The Pulse February/March 2017

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

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

2017 SPRING CONFERENCE CARLETON UNIVERSITY MAY 8 - 11, 2017

THE PULSE

Board of Directors PRESIDENT

Daryl Nauman York University dnauman@yorku.ca

PRESIDENT-ELECT / FINANCE DIRECTOR

Amanda Ziegler Brock University aziegler@brocku.ca

PAST PRESIDENT

Julie West University of Guelph jwest@uoguelph.ca

CORPORATE PARTNER RELATIONS DIRECTOR

Jessica Nayda University of Guelph jnayda@uoguelph.ca

SENIOR-LEVEL MEMBER AT LARGE

Christopher Lengyell University of Toronto Mississauga christopher.lengyell@utoronto.ca

MEMBER AT LARGE

Mary Stefanidis University of Waterloo mary.stefanidis@uwaterloo.ca

COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR

MEMBER AT LARGE

Brian Cunha

Nipissing University genevied@nipissingu.ca

University of Toronto brian.cunha@utoronto.ca

Genevieve de Bryun

ASSOCIATION MANAGER

Carol Ford OACUHO info@oacuho.com

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Spring h s Sprung April is almost here and with that spring is right around the corner, or at least it feels like way in many parts of Ontario. I hope you went outside and enjoyed the break from our cold winter, that is unless you enjoy skiing.

On the topic of spring, if you haven't heard registration for our spring conference, Blossom 2017 hosted by Carleton University is now open along with registration for the Residential Curriculum Institute: Canada. Take note each of these professional development opportunities occurs in early May shortly after many of us will be closing the doors on another academic year.

Even if you are not able to attend this event, we have several projects underway that will be of value to many of you on topics, such as gender-

neutral housing, and student staff responsibilities and compensation. Thanks to host committees, the Board, OACUHO committees and members volunteering their time, we continue to advance one of our top strategic goals focused on education.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to consider volunteering for a committee or getting involved with OACUHO. Now that the board has been almost finalized, we are looking for passionate and dedicated individuals keen on advancing our profession to serve on committees and networks. If you have questions, reach our to current Board members to learn more.

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in house

RESEARCH

with Research Writer Aman Litt

Conflict Aversion with Roommates & Floormates

G

oing to university or college is a large milestone in itself, and moving into Residence, can be a very life changing experience for students. You either leave, thinking that everyone around you is wrong and difficult to live with, or you learn that we are all different and compromise is necessary for healthy relationships in life.

After speaking with a focus group of students, a lot of students discussed how they originally thought it would be similar to living with siblings or family. Though a fair

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assumption, I think that we can all agree that living with family is very different than living with peers. Living with family, you have organically grown together and the things you all do that might seem odd to others, but are normalities at home. Now imagine all of those odd traits and habits, from a multitude of cultures and backgrounds, merging together in one room or floor. A very good rule of thumb is to never see your roommates and floormates as family, though it is a nice concept, a certain level of respect or space is needed.

IN HOUSE RESEARCH

Another very important discussion with roommates, is one’s concept of clean. I think that every individual's concept of clean is so unique, that we are capable of writing thesis long statements about our own interpretation.

Living with a roommate requires a level of respect, compromise and agreement on cleanliness and it is something I would strongly recommend having a mature, respectful conversation early on or first thing, when moving in together.

feeling like your place of solace, you need to be direct. You need to let your roommate now how their actions are affecting you. If you are not a confrontational person, sometimes writing out your thoughts, so you can email them or have notes to guide you, can be useful.

Though the conversations can be difficult, stick to your guns because it will make your life better in the long run.

When dealing with roommate issues, it can be very tempting to go directly to your RA, but unless the issue is illegal or very extreme, the very first person you should be going to is your roommate. Speaking with students, students say that dealing directly with their roommate can be difficult because they do not want to strain the relationship. The fact of the matter is, the relationship is already strained, so finding a solution is the best resolution at this point.

A rule I hold very near and dear, in my daily life, is is this the hill you are going to die on? I try to follow this with all relationships in my life.

I know it is so easy to say, but do not sweat the small stuff. If your roommate likes to leave their socks by their bed, let them because that is how they are comfortable. If your roommate likes to come in at 4 a.m., turn on all the lights, put on music, and wake you up...I would recommend a conversation, and a stern one about boundaries in this case.

I realize that not all situations are so black and white, but do not let them nag away and eat at you. I once had a roommate who was extremely passive aggressive and I did not know what to do because I am a very direct, straight-forward person. I found the passive aggressive comments grating and really irritating me on a daily basis. What I would recommend, when your home is no longer

I remember I use to have a roommate who would start cooking at completely random times and to me, it felt like they deliberately did it after I had finished cleaning the kitchen. I empathized with all the stories I heard from students, and many were like the one mentioned above. It feels like you are being personally attacked and it is not a good feeling to have. In a case like this, I would resort to empathy. The fact that a roommate conducts their life in a manner that you are not a fan of, but it is not a hinderance, learning to be flexible can be really useful.

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IN HOUSE RESEARCH

Most importantly, learning how to move on from the conflict is the most important part.

After speaking with students, situations only worsened when individuals were unable to move on from the situation of conflict. If a resolution has been made, and both individuals have come to an agreement, that works for both, gossiping and or continually bringing up the issue is not helping anything. For disagreements, the urge to gossip or plead your case can be strong, but respecting the resolution and the completion of it, is best.

When talking about roommates, it can be very easy to speak about the negatives, but there are so many more positives to roommates than negatives. They are they for you when you are down, or when you are surprised with difficult news and some of the best long term relationships come from the individuals you live with during post secondary.

One item that came up, which is not easy to foresee, is not branching out your friendships.

It can be easy to spend all of your time with your floormates or roommates and not see other colleagues or friends. Making a conscious effort to spend time with other individuals can ensure healthy boundaries with roommates and make the time that you do spend together more meaningful. I once had a roommate and we spent the first three months doing everything social together and we grew tired of each other. If we had made better boundaries, we would have sustained our long term friendship more appropriately.

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University can be an extremely stressful time in one’s life and roommates can either aid or hinder your success, but the most important thing is having a positive mindframe about it.

Most issues, not all, but most, can be positively and efficiently dealt with. Focus on your roommates positive traits, create boundaries and room rules, so that the relationship can have a healthy foundation.

Basketball, Teamwork and 
 the Drive for Excellence Andrew Natale Residence Life Coordinator Brock University

In

my latest read Leading with the Heart by Mike Krzyzewski, Coach K shares the lessons he has learned by working with student athletes over his years as coach of the Duke basketball in the NCAA. While not everyone may be familiar with the world of college sports, this book touches on many important lessons that are transferrable to the world of high performing organizations. If you don’t see your division in Housing as a high performing organization, perhaps some of the lessons should be even truer for you in how you can help to create that environment.

Coach K even outlines his important message that centers on successful students and how even the best athletes need to know their responsibility of graduating (8). So to in housing do we have this challenge of not just bring along our student staff but also in helping our students to develop the skills that will be necessary in the next time set out for them. It is indeed a responsibility that he takes seriously and one that we as housing officers can relate to from providing great facilities, policies and programs that will enhance student learning and student success.

One of the most applicable ideas about sports that I find incredibly relevant is the notion of teamwork. By assembling a collection of individuals you have created a group and it is only through intentional planning and preparing can you create a team (57). Coach K uses the analogy of a fist so eloquently when describing how team work happens when

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he appropriately reminds us that a fist carries more power behind it than an open hand and just like a team has five players a hand has five fingers. In his analogy, the fingers also represent 5 tenets of team work which are so crucial: communication, trust, collective responsibility, pride, and caring (81). There are countless examples of sports teams throughout history that have assembled high calibre players and yet failed to win while others without such star power were successful – think about our beloved Toronto Blue Jays losing to the Cleveland Indians who had one of the lowest league payrolls. The field of Housing in Canada is gifted with professionals that have years of experience and some with not as much but to really have that high performing team means all of those pieces playing together. Coach K while coaching one of the most successful programs in college sport even indicates that he truly looks for people that have the heart to play, willing to take on roles within the team to make everyone better. Winning means not doing anything alone but rather everyone winning together or losing the same way. If one of the fingers is pointed at one single player to single them out, you no longer have a fist (78).

Even as one of the most successful coaches in his profession, he knows that nobody wins on reputation alone (180). In university and college settings, reputation is ultimate importance but even once you have achieved a strong rating, you don’t simply maintain it through the status quo. As professionals we are constantly looking at ways to enhance our departments and ultimately our school and that means giving our best. It can be a crisis situation and how it gets handled that can

“My hunger is not for success, it is for excellence. Because when you attain excellence, success just naturally follows” -Coach K

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ultimately affect reputation and in many cases we cannot prevent that crisis from happening.

However, Coach K shares that success in handling a crisis is ultimately a product of what has been developed prior (152). This lesson from sports shows us what we can accomplish through practice and preparation. Teams do not just form, they come together through intentional development and they stay together when people have shared goals and not just common goals (59).

The book is broken up into 4 sections that are appropriately pre-season, regular season, post-season and all season. No matter which division of housing we are in, we can probably identify how our calendar breaks up into those seasons with its highs and lows and business as usual. So just like high performing athletes, how do we prepare for the season, take care of ourselves during the regular time, decompress in the cool periods and prepare to come back even stronger and more developed all around for the new season? Identify what those periods are for you and how you can use them to improve and strive for excellence.

Not everyone has a chance to win always but you only lose if you are not your best (190).

Don’t forget to tweet @MrNatale to continue the conversation!

Split Focus: The PostHiring Season Dilemma Brianna Sadler Residence Life Manager Fanshawe College

Applications.

Carousels.

Interviews.

Decision letters.

It's that time of year - student-staff hiring season. As we look ahead to next year, we can begin to feel as though we’re being pulled in two different directions. We still have two or three months left with our current teams, but we need to build retention with our incoming teams in order to keep them excited about their upcoming roles; we need them to still want to show up to training in August, which feels like a lifetime away. We need both teams to feel equally valued, because both of them still have so much important work ahead of them.

Everyone deals with a split focus in different ways. Some people excel at multitasking and compartmentalizing, and these folks thrive on the challenge of managing and engaging with two staff teams at once (if you’re one of those people, please share how you came by this magical set of skills – I’ll be forever grateful). If you’re not one of those people, though, this time of year can be stressful, especially when you add on the long hours that we put into our hiring processes.

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So what are some ways that you can cope with and manage your split focus so that both teams feel like they matter?

Talk to your Returners If you’re someone who constantly drops the term “next year” into conversations with your team, ask your returners to help hold you accountable, and promise to do the same with them in return. Make a pact to stay focused on the present, but not so focused that you forget about the people who are eagerly waiting to join you in August. Giving your returners this responsibility will help prepare them for their elevated leadership roles come August, and it will provide an environment of mutual support.

Scheduling If multitasking and compartmentalizing make your head spin, write down what you need to do. Do you need paperwork for student 1on-1s from your current team, and signed employment agreements from your future team? Don’t go looking for it all at once. Set aside time in a week that you’ll dedicate to each team, and focus on that team during those specific times. Maybe it means answering emails from your new staff for 15 minutes each day, or scheduling socials with both groups on separate nights so that each truly has your undivided attention.

Self-care We all know that we can’t draw water from a dry well. We talk about the importance of self-care with our staff and our students, but we often forget to practice it ourselves. If you’re not taking time for yourself, you won’t have any energy to devote to one team, let alone two. If you have to, schedule in time to relax. Google Calendar had a great new function where you can schedule in goals; if you tell Google that you want to read three times a week for an hour, or spend a halfhour doing chores four times a week, the app will find open times in your calendar to schedule these things in. If you don’t use Google Calendar, you can still decide on these goals and schedule them in yourself.

Bridging the Gap If your current team is involved in succession planning, they’re more apt to feel as though they’ve contributed to “next year,” even if individual staff may not be returning. Do your new staff have the option of shadowing a current staff member before the end of the year? Do your current staff help run carousel stations and evaluate candidates, or do they sit in on interviews? If not, are there other ways that you can bridge the gap between this year and next so that current staff feel they’re contributing to the department in a lasting sense?

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Above all, remember that you are only human. If you have to, remind your teams of this as well. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect for both teams, and set realistic boundaries with them. They’ll appreciate your candor, and they’ll start to understand your role more holistically.

Motivating Student Staff Compiled by Jillian Lue,Trent University

Lauren Beck, Residence Don, Queen’s University

A. What keeps you motivated as the academic year comes to a close in relation to your student staff role?

As the academic year comes to a close, I am continually motivated to be a good Residence Don for my students due to my own experiences in my first year. I can recall quite clearly (being only in my second year), the slight panic that sets in as you realize that your first year of university is almost over. There are so many questions at this time – “where am I living next year?”, “what do I want to major in?”, “will I get the grade that I want in this course?”, and the list goes on. My motivation stems from the understanding that although students may be getting more used to university life, they still need to know that there are always supports and resources with me and with the services on campus. I am also motivated to provide them with the tools and information that they will need to finish the year on a high note, and to feel confident about what is to come! My teammates – especially the returning staff - are also a constant source of inspiration and motivation, because their dedication and energy never falters. As well, being a student staff in residence is a very rewarding experience, and allows for so much personal and team growth as the year goes on.

B. What does your supervisor do to assist in keeping you motivated?

I am lucky enough to have two supervisors in my building –Nathan Riley and Monica Geary. They have done so much to keep us motivated as the year goes on. On the team side, they are constantly doing activities like “Shout outs” and “Who lifts you up?” which helps with team building and keeps the energy going. Our supervisors also encourage collaboration in programming, which is a way to spread out the work load and also hold each other accountable to get things done. Of course, our supervisors are always available to talk with us and support us, which encourages us to do our best and to support our own students.

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Jasmine Stamos, Residence Fellow, Carleton University

A. What keeps you motivated as the academic year comes to a close in relation to your student staff role?

Knowing that student learning is a continuous process keeps me motivated to do my best as a peer mentor as the year draws to a close. I want to help students finish their year on a high note, and do so by continuing to facilitate a fun and safe community. My driving motivation is my desire for students to reflect back on their time in residence as fondly as I do. Moreover, I know that my own development continues to the end of the year. I have more skills and strengths to develop and more opportunities to take. Lastly, I want to leave a legacy of consistent, purposeful leadership with my students and my fellow staff members.

B. What does your supervisor do to assist in keeping you motivated?

My supervisor, Hilary Jandricic, continues to provide leadership opportunities –– this includes connecting me to Residence writing opportunities (like this). She encourages self-reflection through exercises like development plans, which plan out ways to continue growing as the year comes to a close. Seeing her hard work is additional motivation for me to want to do a good job as one of her team members.

Maddi Andrews, Residence Don, Queen’s University

A. What keeps you motivated as the academic year comes to a close in relation to your student staff role?

I believe in finishing my commitments on a high note, which is why I do not struggle motivating myself as the year comes to a close. I have developed a very strong and positive relationship with my students this year, and as I do not want to let them down and I want them to look back on their experiences as a first year fondly, I aim to work just as hard as I did in September.

B. What does your supervisor do to assist in keeping you motivated?

By providing good opportunities for programming or helping me brainstorm programs, my supervisor can help me ensure that my programs positively influence my students. Additionally, by hosting frequent office hours or drop in times, my supervisor can make sure that I have someone to talk to or ask questions.

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Nigel Lake, Residence Fellow, Carleton University

A. What keeps you motivated as the academic year comes to a close in relation to your student staff role?

Finishing off the school year strong and planning for the summer are high priorities for me during the final weeks of school. This being said, so long as I am a Residence Fellow, there is always work to be done. Whether it’s being an emotional support for a stressed-out student, or helping someone plan an end of the year celebration, I make sure that I am there for my students and fellow staff. I stay motivated while doing this because I genuinely care about my students and the impact that I have on them. Every interaction with them is important. This becomes even more true as the year comes to a close because I want to make sure my lasting impression on them is positive. If at the end of the year I can look back on my time as a Residence Fellow and say to myself that I had a positive impact on my students, then I will go into the summer happy knowing that I had a successful year.

B. What does your supervisor do to assist in keeping you motivated?

By being a positive, professional presence whose determination is unmatched, I feed off my Residence Manager. Her knowledge and passion of Residence Life keeps me motivated and makes me want to be the best Residence Fellow I can be.

Brittany MacKinnon, Residence Don, Queen’s University

A. What keeps you motivated as the academic year comes to a close in relation to your student staff role?

My motivation to continue to strive to do my best in the Don role is my desire to create positive memories for my Floor Community. One of the things I love most about Queen's University is the community spirit. I want to ensure all of the residents on my Floor feel at home when they are at Queen's. Therefore, I will continue to program educational and exciting programs to provide my residents with the best possible Residence experience and to create memories for my residents to cherish forever. My Floor has really enjoyed playing together on both an Inner-tube Water Polo team and Dodgeball team. Together my Floor Community has created countless memories from programs such as floor dinners, movie nights, outdoor skating downtown and making bed mats using milk bags to donate to developing countries. I am looking forward to creating even more fantastic memories with my Floor Community during the last part of the academic year!

B. What does your supervisor do to assist in keeping you motivated?

My supervisors, Monica and Nathan, help keep me motivated by always showing their support and dedication towards Residence Life. Both of my supervisors are very passionate about the Residence Life experience and this inspires me to enhance the Residence Life experience for my residents. Monica and Nathan continuously show their support at our Don Team meetings as well as by welcoming us to drop by their office to chat about program ideas. I am very grateful to have such great role models as supervisors!

Sarah Arnold, Residence Community Assistant, Humber College

A. What keeps you motivated as the academic year comes to a close in relation to your student staff role?

Every year working in residence life comes with its up and downs. As a student staff member who has worked in the same institution for 3 years you start to notice patterns as the end of the year comes near. Keeping up both your own motivation and the motivation of your team members becomes harder. To keep motivated, I look at all the success I have had in the past and the feedback the students have given me. Looking at my past work and creating new ideas to make the next week even better for the students and my staff team keeps me motivated all year long. I always like to end with a bang. This way everyone feels that what happens in the last few weeks really matters and gives them something to look forward to.

B. What does your supervisor do to assist in keeping you motivated?

My direct supervisor at Humber is one of the best supervisors I have ever had. She is always prepared, quick to respond and knows when to be silly. Her support and belief in me as a CA truly aids my work ethic.

There are times that I may not feel encouraged to work, however, she is right there to appreciate all the work I have done up to that point to put that spark back in me. She creates a work environment that is pleasant and that I look forward to coming into each day. Her professionalism and dedication to the role gives me someone to look up to and confidence in my own work.

Kayla Hubbs, Trent University, Residence Administrative Assistant

A. What keeps you motivated as the academic year comes to a close in relation to your student staff role?

As the academic year comes to a close, here in Housing Services our Residence Application for new Trent Students has just opened. This is a large part of what keeps me motivated in my student position. Being able to assist new students while they begin their exciting transition to university brings me joy, and that joy helps to fuel my motivation!

B. What does your supervisor do to assist in keeping you motivated?

My supervisor keeps me motivated by providing me with new learning opportunities. With my student staff role I am able to learn how to take on and complete new tasks within Housing Services, all while allowing me to expand my skill-set for life.

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Michaela Morris, Resident Assistant, Humber College

A. What keeps you motivated as the academic year comes to a close in relation to your student staff role?

I always find myself thinking to the future and planning for what is to come next. I am slowly realizing that while this is important, it is also important to enjoy the “here and now” to its fullest. After all, the cliché is true: time really does fly!

In these last few months as a Residence Assistant (RA), I am letting my passion for helping others drive me forward and keep me motivated. I have always been someone who thrives when helping others and it is especially rewarding at this time of year. By now, I have known my residents and team members in the capacity of an RA since August. I have seen them grow, flourish and overcome difficult challenges. I have seen students at their worst, and have played a part in helping them rise to their best. It is extremely rewarding and humbling knowing that I have made an impact on their lives. Even if it was just a small impact, it was an impact nonetheless.

B. What does your supervisor do to assist in keeping you motivated?

My supervisor is excellent at recognizing each team member’s individual strengths and how to incorporate them to benefit the team. One way she recognizes them is through what we call “Big Ups.” "Big Ups" are notes we write to each other to recognize our positive actions in the community. We store these notes in a plastic container until my supervisor distributes them at our weekly meetings. It is always nice to have that added bit of reassurance that we are doing a good job, especially when it is from our supervisor! I have the “Big Ups” I have received over the year on my fridge as a way of staying motivated on a day-to-day basis.

Max Wygodny, Resident Advisor, Seneca College

A. What keeps you motivated as the academic year comes to a close in relation to your student staff role?

To keep me motivated during the academic year, I think back to why I became an RA in the first place to give me inspiration. By remembering how much this role allows me to help people overcome social and personal issues, as well as enriching the residence community experience, I find a fresh burst of energy.

B. What does your supervisor do to assist in keeping you motivated?

My supervisor supports me through working with me particularly in order to make clear, specific and achievable goals that keep me from stressing out too much. By helping me focus and stay on track, my supervisor helps me accomplish a better approach to the job whether it’s in doing rounds or interacting with residents.

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Austin Jones, Residence Life Don, Trent University

A. What keeps you motivated as the academic year comes to a close in relation to your student staff role?

What keeps me motivated is the students. They are the reason we all do our job and ultimately our number one priority in student affairs. Seeing not just students in my own community but students in the community at large grow and reach their potentials further solidifies that the job I am doing is not only effective but crucial to student development and retention. Therefore as the year comes to a close I need to capitalize on the little time I have left to continue to further education and foster growth in all students so that I can hopefully see them all next year as they continue to strive towards their goals and academic successes.

B. What does your supervisor do to assist in keeping you motivated?

My supervisor helps keep me motivated through a variety of ways but one way in particular sets her apart from the rest. My supervisor’s passion is professional and personal development and I have developed this year more than I have developed any one of my students. This comes down to her taking the time to develop both my strengths and weaknesses, setting high expectations, modelling the behaviour and expectations, and creating clear focused opportunities to develop my skills. The way this keeps me motivated is by giving me the tools I need to develop students, as a result seeing those individual successes, and then in turn helping me be more motivated to continually develop students. My supervisor’s guidance will be sincerely missed as I move forward in this position, but I look forward to taking what I have learned and developing it even further.

Reed Kubinski, Resident Advisor, Sheridan College

A. What keeps you motivated as the academic year comes to a close in relation to your student staff role?

As the semester is slowly coming to an end, I get my motivation from my team mostly. We all try to keep up with each other, no one wanting to fall behind, so we actually end up going above and beyond when it comes to being in a student staff role! Being in a team makes it feel more than we're just co-workers, we're all friends as well, and no one wants to disappoints their friends!

B. What does your supervisor do to assist in keeping you motivated?

My supervisor assists me by bringing fresh new ideas to me and making sure I'm never running low on energy. My supervisor is one of the best people to go to for advice, so if I ever bring up lack of energy or motivation, I can be sure she'll have something interesting to keep running full speed.

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Ontario Association of College and University Housing Officers