My First Conference - 2011 NASPA Western Regional!
IT IS DAY THREE OUT of four at the 2011 NASPA Western Regional Conference in San Diego and boy am I exhausted! Who would of thought that networking would be so involved?! Between the pre-conference institute, to meeting new people, to lecture and receptions - it has been a student affairs overload! (In the best way possible, of course!) I left a little early today and this is the first chance I've gotten to sit, decompress, and synthesize what I've learned thus far. Now where to start...
I WILL START WITH THE pre-conference institute. Going into NASPA, I was honestly not sure what the institute would consist of, but I figured I would sign up for anything and everything just to have the opportunity. The two day session involved a group of about 50 graduate students and new professionals in intimate and hands on sessions from networking and mentoring to managing skills. The session I found the most helpful was the professional development planning session. During this activity, we were asked to fill out a professional competency chart, assess where the gaps lie, and considered job enlargement, job enrichment, and job rotation in order to achieve our goal position. While it was a bit disheartening to visually see how much I was lacking among the various competencies, it reminded me that I have so much to learn throughout the rest of my graduate program and that I'm in a great position to grow.
THROUGHOUT THE MANY OTHER sessions I have attended thus far, my favorite was a social media presentation by Eric Stoller. Social media for the current generation of students really has the potential to bridge the gap between faculty, staff, and students. With the growing trend in online learning and degrees, social media and strategic communication is an avenue for student affairs support systems. I had never really considered the usefulness of social media tools like Twitter, but I am now convinced of its use in higher education not only in working with students, but to stay informed and current in the field!
