let us know your ideas and feedback to keep #sachat growing strong.

Until we next week, (if you haven’t already done so) please make sure to join our growing Facebook Page, currently over 2,400 and adding new #studentaffairs friends every day!  Thanks for your continued support!