The Pulse December 2015

THE PULSE THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ONTARIO ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY HOUSING OFFICERS

DECEMBER 2015

RESIDENCE LIFE CONFERENCE DELEGATES McMaster University

THE PULSE

Board of Directors PRESIDENT

CONFERENCE DIRECTOR

Julie West

Sara Wills

University of Guelph jwest@uoguelph.ca

Carleton University sara.wills@carleton.ca

PRESIDENT-ELECT / FINANCE DIRECTOR

CORPORATE PARTNER RELATIONS DIRECTOR

Daryl Nauman

Jordon McLinden

York University dnauman@yorku.ca

Carleton University jordon.mclinden@carleton.ca

PAST PRESIDENT

SENIOR-LEVEL MEMBER AT LARGE

Laura Storey Carleton University laura.storey@carleton.ca

Chris Alleyne

COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR

MEMBER AT LARGE

Brian Cunha

University of Windsor rawlin1@uwindsor.ca

Western University calleyne@housing.uwo.ca

Diane Rawlings

University of Toronto brian.cunha@utoronto.ca

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

MEMBER AT LARGE

Melissa Steadman

Humber College meaghan.mcneil@humber.ca

Western University msteadma@housing.uwo.ca

Meghan McNeil

MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATION MANAGER

Andrew Quenneville

OACUHO info@oacuho.com

Western University aquennev@housing.uwo.ca

Carol Ford

The Communications Committee DIRECTOR Brian Cunha

SPECIAL PROJECTS Meaghan McNeil

THE PULSE EDITORS Rebecca Mudge Andrea Pape Cory Coletta Jonathan Amanatidis Brittany Reifenstein

SOCIAL MEDIA Mary Stefanidis Brian Millado Thomas Crowhurst RESEARCH TBD

Table of Contents 3

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president’s message

December Editors Jonathan Amanatidis Queen's University

Andrea Pape Seneca College

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a lesson from Chickering

Residence Life Conference

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OACUHO research

Historical Building Renovations

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

‘Tis the season of travel, family and reflection.

As we enter into this time of the year, I know many will be travelling to see family and joining in countless annual traditions.

We are now past the Fall Business Meeting and the Residence Life Conference and we have a long way to go to the Spring Conference at Western. There is no doubt that the OACUHO Board will be talking about how we can keep you engaged as we move forward.

This year, I also am reflecting on the new Canadians that are coming to us from Syria – I know that many campuses may be sponsoring or hosting newly arrived families on their campuses and others may individually be part of organizations and groups that are private sponsors of these refugees. As always your compassion and empathy shines.

For everyone, given the constantly busy fall semester – this is a great time of rejuvenation – take time for yourself, enjoy the break and replenish your energy.

Finally, on behalf of all of us on the OACUHO Board, I wish you safe travel, happiness and a restful holiday season.

OACUHO President

A Les fr o m

FEATURE

son

Chick

ering

Clayton McCourt Associate Director, Residence Life Wilfrid Laurier University

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s recent graduate from a Master’s program in Student Affairs Administration, I often consult the student development theory resources sitting on my bookshelf. Each morning I arrive to the office, I challenge myself with the following statement: “how will I put at least one of these theories into practice?” Most days I get caught up in the daily grind, and my commitment to the challenge falls short. Other days, however, I not only connect to the relevance of student development theory, but am able to apply it directly to my craft. It can be easy to dismiss the theory and foundational material that guides our practice, this fact is not indicative of its relevance, we should never stop searching for its applicability.

After all, student development theories like Baxter-Magolda’s (2001) Theory of Self-Authorship, and guiding documents such as The Student Learning Imperative (ACPA, 1996) or Learning Reconsidered (ACPA-NASPA, 2004) should remain as the backbone of our work. These guiding documents and associated principles are intended not only to help us better structure the learning and development of our students, but they can also help make meaning of our own professional experience.

More recently, I re-connected with Chickering’s (1969) Theory of Identity Development in a way that has helped me make meaning of the challenges I face as a student affairs professional.

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“Establishment of identity in turn allows the person to successfully address issues that may arise later in the developmental process” (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton & Renn, 2010. p.65).

According to Chickering (1969), learning to manage one’s emotions is identified as a key step or vector in the formation of identity. When analyzing my own identity development and contrasting it with my current professional experience, it is clear that I am

often challenged to manage, recognize, and accept my emotions in a number of professional contexts. As a student affairs professional working in residence life, my daily routine consists of trying to resolve a myriad of complex student issues, engaging in crucial conversations with frustrated parents, and at times having to navigate politically charged meetings and relationships. There are days when this routine tests my patience, thereby leaving me with emotions of anger, anxiety, and guilt. Yet other times my daily routine also engages me with emotions that are caring, optimistic, and can leave me with moments of great inspiration. Just as Chickering (1969) identified learning to express and

c o n t r o l o n e ’s e m o t i o n s a s a c o r e developmental issue for students in their college years, learning to act on feelings in a responsible manner in the work place can greatly influence our own professional development.

Just as residence life professionals are impressed by a student’s ability to navigate a conduct meeting with appropriate emotional response and intelligence; our ability as professionals to effectively manage our emotions can equally impress our colleagues, supervisors, and even help us better serve our students and institutions. The lesson from Chickering is an understanding that our professional environment is capable of influencing our emotions, both in positive and negative ways. Some of our days in student affairs will continue to get the best of us. However, by paying closer attention to our emotional involvement in the work place, and cultivating a better understanding of the context and influences of our environment on our emotions, we are capable of becoming student affairs professionals on paths to more fulfilling development, growth, and success.

Residence Life Conference McMaster was the meeting place for hundreds of student staff delegates to the 36th annual Residence Life Conference. Meet the delegates and professionals and hear their experiences.

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RESIDENCE LIFE CONFERENCE

Professional Reflection: Residence Life Conference Carmen Law

Western Eckert

Queen’s University

York University

Carmen and myself both attending the Residence Life Conference at McMaster University as the professional delegates for our respective institutions. This would be her first time attending as a professional delegate where as I’ve had the opportunity three times in the last four years. We both agreed that the opportunity to connect with professionals and students from other schools, engage in conversations with our peers, and support our student staff as they embark on this weekend were experiences we found a great deal of value in. We also realized that our experiences, although similar, were also distinctly unique. We each took the time to reflect upon this experience with hope helping to spark a thought, revelation, or idea in some of you in sharing it here.

Carmen Law, Queen’s University I had the pleasure of attending the Residence Life Conference for the first time in six years and my first experience as a Professional Delegate. I was glad to see the tremendous amount of energy and school spirit has not changed since my first conference. What has changed is the quality of concurrent sessions offered to our student staff. I want to commend all the student staff members who dedicated their time and

effort in creating such high quality presentations for their colleagues. It also extends to all the professional staff who helped coach, edit proposals and provide feedback for presentations. As a result, I think the success of the education provided to our students is a collaborative effort within our organization.

Whether we physically attended the conference or not, we all played an important role in excelling the quality of programming offered at the conference.

As part of the OACUHO Mentorship Program, I was also able to meet my two mentees in person. It was a valuable opportunity making the connection face to face and to start having intentional conversations. I found it challenging not connecting in person with my past mentees because our communication was always mediated by technology. We are absolutely lucky to have technology that allows us to extend our reach in communication, however, the direct, face to face conversation is where we learn the most and foster genuine relationships. Having the opportunity to meet with my mentees in person, was definitely one of the benefits of attending as a Professional Delegate.

RESIDENCE LIFE CONFERENCE

Weston Eckert, York University Unlike Carmen, this past Residence Life Conference marks my third attending as a professional delegate.

All throughout this weekend I found myself trying to reflect on and analyze just what it is about this conference that continues to motivate me to come back year after year with a new group of student delegates. It wasn’t until the very end of the weekend when something the closing keynote, Drew Dudley, said struck a chord with me. He mentioned exchanges he’s had with students throughout his career that have changed the way he thought and challenged him to redefine the way he approaches his role and his work. Or more simply, he shared that he’s had conversations with 19 yearold kids that made him realize he didn’t actually know anything.

This conference may not have had a dedicated professional stream, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t the opportunity for professionals to learn from the dedicated student staff we surround ourselves with on a daily basis. I learned about signs of poor mental health that can be observed through social

media, about simple techniques and approaches to strengthen my professional networking, about the experiences of being an international student studying in a foreign country, I learned the term ambivert and how it intersects with introversion and extraversion, and I learned that the excitement and passion I had as a student staff member still exists within many of the student staff that we now supervise.

To me this conference has always been first and fore-most about the student staff members who work on the frontline in residence life. It has been about the opportunity for them to learn and grow, and for ourselves to be a part of that. After seeing this conference a number of times at a few different institutions I’m now also able to recognize the opportunity this conference can have for us as professionals to become re-energized by the passion within these student delegates, and to potentially learn from the unique experiences of these students. Thank you to McMaster for facilitating this weekend for both our students and ourselves!

conference delegates show their spirit

10 Ways

to Kill a New Idea Bailey Kew, Carleton University Julianne Pettigrew Award Winner

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his year was my first opportunity in Residence Life at Carleton University to be in a supervisory role of a team. My position is currently called a Community Advisor. I am responsible for running meetings, supervising house-wide events, meeting with students for conduct, one-on-one’s, and supporting my team. My first instinct was to read every article I could find on Pinterest about first time managers. I was terrified. I wanted to do my team justice by being the best me that I can be. So that lead to questions like: How can I be a good leader? How can I inspire the people I am working with? How can I achieve a high-performance team?

I took submitting a proposal to Residence Life Conference as an opportunity to reflect on the kind of leader I want to be. I reflected on previous leaders in my life and what they did or didn’t do to inspire me. I also researched what are common denominators in a high performance team. The presentation, 10 Ways to Kill a New Idea, explored how a team dynamic and respect for individuality can be unintentionally neglected. What are you doing to interrupt creativity on your team? How can you channel each individual’s unique ideas/ creativity?

I don’t have all the answers on what it takes to be a high performance team. I did come to the understanding that I want to work in a place that fosters a culture of appreciation. I want to recognize my team’s successes as a method of motivation. I want them to understand that I see and appreciate their worth, knowledge, and purpose.

The biggest take away from the weekend for me was the validation of my ideas. I felt that in the environment provided to me, it was okay for me to not have all the answers because I was willing to try.

I learned some awesome things during my presentation. The institutions that were present shared different ways they implement staff appreciation. For example, Nipissing has a “You Rock, rock” and Manitoba used a floor length fur coat as a sign of appreciation. Personally, I send my team members “Gold Star” emails telling them how awesome I think they are whenever I have a few moments to reflect. What do you do to display your appreciation for your team, co-workers, supervisors, students?

Not including travel time, I spent 48.5 amazing hours at RLC. Each hour was filled with laughter, smiling, making friends, gaining new perspectives and learning new things. The conference provided high energy, and an accepting and inclusive community. There was inspiration to be drawn from each presentation.

The conference brought my attention back to the why. Why I do what I do. Why I am willing to be called to leave my bed in the early hours of the morning, and why I would be willing to do it all over again. We all have value, purpose and worth.

Hearing the stories from students at other institutions inspired me and re-ignited my why. Take a moment to focus on your ‘why’: Why do you do what you do?

A huge thanks to McMaster University for hosting this great opportunity.

RESIDENCE LIFE CONFERENCE

From Drew Dudley’s speech onwards, I challenged myself. I have made myself work for the qualities that I want to be associated with me. Qualities are not innate, but are worked for. I have since challenged my staff team and students that I meet with to do so the same.

An Emotional Memoir

By: Connie Ly, Community Assistant University of Guelph

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n the first day of the Residence Life Conference, I realized that there is something special about sitting amongst 200 other open-minded and passionate people who share an experience. All 200 delegates share a communal understanding that what is expected as Residence Life Staff (RLS) extends much more beyond high-energy cheers and a willingness to conquer awkwardness. There is an understanding that leadership is our courageous efforts to challenge adversity and through our actions, encourage others to do the same.

What did you bring back from the Residence Life Conference? How do you pass along the motivation and inspiration? How did you share what you learned when you returned to your institution?

I am in the midst of compiling a document to highlight key presentation points, programming ideas, and meaningful quotes. I hope that the RLS at the University of Guelph can feel at least 1/5th of the overwhelming motivation that I took home from the conference. Take the opportunity at meetings and in conversations to share what motivated you the most, or a learning moment that affected how you will work in your role for the year.

Probing questions like “How do you avoid cultural misunderstandings?” and “How can we identify trigger words of mental health through social media?” highlight our efforts in our roles as RLS. Discussing ideas in session led to answers in multiple layers of wisdom brought from various institutions. We all take back an idea of the presentation molded to our own needs in our own roles. Despite different molds, we all strive for one thing: to ensure that those around us - our students and peers - feel valued as individuals. R How does RLC inspire you? What about RLC develops leaders? It’s not the conference that’s magical. Rather, it’s the people - fellow Residence Life peers. Whether I am speaking to student staff or the professionals, there’s a sense of familiarity and acceptance.

Drew Dudley, one of the keynote speakers, challenged the audience to ask ourselves these questions: “What are some qualities you want others to see you with?” “How do you define those qualities?” “What are you doing to deserve that”?

My peers at the Residence Life Conference provided me empowerment and a sense of belonging. RLS are unique in possessing the ability to positively impact the most vulnerable aspects of student life, and I am truly grateful to perform my role alongside such gifted and inspired colleagues.

My mind set going into the conference definitely mirrored that of this year’s theme. I was encouraged to ask question, be open-minded, try new things and most importantly, follow my curiosity – and that is exactly what I did.

I Followed My Curiosity – And this is where it led me…

MacKenzie Thomson – Residence Community Assistant, Humber College

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My experience at the Residence Life Conference was not purely social, and just about sharing information. It was really about contributing my knowledge and gaining knowledge from my peers that will help me in my future professional goals.

s a student in the last year of my undergrad, I had recently been faced with a terrifying thought – What’s next? I felt like Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” when she comes to a fork in the yellow brick road. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a scarecrow to lead me to the Emerald City.

The RLC experience opened my eyes to all the possibilities that were available to me after graduation. It gave me the chance to make those positive and lasting connections with housing professionals, as well as other student staff. I was able to step outside of my comfort zone and learn how things operate at other institutions.

Working as student staff member, I’ve passed the time running programmes, doing my duty rounds, and trying to explain what residence life is to my friends and family. (Just smile and nod) Something I could never see myself doing long term.

Somewhere along the way, I had gained a real passion for guiding the students in my community towards their full potential, and helping them reach their goals. In my second year of being a residence assistant, I realized, “hey, I could actually make a career out of this.”

With this thought in mind, I continued down my own yellow brick road where I was able to grow within residence life and take on a para-professional role at the beginning of the academic year

Attending the Residence Life Conference this year in a para-professional role, I was surrounded by a community of people who truly understood the challenging, yet rewarding job I had as a residence life staff member.

Not only was I learning from other CA’s about their rewards and challenges, I was able to return to my roots as a residence assistant (or Residence Don, if you will) and learned from those student staff who were connecting with students in their own communities everyday. Something I had missed since changing roles.

What was most meaningful to me is that the conference helped reignite my passion to make a difference in lives of students. Following my curiosity has allowed me to reaffirm the reason why I love coming into work every day, and why I hope to continue doing this in the future.

It is professional development opportunities like the Residence Life Conference that have sparked my passion and curiosity to continue pursue a future in student services. Maybe this was my scarecrow leading me down the yellow brick road after all.

THIS is why I love Rez Life:

RESIDENCE LIFE CONFERENCE

Before I knew it, I was in a van with my Residence Life Coordinator (the inspiring Rebekkah Nighswander) and three of my teammates, rocking out to the new Missy Elliott song on our way to the 2015 Residence Life Conference at McMaster University in Hamilton. While I wasn’t expecting the incredibly enthusiastic welcome from our hosts when we arrived at the Sheraton hotel on Friday evening, I certainly wasn’t complaining as they offered us a massive cheer and many high fives as our first impression of what was looking to be an incredible weekend ahead of us.

I could go into detail here about the sessions I attended and the things I learned but I think it’s more interesting to reflect on how this conference experience made me feel. For two magical days I was inspired by the heaps of passion for student well-being that surrounded me. I felt welcomed into a nationwide community of Residence Life, including professional staff members holding positions I hope to someday apply for. I felt proud that I successfully overcame my self-doubt to speak in front of a crowd of student leaders about something important to me.

And I felt empowered to bring my ‘Aha moments’ back to my teammates at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

R e fl e c t i o n s f r o m a fi r s t - t i m e Residence Life Conference delegate

Katherine MacGregor University of Toronto Scarborough

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ast summer, while attempting to write my application to present at the upcoming Residence Life Conference, I hit an unexpected roadblock. I was suddenly struck with feelings of self-doubt. Who was I to teach others?

What knowledge did I have to share? So I did what all university students excel at: I procrastinated.

Thankfully, I didn’t fully give into my fear and, on the night of the deadline, I finally sat down with the application package, determined to come up with something. Anything. Intimidated by an empty Word document with its blinking cursor of judgement, I decided to instead hand write my ideas. I started by asking myself a simple question: What am I good at? After a few minutes of brainstorming, I realized I was looking at this the wrong way. Instead of thinking about my concrete skills like team building or active listening, I could look at things more abstractly. I asked myself: What do I like to spend my free time learning about that positively impacts my residence life role?

I immediately thought about how I love to read up on new productivity tips and time management tools, and test which ones work for me in my job and my life. I decided to centre my presentation application on the simple but terribly challenging concept of how to get things done. When I received the acceptance email for my presentation, I cried (but just a little bit).

Since my first day on residence in 2011, I knew I wanted to be a part of the quirky and loveable staff that made me feel at home. Over the past three years, I learned the job is much more than that, too.

What we do is special because we do it to support students on their best and their worst days. At this year’s Residence Life Conference, I was reminded of the beauty of unabashed excitement for this work, excitement that exists even when it’s challenging and especially when it’s fun.

From Student Staff to Residence Life Professional: Helping You Find Your Path Stephanie Vennard Residence Manager Carleton University

Here are the top 5 things to consider when applying for a Residence Life position.

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1. Market your skills. Clearly identify on your resume the skills you have learned through your role as student staff. Ensure that you describe them well on your resume, but that you can also speak to each point. Have a real life examples for each skill. Try to aim for 2 to 3. For example, exemplary communication skills.

“I have communicated with my teammates and my supervisors by…” and outline how you have communicated effectively.

ooking back on the 2015 Residence Life Conference at McMaster University, I was truly inspired by the passion shown by all of the student delegates. You embody what it means to be in Residence Life and being there for our students. Both as a student staff and new professional, I am aware that Residence Life is one of those few fields of work with very little information shared about how to break in to it.

When I was looking to move into Residence Life professionally, I had to do a lot of digging and asking, but there was no ‘how to’ guide that you can often find for other professions.

2. Research the institution. When applying for Residence Life positions it is important to research the college or university that you are applying to. Make sure you know what the core values are, as well as, the mission and vision statements. Do they fit with your core values?

Don’t apply to every position just because you can… research!

Since returning from the conference, I have had many of my student staff approach me expressing interest in a career in Residence Life, but with no idea where to start. The Legacy Presentation at RLC was a great step to opening the conversation about the Student Affairs field, and delegates expressed a want for continued guidance. Every Student Affairs professional has their own story of the path they took to get to where they are. As a new professional, I’d like to share the insight I learned from my personal journey to all student staff hoping to pursue a career in Residence Life.

3. Be authentically you. Based on your research, you should know what is most important to the various institutions you are applying for. That being said, don’t change who YOU are to fit with the core values of an institution. You will not be authentically you and likely not happy if you do! There is an institution out there that matches your values and goals.

Trust me, I’ve found mine!

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RESIDENCE LIFE CONFERENCE

3. Be authentically you. Based on your research, you should know what is most important to the various institutions you are applying for. That being said, don’t change who YOU are to fit with the core values of an institution. You will not be authentically you and likely not happy if you do! There is an institution out there that matches your values and goals. Trust me, I’ve found mine!

4. Ask Questions. Don’t be afraid to call up the university or the Housing Department and ask them some questions. It’s important to know if the work atmosphere there is right for you. The core values and mission statement of the school may align with you perfectly, but if the work environment is not right for you, then you won’t be happy. Ask questions like: “What does your office do for fun?”; “Why do you like working for [insert post-secondary institution here]?”; “Is there a team environment outside of the office?”; “What is the culture of the work environment there?” - These are just a few of the many questions that can help you understand if an institution is right for you.

Don’t be afraid to ask for the answers.

6. Supervisors can be your guides. They have been through this process, some of them many times. We know the ins and outs, good questions to ask, and the culture of various institutions. Network as much as you can, and don’t be afraid to ask your Supervisor to connect you with people who have worked or are working at the institutions you are interested in.

If you really want to work in the Student Affairs field and you work to always improve, you will make your mark. Many have walked the path before and we all work in this field for a reason: we are people who like to help others. Reach out and let us help you achieve your goals!

gain the experience and skills for the one you really want. On the flip side, it is also okay for you to say “no.” If an institution isn’t the right fit for you, you need to be honest with yourself.

All of that being said, Residence Life jobs don’t come around all the time, so if you do say no, it’s important to realize that another opportunity may not come along until you’ve gained more skills and experiences.

7. Student Development Theory. Read scholarly articles. Go above and beyond as a self-learner. (These are the theories that guide what we do in Residence Life, etc. Ask your supervisor for more info….)

5. “No” is okay. Sometimes you will be told “no” or “you are not ready”. You may not even hear back. That is okay. Take it in stride and don’t let it tear you down. You don’t always get your big break right away. I had to wait a year: I took a paraprofessional position and worked to learn as much as possible. Be prepared to work at a job that may not be perfect in order to

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OACUHO Research

with Research Writer Aman Litt

OACUHO’s Board of Directors is excited to announce the appointment of Aman Litt. Aman is a Student Success Specialist for Residence Services at the University of Alberta where she manages student staff training for over 140 Residence Assistants, a weeklong first year Orientation program for 1,200 students, a cocurricular international service-learning program, and a wide range of research and program development projects.

To date, her research has been investigating the international student experience in Residence to exploring unique restructuring routes, to better promote cross-campus programming, which has

allowed her to create, foster and build partnerships on and off campus for the betterment of the department and students.

Aman commenced her studies this year with the end goal of a Masters in Educational and Policy Studies at the University of Alberta.

Aman was born and raised in Kamloops, BC. She attended Thompson Rivers University, where she attained her English degree in Rhetoric and Professional Writing. Afterwards, Aman continued on at the University of British Columbia, where she completed her after degree in Education.

Aman taught English in Kamloops before accepting an opportunity at the University of Alberta in 2012. Aman has been in multiple roles at the University of Alberta and she is really enjoying her time as Student Success Specialist in Residence Services.

Outside of work, Aman has a passion for running, movies, and cooking at home. Her favourite night is a Friday night at home, with a glass of wine, cooking a great meal. She is learning to snowboard and making it a personal mission to read for leisure more often.

Aman’s research with OACUHO will be determined by the Pulse editorial schedule, the Communication Director, Board of Directors, and the membership. For ideas and suggestions on research content, please email Brian Cunha brian.cunha@utoronto.ca.

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 Telephone: 905-954-0102 Fax: 905-895-1630