800th Post

The blog rolls on...to post 800 :). This weekend I will in Menomonie, WI at UW Stout playing the role as delegation advisor for the UW Oshkosh group at French Dip 2009. I'm not sure if I'll have internet access, but if I do, I'll have plenty of time for updates :).

WURHA 2007 Reflection

Although I had to leave WURHA right after the banquet, I still feel like I had something of a conference hangover for most of Sunday. As such, I didn't really feel up to writing an entry yesterday.

So, WURHA 2007 was a good time. I had the opportunity to present two programs on Saturday morning. One programs was about listening to music; the other program discussed more effective leadership behaviors. If a program is highly rated, it has the opportunity to be selected as a "Top Ten Program." I found out that advisor programs were not eligible for top ten.

At first I was a little frustrated about that. If my program was in the top ten, it should be in the top ten. It took my friends and colleagues Ryan and Peter to put things in perspective for me. They helped me to realize that my program possibly being in the top ten would keep a student out of the top ten. The conference is for the students.

I enjoyed being a conference guest at WURHA. I appreciated having zero responsibility and just enjoying the sights and sounds of WURHA. I also was awarded a WURHA Star Pin by the WURHA president, Kaitlin Connor. That was cool as well.

This was Christa's first leadership conference; it was nice to share the experience with her.

WURHA 2007

I have a few minutes before I leave for a consultation with the oral surgeon. Details to come...if you really want to know.

I will be leaving for WURHA this afternoon. This will be the first WURHA event since WURHA 2000 in which I will have no responsibility at the conference. I am looking forward to presenting two programs and catching up with students and colleagues at various universities throughout the state.

Before I leave, I will also be doing four hours of CA/PA interviews...lunch will get fit in there somewhere. Um, I think. ;)

Have a good weekend everyone...no post until Sunday!

Passion

As I write this entry, I have complete the second part of my two-day Senior Staff Retreat. While yesterday was a field trip, today we stayed on campus and did two different things.

IDI Explanation
The IDI is the Intercultural Development Inventory. All CAs and PAs on campus as well as A/RHDs took the assessment and we had a session that discussed the overall results of our department. I will not get into great detail about the assessment, but I did come away somewhat frustrated. I felt like some questions that I had did not get answered so I will have to do some follow-up assessment. Feel free to give me a call and I'll let you know my questions. There is also a website to check out.

Afternoon Activities
In the afternoon, we played Boxers or Briefs with members of Senior Staff. This was fun. I did not win, but I managed to connect with a few folks on answers. We also played the "Tap Game". If you are unfamiliar, a group gets is a circle, sits down and closes their eyes. A few members of the group are pulled out of the circle to participate. A facilitator reads a statement such as, "Tap someone who you feel is a good leader." Those outside the circle would tap the folks that, for them, fit that statement. I enjoy this activity (it sometimes even makes me cry).

I highly recommend this activity as a closure activity. Some thoughts as I reflect on today's "tap game" and those I've done before:

1. I have been surprised to be "tapped" for areas where I assume that I wouldn't.
2. Similarly, I have gone "tapless" for statements where I thought I would be tapped multiple times.
3. I always fear how people who receive few taps feel about this game. That is one drawback to the activity.
4. When your colleagues are highly skilled, you often find yourself tapping many people for many statements.
   
5. It really hurts to keep your eyes closed for that long :).

Other News

• I was invited to WURHA 2007 as a Conference Guest. Score!
  

Camp Onaway - Part 3

For the third time in three months, I traveled to Camp Onaway. This time I was invited back by the WURHA organization to do a series of presentations. WURHA was holding their annual fall retreat called Bringing Leaders Together (BLT). At this event advisors are often wondering what they can do with their time becuase the programming at these events usually revolves around students.

Steph and I thought it would be a good idea to offer some programmig options for advisors. As such, I came back to the Onaway to present 3 sessions of ART Training for the advisors that were there. The sessions ended up going about 2.5 hours and they seemed to be useful to those in attendance...

...this trip to Onaway was the strangest I have had. It was the first time I came for something not affiliated with UW Oshkosh; it was also the latest in the year I have visited the camp. Everything was packed up as if the island was going to close, which it was once we left. The soda machines were cleaned out, the docks were packed up, sports equipment was gone. It felt somewhat empty.

Without large amounts of enthusiastic leaders, the energy of the island was not the same. We didn't stay in cabins, we mostly stayed in headquarters. The weather was too cold (and too wet) to do any outdoor activities; we stayed mostly in the dining hall. Games like "lightning" were not played. It just didn't feel quite the same.

I did have the opportunity to take a lap around the island, something I try to do every time I go to the island. It was nice to take in the magic of the island one more time. My only regret was not staying until lunch...I missed Onaway pizza!

I received a boat ride back to the mainland from the head of the island. He and I were chatting and I explained that I met my future wife at Camp Onaway. He was really happy to hear that! He was also excited that I had the opportunity to come to Onaway so many times in a year. I told him that I could not wait until next year when I can come back!