May 2019 Region II Newsletter

May 2019 Newsletter In This Issue: Educational Drive-In Events Scholarship Recipient Reflection Regional Leadership Team Spotlights Open Regional Leadership Team Positions Make Sure You "Highlight This!"

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Educational Drive In Events Calling all Region II members – let's do some road-tripping and learning!

Drive-In Option One: The University of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas) Date: Wednesday, June 26 Time: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

This drive-in educational program will give you the opportunity to tour the new Burge Union, a satellite location for the KU Memorial Unions, while also gaining fresh perspectives during roundtable discussions. Lunch will be provided and you will be able to choose from a variety of roundtable discussion topics suited to your interests. This program is open to everyone: undergraduate and graduate students, as well as entry-level, mid-level, and senior-level professionals. Find more information and register on ACUI's website.

Drive-In Option Two: Sam Houston State University (Huntsville, Texas) Date: Wednesday, July 24 Time: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

This drive-in educational program will give you the opportunity to tour the newly expanded Lowman Student Center at Sam Houston State University, while also gaining fresh perspectives during roundtable discussions. Lunch will be provided, and you will be able to choose from a variety of roundtable discussion topics suited to your interests. This program is open to everyone. Find more information and register on ACUI's website.

Don't forget to VOTE! Region II Regional Director elections are now open! You have until May 21 to cast your vote. Visit the ACUI website to read candidate profiles.

Scholarship Recipient Reflection We love to highlight our regional award and scholarship winners. This month we feature Rachel Henry (Louisiana State University), our most recent Region II Conference attendee scholarship winner.

How did this scholarship (and the associated event) have an impact on your career?

The Region II Conference was a great experience! I had attended the national conference previously but the Region II conference was more intimate and allowed me to network and build relationships more effectively. I left with a ton of new ideas to implement in our Student Union at Louisiana State University!

What is one thing you learned from your ACUI experience?

The ACUI conferences are incredibly valuable for learning best practices, discussing trends, and building relationships. I leave each conference inspired with new ideas!

Any advice for others who are considering getting involved with ACUI? You will get out of the ACUI experiences what you put into it! Take advantage of every opportunity to get involved, network and building relationships, and ask as many questions as you can!

Regional Leadership Team Spotlights Kristen Ernst is the 2019 Conference Chair for ACUI Region II. In the past, she has also volunteered as an I-LEAD® small group facilitator, a faculty member for ACUI's student development theory badge course, the Region II Inclusivity Coordinator, and served on multiple Conference Planning Teams. Kristen is the associate director of student engagement at Rice University. In her spare time she enjoys reading, yoga, baking, and watercolor painting.

Kristen Ernst 2019 Conference Chair

Katie Knetzer Educational Programs Coordinator

Katie Knetzer is the Educational Programs Coordinator for Region II. She is the director of the university center at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. She has worked in student affairs for over 10 years, and she has lived in Missouri her whole life. In her free time, she loves building Legos with her three-year-old daughter, traveling internationally, and watching "The Office" over and over again on Netflix.

Regional Volunteer Opportunities Long-Term Volunteer Opportunities Are you interested in serving Region II? Consider applying for one of our open Regional Leadership Team positions!

Business Manager – chief financial officer of the region Communications Coordinator – collect, create, and distribute regional communication Educational Programs Coordinator – plan face-to-face educational events in the region Inclusivity Coordinator – serve as a resource and advocate for strengthening inclusivity within the region and Association Regional Conference Coordinator – provide leadership to the planning efforts of the Regional Conference

Applications are due on the ACUI website

by June 22, 2019!

Short-Term Volunteer Opportunities Awards & Scholarships Team Educational Program Team Review Team for Educational Sessions Communications Team Visit the ACUI website for more information on these positions.

Highlight This!

The Louisiana State University (LSU) Student Union Lactation Room was introduced earlier this semester and has been the example for the remainder of campus as additional lactation rooms are being added. Featuring three private stations, the Student Union Lactation Room is available for students, faculty, staff, and visitors.

Each station has a reclining lounge chair, desk, supplies & a resource guide from the Tiny Tiger Project, and a Pumping Post, the monthly newsletter for the Student Union.

The Louisiana State University Student Union puts up an Encouragement Wall for students during finals week every semester. They give out complimentary cookies and coffee, while students can write or take uplifting messages.

These messages include quotes from movies or TV shows that they love, personal mantras they would like to share, or even advice about getting through finals week. We always strive to make Tiger life easier, but we want our Tigers to know that we support and believe in them during this tough week! GEAUX TIGERS!

The Student Activities Board at Truman State University hosted an event called High Flying Adventure where over 400 students got to experience tethered hot air balloon rides on campus.

Congratulations to our 2019-20 Region II scholarship recipients: IPDS: New Professionals Orientation – Kat Romero, Texas State University I-LEAD® – Alina Sergienko, Truman State University, and Nicole Redmond, Southeastern Louisiana University We want to highlight the AMAZING things our regional members are doing. Are you opening a new building? Celebrating awesome staff? Charting new territory or refining best practices? Let us know at this link to be featured in upcoming newsletters & social media posts!