The Pulse November 2015 RLC Special Edition

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

NOVEMBER 2015

SPECIAL STUDENT STAFF EDITION

MCMASTER UNIVERSITY Hamilton, Ontario

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

Hello Residence Life Conference delegates!

Jonathan Amanatidis | Queen’s University

Andrea Pape | Seneca College

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elcome to the student staff edition of OACUHO’s monthly newsletter, The Pulse. We are excited for you all to be reading this, and hope you have a memorable time this weekend connecting with your peers, professionals working in housing across the province (and country!), and learning from one another.

Why contribute? Apart from the warm and fuzzy feeling of seeing your name printed in a newsletter, submitting something for this publication is a great way to apply your experience, potentially start some great new conversations about the way things are done or looked at, and getting your name out into the OACUHO community helps build and maintain the networks you might start making right here..

We are currently seeking contributors for our upcoming December edition for The Pulse, and this is where you come in – student staff and professional staff alike are invited to submit reflections of their time at the Residence Life Conference. You can check out our contribution guidelines here: <insert link here, or reference to page in Pulse with guidelines>. All contributions are welcome, so if you have any questions or are wondering what to write about, feel free to reach out to us at jonathan.amanatidis@queensu.ca and apape@senecarez.ca.

We hope you have a great time learning and connecting this weekend. And as a wise teacher once said: “Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!”

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CO-CHAIR MESSAGE

Making The Most of the Residence Life Conference Drew Simon

Melissa Pratt Residence Coordinator, Academic Initiativesâ&#x20AC;¨ Wilfrid Laurier University

Residence Manager â&#x20AC;¨ McMaster University

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elcome! We are very excited to welcome you to McMaster University for the 2015 Residence Life Conference! This conference brings about many exciting opportunities for personal and professional development and we hope that you find this weekend to be extremely meaningful and rewarding. As you prepare for the conference, we have provided some questions below that may help you navigate the weekend.

Why did I want to attend the Residence Life Conference? What am I hoping to learn or gain from this experience?

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Is there a particular skill I was hoping to develop or experience I was hoping to gain?

How can I step outside of my comfort zone and experience something new?

How do I plan to share what I have learned with my home institution and how can I prepare for this?

How can this conference contribute to my career and life goals?

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We would also like to highlight some of the components of the conference to help guide your preparation and learning: All the concurrent sessions fall into one of the following learning outcomes: - Advising & Supporting - Community Building - Diversity - Leadership & Mentoring - Personal & Professional Development - Self-Care & Balance - Student Learning & Development Opportunities to see presentations from previous delegates and Julianne Pettigrew Award winners Guided reflection activities to help delegates process learning and develop a tangible action plan to take learning back to their home institutions A student staff fair to introduce delegates to resources for their community, future employers and grad school opportunities, and career development advice Our website has additional resources you may also find useful, including: a note-taking sheet, a reflection sheet, and a packing list!

We really encourage you to challenge yourself to fully engage in this intensive experience and make the Residence Life Conference your own. The conference is a fantastic opportunity to meet new people, learn about yourself and others, explore different perspectives, and engage with like-minded individuals from across Canada. We wish you nothing but the very best as you join us at McMaster University!

Walking away with the Julianne Pettigrew award.

I went to the Residence Life Conference while in my second year as a student staff member at the University of Guelph. I had the opportunity to present with two of my colleagues about consent in residence and we walked away with the Julianne Pettigrew award.

me away: 100+ students were just as excited as I was to have the chance to learn about other institutions and how to improve as a staff member.

My favourite part of the conference was the first night - engaging in conversation about our presentation and consent. Everyone had something wonderful to contribute.

This year I have been asked to come back to the Residence Life Conference to present about consent in residence again and I can’t be more excited! Having the opportunity to connect with you and see how much Residence Life programs have grown in the last couple years is exhilarating.

The best advice I can give: soak everything in and meet as many people as possible. Write down names, emails, and something you remember about them (to jog your memory) so you can reach out for resources in the future. Be engaged during the sessions you attend. It’s up to you to bring all this new information back to your own institution so ask questions and keep an open mind.

The Residence Life Conference was an amazing experience - I met people from many different post secondary institutions and made lasting connections. The energy at this conference blew

Attending the Residence Life Conference inspired me to research and learn a lot more about Residence Life and to pursue a career in Residence Life professionally. After the conference I started talking with my supervisors a lot more about what different paraprofessional roles are out there and where to begin looking. Having the Residence Life Conference as a launching point is

Taylor is a Residence Life Coordinator at Seneca College. She completed her undergraduate at the University of Guelph where she was a Resident Assistant for two years. Taylor was a recipient of the Julianne Pettigrew Award at the Residence Life Conference in 2014.

Ontario Association of College and University Housing Officers 312 Oakwood Crt, Newmarket Ontario, L3Y 3C8 â&#x20AC;¨ Telephone: 905-954-0102 Fax: 905-895-1630