I am one of those people that learns something new all the time. Today I learned something about nature and I also learned something about myself in a way. First-I love watching nature shows/videos and today I learned about these stinging bullet ants that simulate the feeling of being shot with each bite. Also I learned how ants eat a worm and get all the food inside for the other ants, imagine a food regurgitation train. It might look a little like this in humans or this classic video. Be careful watching these videos- I just laughed so loud my neighbor knocked on the wall.
I must learn because I also read a lot. I did not know how cool Twitter was until I started using it for work rather than just personal stuff. I find so many great blogs, articles, and news about higher ed that I have to ration it during the daytime work hours. Even though I think that counts as professional development time and the College should be so lucky that all of my development has been free on the Twitter.
Anyway today I was interviewed by a former student about my role in training the RHDs and RAs on staff. It is so easy to be consumed by our own areas of expertise that it is nice to talk about training in a broad sense and then relate it back to higher ed. I get inspired by conversations like that- you know the kind where you are forced to think critically and assess your methods then justify them to another person while they look at them through a different lens? Well Amelia did that all while having a higher ed perspective and the unique opportunity of having been trained by me when I was what we will call a "novice".
This past week at work there have been lots of discussion about people in an organization and how they make the difference. Leadership, orientation, and training of your employees can make a big difference when there are big changes in an organization. Time is the one thing that does not factor into a budget that can make changes and challenges seem smaller and easier to deal with in a department. In my opinion, time with people on your team, your staff, your workplace, is the single most valuable asset to an organization.
Time makes the biggest impact on our students as well. This past weekend was alumni weekend on campus and the students who came back and chatted with me shared those moments when I spent time helping them solve a problem, showing them that I cared about them when they were sick, helping them develop a program or a organization that has left a lasting impact on them and the College. None of those things cost the College money, none of them cost me money personally either. Not all of those things happened when I was "on the clock" (not that there is a clock in student affairs). It is rejuvenating when I can see the transferrable skills those students learned in action when they describe their current careers. It is a great reminder of why I do what I do.
Some of what Amelia and I talked about was taking time to know your audience and taking the time to form those relationships that make all the difference on a staff. Not only does this help you be a better and more effective trainer, it teaches those intangible skills that students need. It is easy to get discouraged in times of budget cuts or when you wish you could pay your student staff more for what they do- but having time to reflect like I did today with a former student brings everything full circle. Amelia learned a lot during her time in College, she learned some examples of what to do and what not to do in building and maintaining relationships on a staff. She learned about training and how to adapt to your audience to make sure the message is heard. Then she took jobs both in and out of higher education and still used those skills. Even now while getting her Masters Degree she is learning more formally all those things she has been part of since she was 19 years old. She is learning how to train, how to teach, and how to make that applicable in a any situation.
Just listening to Amelia tell me about her goals and projects in this Masters program warms my heart and reminds me just why I spent all that time with her when she was a student. I can see the skills she learned then- maybe without even realizing she was learning- showing through in the professional she has become. But I can also see that in the human she is today. On the other side of the coin, I feel like I am a better person for the time I spent with her. There are times still today where I look back on some of the experiences I had in hiring (or not hiring in one case) her for specific jobs in the department or thinking about the things I learned too about myself as a supervisor during a long night watching the Lion King. People make the difference, no matter what you do for a living, but for me especially in higher ed.
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