I don’t know if he realizes it, but I really admire my colleague Justin who blogs at Musings of a New Professional. I am always delighted to run into him at conferences and have a few moments to chat. I also look forward to his blog posts which always get me thinking. His latest post Breaking Through… is no exception.

He writes about inclusiveness within professional organizations and makes some great points. It is hard to “… crack into this circle” of people who are serving the organization, winning the awards, and in general seem to be the rock stars (my words, not his). He covers everything from social circles to leadership, and I want to join in on the conversation.

I have similar experiences with the social aspect of conferences. My “core group” has formed and yes, we do invite others to join us on occasion, but for the most part it is the three (now four after this year!) of us. I’m okay with this. I know that I want to spend as much time as possible with these people because it is the one time of year when I can draw them all together and surround myself with that kind of uplifting love of my friends. The rest of the year life keeps us all so busy that it is random texts, an occasional Facebook post, and a very rare phone call. I spend a majority of the daytime hours and Monday evening socials connecting to new people. It is a stretch for me to put myself out there and push the Extrovert part of myself. But wow, by the end of the day my Introvert is ready to curl-up on the bed and hide from all the people! We do try to include others for some of our dinners, but I find this almost stressful. It is hard to connect with someone and have a conversation in a noisy restaurant at a table for 8, 10, or 12. We’re already talking about renting a suite in Vegas for 2013. I hope we can make that happen because I’m envisioning a Tuesday Pizzas and PJs party where we can order in, have some quiet music in the background, and invite others to join us for an evening of comfy clothes and close conversations.

Justin also talks about the more professional and less social “inner circles”. Those who always seem to be winning the awards, working their way through leadership positions, and in my words ‘being the rock stars’. In some cases he is right, it is like choosing like as positions become available. He is also right about the intimidation factor of putting oneself out there and saying “pick me”. I want to share with you that it takes guts to put yourself out there, but that the rewards are great. I have to be prepared for the rejection, and the less than flattering perceptions of others, but I find that as I surround myself with confident professionals and the uplifting love of friends I can face those fears. I also find that if I am willing to do the work and own my mistakes people are more than happy to have me. I have lofty goals. At some point in my life I want to earn my PhD, and yes, I still am not sure I’m ‘smart’ enough. I also at some point, in the future when I have a lot more experience (!), want to be president of our organization. This year I made it a point to say this to some key people. Talk about being scared of being laughed at! Guess what…no one laughed. I’m not going to say I received an overwhelming flood of support, but no one laughed!

Is there a lesson in all of this? I hope you can find one. But also let this serve as my invitation to you. If you want to become involved in ACPA please reach out to me and I will help you connect, and if you want to join us for PJs and Pizzas we will welcome you with smiles and affirmations.

I would like to say that it was just one of those days. But this fable lasts over a week.

The cast features three of my wonderful coworkers. Project DEgree specialists Stacy and Alexis. These poor ladies have allowed me to help them with a few tech things and have asked for pointers on time management and productivity. They may withdraw those requests after this story. Sheree is the other Advising Manager for the School of Arts & Sciences. I didn’t know Sheree when we accepted our tandem positions and after 9 months I cannot tell you how grateful I am to be partnered with someone who works hard but knows how to have fun.

To the story ….

Last Monday I was back in the office after being out sick for a couple of days with my annual spring break cold. No, really! I had a cold! I wasn’t playing hooky.  In my campus mail there was a very puffy envelope. Mysterious! I open it up and a blue reusable grocery bag tumbles out along with something that goes THUMP on my desk and a hastily written note. “Your gift is wrapped in the bag, but you can keep the bag too! Stacy & Alexis”

The Rock

Cool! A rock! Umm… why? So I send an email

Stacy responds

Alexis Glad you like it!

Sheree looks at me.

Turns The Rock around.

This is going to be a quick post, but I have to get this out of my head. I chuckled when I saw this cartoon today.

via failblog.org

There are times when having a ‘desk job’ can make a day seem long. When I’m stuck in my office from 8:00 to 5:00 pounding away at reports or various projects, so I laughed because I got it.

But there is a truth to this image. Society is pushing people to earn a college degree and I worry about people who choose a degree based on income, or external pressures such as family or prestige, and then end up feeling like this all day every day. Desk jobs, like higher education, aren’t for everyone. We, as a society, need to learn to promote and value jobs that may not require a white collar and four years (or more) of education. I know I would be lost without a plumber, electrician, and those wonderful people that pick-up the trash cans every week!

I’ll admit that if one of my kids had said “I want to be a garbage truck driver when I grow-up” I would have responded negatively. That is so wrong of me! I don’t want to have to drive to the landfill on a regular basis, or see my street piled high with hefty bags. I don’t want to watch a leak in my bathroom destroy my home (it’s bad enough that I have a couple of ceiling holes caused by leaks!)

I want to encourage myself, and all of you, to value FURTHER education as well as higher education. Think about how well hu does the job rather than to what the job is. Link education to employment in professions that make employees feel happy and fulfilled.

Reading Frank Donoghue’s piece in the Chronicle this morning reminded me of a question I was asked during an interview. “Is higher education for everyone?” Thankfully it wasn’t a yes or no question.

Higher education isn’t for everyone. It is expensive, selective, challenging, and requires levels of preparation that not everyone is capable of reaching. When we say that everyone is entitled to a world class education it leads to uninformed consumers of education. Student’s who take out massive student loans to repeat developmental education courses, or run out of grant opportunities because they cannot complete coursework within 150% of the time allotted. I am a big believer in setting the bar high and providing a challenging education, but we need to stop thinking that everyone can make that leap.

Now that I have some of you riled-up let me tell you that I do believe that FURTHER education is for everyone. Further education can be a two-year degree in a technical field, workforce development certificates, or learning a trade through the apprentice system. Why do we devalue jobs that don’t require a four-year degree? Physical and technical jobs that not everyone can do such as plumbing, welding, refuse collection, or fast food management. These jobs are more necessary to our society than my own degree in psychology.

We need to appreciate students of all levels and stop trying to push a four-year degree in business to a student who would be more successful, happier, and have far less educational debt by becoming the person who saves my home from a flood of water dripping through the kitchen ceiling from the upstairs bathroom.

Wow, it is always interesting when my professional network gets stirred-up, and last week the blog posts were fast and furious over ACPA establishing a Credentialing Implementation Team.

Being someone who is consistently looking forward to learning something new I was initially excited about this prospect. Receiving a tangible artifact for learning is, and I’m admitting a personal flaw here, exciting for me. Yes, I need the A. Now that I have spent some time reading more about the proposed system, and the reactions of my colleagues, I’m not sure I agree with all parts of the proposal.

I appreciate the diversity of backgrounds we find in student affairs, but at the same time I believe it is important for professionals working with students to have a common core of knowledge and abilities. NASPA and ACPA did an excellent job of defining the core competencies several years ago. Yes, a professional is able to develop and demonstrate these without a student affairs educational background. So why credentials?

I don’t believe we need credentials, or a registry. Part of me is very uncomfortable with the idea of a registry. The thought of a list of people deemed “worthy” just sits wrong and I think it takes us to close to licensure. I presume there would also be a cost to being listed on the registry. What will this mean for new professionals who are job searching? Membership fees and conference attendance are already a burden for some. (And do NOT get me started on the cost of webinars… seriously!)

There is one small piece of this proposal that does interest me. The idea of Continuing Education Credits (CEUs). I think there is value here. For example I currently have minimal experience with budgets. It would be fantastic if it were possible to take a CEU or two that would help me develop some basic competency. The same for supervising others! An alternate way to develop a basic competency that would aid my entry into my next position, and a way to avoid this conundrum.

I hope we continue to engage in discussions about professionalism and learning, but let’s not continually add financial, educational, and “sheepskin” barriers.

There have been some excellent posts about experiences at #ACPA11. Forgive me for not linking, but I wouldn’t want to miss anyone.

I had similar professional and personal connections during the conference. I’m not afraid to say I’ve made some friendships that have been, and will be, life altering. Many of which started on Twitter via #sachat.

But rather than focusing on my own experience I want to talk about engagement. Not the kind that comes with the pretty ring, or what happens when Capt. Picard says “engage”. But, if I could “make it so” – what would that look like?

As Chair-Elect for the Commission for Commuter Students and Adult Learners (CCSAL) I spent some time involved in leadership meetings, and I attended the Town Hall Assembly Meeting. At most of these sessions there was talk of engaging the membership and being engaged members beyond the conference.

I consider myself engaged year-round because of my involvement in the commission. But leadership roles aren’t for everyone. (But by all means if you are interested let me know and I will connect you with the right commission or involve you in CCSAL.) But as a general member with a busy professional and personal life what does being an engaged member mean? What is involved? What do you need? What can you offer? How can I help?

What does an engaged member look like?

I would like to take this year to continue to grow my involvement and relationships so please take the time to comment, or contact me privately, to engage in this discussion.