APCA Campus Life Trends Summer 2019 by The Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities

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CAMPUS LIFE

TRENDS

WWW.APCA.COM

JOIN US IN LAS VEGAS JUNE 2 - 4, 2019 AND NEW YORK CITY JULY 19 -21, 2019 FOR OUR SUMMER INSTITUTES

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POP C O

ESPORTS: CHANGING THE

LANDSCAPE OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT -PG 22

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IN THIS ISSUE STUDENT AFFAIRS: A MENTOR'S ADVICE, pg 6 PROGRAMMING FOR RETENTION & SUCCESS, pg 10 STUDENT ENGAGEMENT SPOTLIGHT, pg 13

C L T M a g a z i n e | S u m m e r 2 019 PUBLISHER: ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF CAMPUS ACTIVITIES (APCA) EDITOR: ERIC LAMBERT MARKETING & MEDIA: HOZ FIERRO GRAPHIC DESIGN: ARLENE PRICE PRINTED BY: THE THOMAS GROUP THANKS TO ALL THE SCHOOLS, ASSOCIATES, AND SPEAKERS WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THIS EDITION OF THE CAMPUS LIFE TRENDS MAGAZINE.

CONTENTS 4

BY: ERIC LAMBERT, APCA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

CLT FEATURE ARTICLE

BY: KATHRYN STREMIECKI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR STUDENT LIFE AND DEVELOPMENT IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE

BY: DR. CHARLES HUEBER, SCHREINER UNIVERSITY

FROM THE DESK OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

STUDENT AFFAIRS: A MENTOR'S ADVICE

AR TICLES MUS T BE EMAILED T O: HOZ@APC A .COM

NORTHEAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE

CAMPUS LIFE TRENDS (CLT) STAFF

BY: DEL SUGGS, M.S. ED

TEXAS A&M, TEXARKANA

AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE

CLT FEATURE ARTICLE

BY: GARRETT LEE, GARRETT LEE SPEAKS

PHOTO GALLERY OF 2019 WINNERS

PROGRAMMING FOR RETENTION AND SUCCESS

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865.429 . 912 3

ESPORTS: CHANGING THE L ANDSCAPE OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT!

THE APC A C AMPUS LIFE TRENDS SEMES TER. SUBMISSIONS F OR

2019 APCA SUMMER INSTITUTES

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT SPOTLIGHT: TIA SMITH MAGAZINE IS PU BLISHED EACH

HOW TO GO FROM LEARNING TO EARNING!

8 EMAIL SECRETS BY: JONATHAN SPRINKLES

CLT STAFF VISITS ESPORTS TOURNAMENT: POP CON 2019

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT SPOTLIGHT: THE BIG EVENT

FROM STUDENT TO STAR: INTERVIEW WITH ADAM ACE

2019 APCA NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS

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FROM THE DESK

OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECT OR

ERIC LAMBERT APCA Executive Director elambert@apca.com

It's Time for Change! Things change. It is the one constant of life, one that is more applicable to student life than any other, since we deal with students. Students trying to change their lives, their fortunes, their futures, and indeed their world. We need to change with them to better serve and advise them. Our newly designed training at the APCA summer institutes will focus on the issues most pressing to the changing co-curricular world at this moment. Those emerging issues are poor student retention, changing student needs, strengthening our professional foundation, and recruiting involved students to help stregthen the engagement and success of their fellow students. Student retention is not accidentally listed as the first priority here. We are losing students at an alarming rate, largely due to a decreased population of college-aged, traditional students. Retention is made even more challenging by student poverty issues, daunting tuition costs, and a general lack of studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engagement with the co-curricular experience. We propose to fight this trend with an initiative of retention based programming training. The advisorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s side of the initiative will be presented at our Las Vegas and NYC summer CPAIâ&#x201E;˘ Advisor Institutes. The events will feature both data and assessment tools from schools that have implemented new retention strategies on their campuses and seen positive results. We will discuss new strategies for front-loading events, implementing a retention-increasing Esports program on your campus, and other engagement and assessment techniques.

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We will also offer engagement training for the student boards themselves. Our NYC Leadership on Broadway Experience™ will feature new interactive and transformative Certified Student Programmer™ presentations in addition to the CPAI™ Advisor Institute held there. Bring your students to learn rudimentary techniques for engaging diverse student populations, effective student organization skills, campus life leadership training, and an assortment of other student level seminars designed to help organize and retain your board. We hope you’ll join us at one of our summer institutes to expand your horizons. We think it's time for a change! 'Til next time,

Eric Lambert APCA Executive Director

MEET THE STAFF

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Hi there! My name is Arlene Price and I am APCA's Graphic Designer. I have been with APCA since September of 2018. I hold degrees in both Graphic Design and Drafting & Design and my CompTia A+ certification from Western Governor’s University. My father is an artist, so I inherited my love of art from him, but only painted as a hobby. I started my career in mechanical drafting because I wanted a career that allowed me to draw – however, drawing mechanically isn’t very creative – and I love color, which was not a huge aspect of drafting. I started studying graphic design at local training institutes and incorporated design into every job I worked. I took the plunge and went back to college and totally fell in love with creating computer graphics – especially using Photoshop!

Prior to joining to APCA, I owned my own business utilizing my design skills to create custom canvas art and an array of printed gifts, which I sold on Etsy and Fine Art America. I quickly realized that, although I love the design aspect, the business aspect is not so fun. When I heard about the opportunity to work with APCA as a graphic designer, I jumped at it and here I am! I love the work I do and the broad range of projects from print design to web design that I am a part of every day. It’s exciting to meet all the APCA advisors, students, and associates - and the APCA staff is great! I hope to meet you personally at one of our APCA conferences in the near future - until then remember this quote from Aristotle: " We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not act, but a habit. "

Arlene Price

Graphic Designer arlene@apca.com

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STUD ENT A FFA I RS: KAT H RY N STREM IEC K I Executive Director for Student Life and Development

A MENT OR'S ADVICE

Iv y Tech Community College

Many professionals have a reason why they decided to pursue a career in Student Affairs. Like many others, I landed in this profession, because, as an undergraduate, I found a home in campus activities. After graduate school, and a very brief stint in residential life, I began a job in campus activities at my alma mater. 15 years and a position change or two, and here I am, still working in campus activities. As I look back over the last decade and a half, I’ve compiled some tips for those new to this work that I wish I had known a long time ago.

campus activities role. My programming board president wasn’t excited to have a new advisor. His first question to me was “do you even know what cooperative buying is?” Having no idea what that meant, I still, of course, told him I absolutely knew what that was! I immediately googled it as soon as he left my office. I shared that story with him years later, and we had a good laugh about it. He said, “You know, you could have just told me you didn’t know.”

I T’S O K TO N OT K N OW A L L T H E A N S W E R S

A S K F O R H E L P W H E N YO U N E E D I T

When I’m training a new campus activities professional at one of our 19 campuses, I am always sure to let them know that it takes a year to learn this job. Allow yourself to go through the full cycle to fully learn what the job entails. Also, it gets so much easier once you get through the first year.

You don’t have to carry all the things, move the tables by yourself, or pick up the pizza. For some, it’s hard to accept the help when we need it. Sometimes, we don’t have the extra help. So, when people ask you if they can help you set up for your event, say yes. When someone wants to partner with you on a project, say yes. You are great at what you do; you don’t have to prove it by doing everything by yourself.

It’s OK for you to say that you don’t know something. I’ll never forget one of my first moments in my first

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N E TWO R K, N E TWO R K, N E TWO R K

In a field where everyone knows everyone, it’s really important to expand your circle, especially with artists and agencies. During APCA conferences, use the exhibit hall time to expand your network and build relationships with the associate members. These relationships can last your entire career. K N OW W H Y YO U’R E D O I N G W H AT Y O U ’ R E D O I N G

If you don’t know why you are doing this program or that initiative, your students don’t know either. The importance of learning outcomes and assessment for your programming cannot be stressed enough. If your programming doesn’t have a why, it’s just planning parties. We are not party planners; we are educators. It’s a great idea to engage your students in the process of writing outcomes and assessing programs. Consider asking your programming board to conduct a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis after each of their programs. Good assessment is part of the learning process for your programming board. It’s a great idea to take notes about what the students say during these assessments; you can use them later as evidence during your institution’s accreditation review. R E A C H A C R O S S D E PA R T M E N T S A N D M A K E F R I E N D S , PA R T I C U LA R LY W I T H F A C U LTY

Many of us work in offices with very few staff. Some of us are one person departments. No matter how many staff you have in your department, reaching

across department lines is going to be vital to your success. Some of the most important relationships you can build on campus are with the faculty. When you are thinking about your upcoming semester calendar, think about what programs you can partner on with faculty. It’s important to first ask professors what they would be interested in bringing students to or what you could add that complements what they are teaching in the classroom. Having a guaranteed crowd already at your event because one of your new faculty friends brought their class will be invaluable to you. Remember, as you’re building these relationships with faculty, be sure you get to know what topics they are passionate about and what classes they typically teach. For example, I knew that Dr. Greenwood would always bring her sociology classes to our Take Back the Night event. I know she is passionate about advocating on behalf of sexual assault survivors. As long as we discussed CONTINUED ON 26

"No matter how many staff you have in your department,reaching across department lines is going to be vital to your success."

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STUDENT ENGAGEMENT SPOTLIGHT

ER: WINN PCA A 2019 ent d Stu er ramm r g o r P eYea of th rd! Awa

Northeast Communit y College

Tia Smith Wins 2019 APCA Student Programmer of the Year!

“In a sea of leaders, Tia stands out,” said Carissa Kollath, Director of Student Activities at Northeast. “She is organized, responsible, has a wonderful work ethic, follow through, and also builds strong relationships with her fellow students.” Kollath said Smith served as vice president of SAC while she was a freshman and moved into the president’s role this year. “Tia not only helps host all the student activity events and runs our Monday Night at the Movies, but she is involved in the local (Norfolk Public Schools) Aftershock program, as well. In addition to all the ways she is active at Northeast and in our community, APCA recognized her for the leadership skills they have seen her display at past conferences.”

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PROGRAMMING F OR RETENTI ON & SUCCESS D E L S U G G S , M. S . ED

How to utilize student activities programming as a means of increasing student retention, enhancing enrollment, and improving student persistence and completion (graduation) rates. There is good news and bad news in the most recent statistics regarding enrollment in higher education. The good news: more Americans are attending college than ever before. The bad news: only about half of those students will end up with a degree. During a visit to Georgia State University in the Fall of 2017, Bill Gates said "The U.S. has the highest college dropout rate. We're number one in terms of the number of people who start college, but we're like number 20 in terms of the number of people who finish college." Former Vice President Joe Biden stated it even more clearly. He said “Right now we’ve got an education system that works like a funnel when we need it to work like a pipeline… We have to make the same commitment to getting folks across the graduation stage that we did to getting them into the register’s office." But how do you get students to stay in school and graduate? The National Survey on Student Engagement has found that students who are active and engaged on their campus are more likely to stay in school, get better grades, and to graduate. So, how do we get students engaged? The answer isn't easy, but it is simple. Retention-based programs and events.

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FRONT LOADING Retention-based programs can engage students in a number of ways. First, we need to utilize what we call “Front Loading.” This refers to having a large number of events and programs early in the term to get students active on campus. Having a number of opportunities to participate in events increases the possibility that students will attend programs. It also releases the stress students feel due to starting or returning to college, and the beginning of the academic year. These programs also provide opportunities for student development, as students increase their interpersonal competence. In addition, many of these programs will have an educational component. Students can have fun and learn simultaneously. RESIDENTIAL AND COMMUTER PROGRAMMING Second, these retention-based programs need to appeal to both traditional and non-traditional students, both residential and commuter students. Different student populations have different social needs, and we need to recognize those differences in our program offerings. Presenting programs that appeal to non-traditional and commuter students will increase their

campus engagement in a similar way as traditional and residential students are engaged. MARKETING TECHNIQUES Third, we have to insure that students attend and participate in these programs. One frequent failure with student activities across the country is poor marketing and promotion. While publicizing and promoting doesn't guarantee that students will attend, the opposite does apply. Students will not attend an event they are not aware is occurring. We have to utilize the most effective promotional methods—high tech and low tech—to make students aware of the programs being presented.

“Peter Drucker was right when he wrote: 'What gets measured gets managed.' We don't do assessment just because our Dean or Vice President requires it. We do assessment to see what works, what doesn't work, and how we can make our programs and events better.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

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PROGRAMMING FOR RETENTION & SUCCESS — CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 ASSESSMENT METHODS

ONLINE STUDENTS Fourth, we have to embrace “distance learning” and students who are pursuing their degree online. These online students also include those students on campus who are involved in “gaming” and “esports.” We know how the impact of computer games has grown dramatically. As quaint as the early “Pong” game seemed when Super Mario Bros came along, those early games had little impact except the holiday economy when purchased as gifts. USA Today has noted that avid gamers often call in sick to work—or miss class—on the days following the release of a popular video game. And Esports is growing exponentially, as colleges and universities have gone beyond esports “clubs” to actually offer scholarships and intercollegiate competition. We have to engage off-campus students, and esport students, too.

Finally, we have to do assessment. Peter Drucker was right when he wrote: “What gets measured gets managed.” We don't do assessment just because our Dean or Vice President requires it. We do assessment to see what works, what doesn't work, and how we can make our programs and events better. This means assessing the learning that takes place at programs and events. It means assessing if students enjoyed the event (making them more likely to attend future events). And it means assessing how students learned about an event, so that you can increase attendance by improving your marketing methods.

The Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities will present a focus on retention-based programming at our Summer institutes. The Student Life Advisor Institute in Las Vegas will feature a specific program track where you can learn more about retentionbased programs. There will be sessions to help you understand this concept, and to master the skills and techniques to improve student retention on your campus. The 15th Annual Leadership on Broadway Experience will also feature sessions on retentionbased programs. Come and learn from your peers, the schools that are using these techniques successfully. Student Life—student activities, events, and programs—are truly fundamental in student retention. Getting students engaged on campus leads to academic persistence and success. APCA is focusing on helping you to engage and retain your students. The insight you gain this summer will have a resounding impact on your campus for years to come.

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STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

Agnes Scott College

SPO TLIGHT AgnesPalooza

Jennifer Duncan, M.Ed. Assistant Director of the Center for Student Involvement

A recent submission of an event that caught our eye for the Programming Spotlight was the "AgnesPalooza Festival". The event featured a diverse audience of student participants, and provided useful data for their student engagement efforts. Tell us about the execution of the event. Were there any challenges? First, we created themes and events for each day of the week. Then the logistics of booking dates and times and ordering supplies and food were handled accordingly for each day. All executive board members and their committee members split duties for each event in order to share the overall workload. The most challenging thing about executing such a big event "essentially a second homecoming week", was to make sure other vital departments were aware of everything going on. The facilities department, food services, custodial department, and public safety all did a wonderful job. How many attendants were there? A challenge among students was to get their buy-in on a new tradition. Change, even if much needed, can be hard for some people. The attendance, however, was fantastic! The total of attendees throughout the entire week was 900+ which is amazing considering the total undergraduate enrollment at the college is just under 1,000! What learning outcomes manifested as a result? The purpose of creating AgnesPalooza was to foster a vibrant social life that was almost non-existent on campus. We intentionally hosted a diverse range of events to appeal to students with diverse interests. We wanted to serve as many identifiable student populations as we could, so we hosted a movie night, arts and crafts, an offcampus party, a music concert, a trivia night, an outdoor festival, a comedy show, a spa day, and a poetry slam. Some assessment and data gathering tools used were electronic surveys sent to the student body, informal polls of students, and data gathering apps to check-in students at each event. We received great data on the needs and requirements of our student population.

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How to go from LEARNING to E A R N I N G ! BY: GARRETT LEE

graduated from the University of Cincinnati – Carl H. Lindner College of Business in the spring of 2013. During my collegiate journey, I was able to master a skill that helped me land my first job out of college. To put the icing on the cake, I secured this job prior to graduation. Every college student makes the investment to pursue their post-secondary education for one main reason – to get a job. In today’s highly competitive job market, many candidates are highly educated, qualified, and carry great credentials. As a college student, if you want to land that dream job (or any job that pays you what you’re worth), you must learn to do ONE thing well. To differentiate yourself from your peers and others in the job market, you must learn how to NETWORK. One of the biggest challenges that recent college graduates face is finding a job. Often, college students end up graduating without having a job lined up. What if there was a way you could increase your chances of landing a nice paying job after college? Wouldn't that relieve a lot of stress for anyone that was in the market for a new job? Everyone is just one connection away from their next opportunity. People overlook the opportunities that are presented in front of them daily. Life is about strategy, and you must learn to strategically connect with the right people. If you learn how to network, you will advance easily in both your professional and social lives.

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The Benefits of Networking There are many benefits to networking. One of the top benefits of networking is increasing your chances of landing a job! According to the LinkedIn corporate communications team, 70% of people hired in 2016 already had a connection at that company prior to working there. Another huge benefit is the opportunity to EARN more! According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the Survey of Consumer Expectations, employees who find a job from a referral within their network earned, on average, 6% more. You can also increase your chances for promotion and industry recognition. While I worked at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, I knew a branch manager who was the mentee of the Vice President/General Manager of the company. This same branch manager recently got promoted and became one of the only female area rental managers in the city! You better believe her mentor/mentee relationship with the VP/GM played a factor in her promotion!

Action Steps to Build Your Network The first step in building your network is to connect with someone that’s already working in your field. This can be done online or in person. I connected with multiple people that worked at Enterprise prior to being employed there. One of the people I connected with was my Finance Professor’s daughter, Destinee, who happened to work at Enterprise in Atlanta, GA! The person who conducted my interview, Chuck, happened to know Destinee, since they were both from the Dayton, OH area. This not only helped me create common ground and trust during the interview, it helped me land the job! In business, people hire people they know, like, and trust.

event called the NCSC (National Collegiate Sales Competition). This led to me connecting with the regional recruiter for Verizon Wireless, Walt. Walt happened to be my professor’s former student at Ohio University. My professor gave Walt my cell phone number, and we met for coffee. Two weeks later, I was in the office at Verizon Wireless for an interview. I was offered the job (internship) on the spot! The last action step is to join a networking group. You can find a list of these groups on meetup.com. There are a variety of group categories including: Learning, Sports and Fitness, Career and Business, Real Estate, Education, etc. You can also find networking groups on Facebook. I’m part of networking group called YSU (Youth Speaker University). I reached out to Laymon, who’s part of this group. He’s an established and successful youth speaker. He connected me with a well-known speaker named Jonathan Sprinkles. Jonathan Sprinkles was voted as Top Speaker here at APCA in the past. I sent Jonathan an email introducing myself. He responded with these exact words, “Garrett, any friend of Laymon is a friend of mine. What’s your number?” Since then, he’s coached me and has helped take my speaking and business to the next level. In a Nutshell, your NETWORK is your NET WORTH. Start building your network today! Now get out there, make some connections, and go from Learning to Earning!

Another great step in building your network is to join an organization on your college campus. This was one of the best pieces of Garrett Lee helps college students transition from college to advice that was given to me while I the workforce by teaching them the art of networking. Feel free was in college. By getting involved to connect with Garrett on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram with the University of Cincinnati Sales @GarrettLeeSpeaks Team, I was able to travel to Atlanta, GA to attend a huge national networking

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8 EMAIL SECRETS

THAT GET YOUR EMAILS READ AND INCREASE YOUR RESPONSE RATE JONATHAN SPRINKLES SECRET #1 Don’t write confidential content in an e-mail. These days just assume someone else will read it (some of us have learned this the hard way). Stay professional. If it is that juicy, just pick up the phone.

SECRET #2 NEVER, NEVER, NEVER write an e-mail when you’re angry! If you get an inflammatory e-mail, don’t make the mistake of sending a fireball back. It never works out for the good. It always ends up worse. Put the keyboard down, say your response out loud, type it, read it over again, then send it.

SECRET #3 When you do respond, don’t try to write a 3rd Testament of the Bible. I hate scrolling through five pages of emotional blah, blah, blah. Stay focused on the specific issue(s) at hand.

SECRET #4 Number the points that you are making. It makes it easier for the reader to focus on your specific feelings and understand your points. Keep it to five or fewer points. Nobody has time to be reading novels in the computer lab. Examples: Advertising: When is David going to finish the first round of designs for the posters? Fundraising: I heard that we were still $400 short. Is this true? Party: By what time do I need to be dressed and downstairs? Don’t have me waiting on you again! Home: Is it my turn to drive this weekend, or can we sucker someone else into taking their car? I have some unpaid traffic tickets that I need to take care of, so I may not be the best choice to get behind the wheel. Using this technique, people can read and respond to your emails faster and you can quickly see if they responded to all of your points versus having them get lost in the midst of a back-and-forth chain of

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emails. It is much easier to say, “You still need to answer #3” than it is to say, “Did you ever tell me about the party. Are you still going or not?”

SECRET #5 If the subject of the email changes, change the subject heading. If you’re talking about the forthcoming elections, the subject line, “FWD: Check this out” probably won’t help you in case you need find this email for future reference.

SECRET #6 If your message requires action, say so! Watch this: Subject: Dues due Jan 28th (Action required) Subject: Invitation to Nikki’s party (Response requested) While you can not physically make anyone respond to your emails, using this technique will drastically increase your response rate. Let’s face it, we all have more things to do and seemingly less time to do them. The easier you make it for people to sift through their emails and simultaneously draw attention to yours, people will reward you by getting back with you much more quickly.

SECRET #7 People, will you PLEASE stop sending jokes, poems and those stupid “forward this to 10 people and you’ll receive a check for $10,000” emails to the listserv? Eventually, the listserv will totally lose its value and is treated more and more like spam. If you need the money that badly, donate your kidneys.

SECRET #8 All caps means what? That you’re YELLING! You’re not my mama. You don’t have the right to yell at me. If you do use all caps, only use them to emphasize something good (i.e. “I am SO excited. I am VERY proud of you”). If you don’t know how to convey strong emotion without yelling, you need to sign up for a creative writing class, because I am NOT one to accept being YELLED AT!

This article is an excerpt from the Collegiate Bestseller Take Your Leadership to the Next Level! By Jonathan Sprinkles. Jonathan is a nationally-acclaimed leadership and motivational speaker. He was nominated as the 2004 COLLEGE SPEAKER OF THE YEAR by APCA. For more information on Jonathan or to schedule him for an event, please visit www.jsprinkles.com or email him at info@jsprinkles.com

JOIN US AT OUR 2019

SUMMER INSTITUTES & WORKSHOPS 15TH ANNUAL LEADERSHIP ON BROADWAY EXPERIENCE NEW YORK CITY, NY | JULY 19-21 FEATURING BOTH ADVISOR CPAI™ AND STUDENT CSP™ TRAINING

The Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities will hold its 15TH Annual Leadership on Broadway Experience in New York City on July 19-21, 2019. The event will be held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, and will have student and advisor training. The APCA Leadership on Broadway Experience is an event comprised of the APCA Certified Student Programmer™ (CSP™) workshop and the Certified Programming Advisor Institute™ (CPAI™).

CSP™ Student Workshop

For Students, there will be educational sessions in the morning and afternoons, focusing on leadership, organizational development, and engaging diverse campus populations. Participants will receive our Certified Student Programmer™ (CSP™) certification. This program is designed to bring programming boards together to invigorate and enthuse them about their roles in the upcoming year.

CPAI™ Advisor Institute

For advisors, CPAI™ institute will feature a comprehensive track of keynotes and sessions on planning retention based programming, developing esports centers and clubs, training for new professionals, developing retention and assessment techniques, and much more. Participants will receive APCA’s CPAI™ certification for their attendance.

Broadway show tickets included!

The first 100 delegates to register will receive their choice of tickets to either the hit Broadway play “To Kill A Mockingbird” starring Jeff Daniels or the smash Broadway Musical “Tootsie” on Friday evening, July 19. There will also be generous free time on Thursday and Saturday evenings to enjoy the Broadway scene, and discounted show tickets are available at the TKTS outlet located right outside the front doors of the Marriott Marquis. HOW TO ATTEND! The APCA Leadership on Broadway Experience in New York City will be limited to the first 200 participants to register, so make your reservations now by visiting us online at www.apca.com

10TH ANNUAL LAS VEGAS CPAI™ ADVISOR INSTITUTE LAS VEGAS, NV | JUNE 2-4 STAFF & GRAD STUDENTS ONLY

THE 2019 APCA LAS VEGAS CPAI™ ADVISOR INSTITUTE The Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities will hold its 10th Annual Certified Programming Advisor Institute™ (CPAI™) on June 2-4, 2019. The event will be held at the Las Vegas Renaissance Hotel, and will feature three in-depth tracks of training with several elective sessions. The APCA Las Vegas Certified Programming Advisor Institute™ (CPAI™) is the most in-depth student life advisor training of its kind, featuring tracks of specialized learning on these topics:

TRACK 1: NEW PROFESSIONALS Start your professional student life career right with our APCA new professionals track! Learn how to organize, motivate, and retain your student organization from scratch or strengthen a legacy of pre-existing success. New professionals entering the student life field can benefit from a full range of sessions on basic campus life planning techniques. Our introductory program is designed to give you a solid foundation in advising student organizations. Here you will learn to program effective, assessable events that attach students to your institutional mission in a meaningful way. Participants in this track will gain a stronger working knowledge of: • • • • • • •

Organizational Structure Drafting An Effective Student Life Organizational Constitution Basic Programming Strategies Basic Assessment Strategies For Your Programs Practical Applications Of Student Life Student Theory Recruitment And Retention Of Members Making Meetings Engaging And Effective

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JOIN US AT OUR 2019

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SUMMER INSTITUTES & WORKSHOPS 10TH ANNUAL LAS VEGAS CPAI™ ADVISOR INSTITUTE LAS VEGAS, NV | JUNE 2-4 FOR STAFF & GRAD STUDENTS ONLY TRACK 2: ESPORTS: A NEW ERA IN ENGAGING YOUR STUDENT POPULATION! Esports is fast becoming the most widely embraced platform of student extracurricular activity. Emerging engagement data is pointing towards a strong gaming center and esports program as not only an engaging program in student life, but now a very relevant decision factor for students choosing institutions to attend. Esports is more than just a players-only event, it’s the fastest growing engagement phenomenon in the history of cocurricular involvement. Come join us to learn how to harness the value of esports to your student life engagement, your campus events programming, and even your institutional recruitment efforts. Actual case studies and data presented by a successful school esports program staff will enlighten participants to the value of a vibrant esports center on your campus. Participants in this track will leave with a practical working knowledge of these topics: • • • • • • • •

Developing a feasibility study for a gaming center Develop tools to demonstrate the ROI for your gaming center Establishing an inclusive esports organization and constitution Develop a job description for an esports coach Establishing a space on campus Logistics and space-use management How to set up esports tournaments Assessment of recruitment and retention effects

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10TH ANNUAL LAS VEGAS CPAI™ ADVISOR INSTITUTE LAS VEGAS, NV | JUNE 2-4 FOR STAFF & GRAD STUDENTS ONLY TRACK 3: PROGRAMMING FOR STRATEGIC RETENTION AND STUDENT SUCCESS Across the country, schools are facing dwindling student populations, retention and recruitment challenges and stiffer competition for tuition dollars. Our track on Programming for Strategic Retention and Student Success can help to attach, engage and retain your students through a vibrant student life program. Participants will learn these topics and others to aid in student success and retention on your campus: • • • • • •

Front loading student events Residential / commuter engagement strategies Online student engagement Campus event programming strategies for improved retention Assessing your student success and retention efforts Adjusting your campus life programming mission to accommodate changing student needs.

HOW TO ATTEND!

The APCA CPAI™ institute will be limited to the first 100 participants to register, so make your reservations now by visiting us online at www.apca.com.

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Dr. Charles M. Hueber Dean of Students Schreiner University

ESPORTS: CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT!

In many ways, the most dramatic change in higher

education today is the advancement of technology and the role in which content is being delivered. We are living through this shift and are struggling to navigate the role student activities and student affairs will play in an increasingly more digital college landscape. To be fair, faculty are struggling with their role in this world as well. The open source movement and credentialing of specific skills through online non-university companies has vividly illustrated the extent to which faculty may no longer be content experts at their local institutions. traditional bailiwick of the student affairs professional, Content is fundamentally being unbundled from it seems apparent that their positions will be secure the college and university experience. for the future and perhaps become more important than ever. All hope is not lost, because while this unbundling of content is taking place, there seems to be a As we shift in student affairs, university administrators re-commitment to the idea that the college and increasingly look to us to create, provide, and facilitate university experience is so important because experiences in this new landscape. it provides personal and social development in experiential and authenticâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but managedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; Esports has been a grassroots movement of students environments. Parents still want their children to across the nation who have formed adhoc teams go to our institutions to develop as individuals and and organized themselves to meet their needs. This citizens even if much of the traditional curricular presents a very unique opportunity to meet students learning no longer has to take place on campus. on their turf and provide structure and legitimacy to Assuming that student development has been the this emerging sport and program.

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based on what extra or co-curricular programs they can participate in. We have seen exponential growth in the variety of options students have as colleges are scrambling to play catch up. Institutions are constantly adding more programs to attract new students and provide a compelling reason to keep students from leaving or transferring out.

University presidents are scrambling to launch these programs and connect them to their universities in meaningful ways as the market demand for these opportunities explodes. Schools are increasingly looking to student affairs to lead this charge. Student affairs offices will face a number of challenges in launching a fully supported and managed program. If it is done correctly, however, it will provide a structured way for all students (on campus, off campus and online) to engage in a program that can provide measurable learning outcomes and has been proven to have a positive impact on retention rates. More and more, colleges and universities are looking for ways to not just grow but how they can sometimes even survive. In some cases, universities have even begun to eliminate tenured and tenure-track faculty, a practice described by noted futurist, Brian Alexander, as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Queen Sacrificeâ&#x20AC;?. Jeffery Docking, in his book titled Crisis in Higher Education: A Plan to Save Small Liberal Arts Colleges in America, outlines an aggressive approach that he claims will not just provide a bump in enrollment, but can create a significant initial gain. His main argument is that students are increasingly making choices about which college they should attend

"... our challenge is not to think outside of the box, but to build a bigger box. One of the opportunities that lies before us is in the fastest growing program on college campuses â&#x20AC;&#x201D; esports. " CONTINUED ON 24

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ESPORTS — CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23 The addition of student life programs, like esports, comes at a cost and a college needs to critically examine each option fully before making the leap. If done properly and with the right support from the administration, those colleges can move from surviving to thriving. Esports can be a great choice for colleges and universities looking to expand services for students, but to be successful schools need to critically examine several questions before embarking on this task. 1. 2. 3. 6. 7. 8.

Why is your school interested in esports? What current students are involved in esports? Is esports right for your school? Can you recruit students successfully to esports? Can you create a reasonable competition schedule? Does your school have the financial wherewithal to build a successful program?

9. What would be an estimate of both the start-up and on-going costs associated with esports? 10. What is your projected return on investment (ROI) for Esports? If you’re serious about esports, I would offer three suggestions: First, form a committee to really dig into answering these questions. Make sure that you have students who currently engage in gaming on campus that participate in this process – this is critical to its success. I would also suggest having a member of your technology staff (IT) on the committee as they will be able to help answer questions you have not thought of, and if they are involved early on in this process, they will be more likely to be willing to help when you really need them. Second, take your time and cover each base. We tend to want to jump into these things head first. There are a few steps and that you may take along the way here that can cost you a great deal of time and money. You want to have a solid plan in place and broad buy-in from your community. Third, get help. There are many resources out there to help schools start programs and complete feasibility studies specific to your campus. The time and money you save by having an expert come in and help you set up a program the right way will pay off. Setting up an esports program and assessing its effectiveness, return on investment, and establishing learning outcomes will be a track at the upcoming APCA Las Vegas and NYC Advisors institutes. Representatives from the Schreiner University Esports Program will be present to discuss the success of their efforts and share resources and experience with conference delegates.

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CLT STAFF VISITS AN ESPORTS TOURNAMENT: POP CON 2019

Campus Life Trends (CLT) staff recently visited Schreiner University to attend "POP CON", their annual esports tournament. Five schools from their region attended and competed in multiple categories such as FortniteÂŽ, League of LegendsÂŽ, and various other multi-player games. The event was well organized and very well attended. We interviewed Dr. Charles Hueber, the organizer of the event to discuss his thoughts on hosting an esports tournament. Why was this started? Charles Hueber: POP CON was created by David Gehrels and Dr. Matt Goodwyn here at Schreiner University to provide an opportunity for students from all walks of life to celebrate all things pop culture. We had a number of students who were looking for ways to engage creatively on campus and POP CON allows for this diversity of ideas.

David Gehrels: We were also looking to find those students where were not being served by our current model (at the time) of event programming. We wanted to reach less engaged students. What were the costs? Charles Hueber: It cost us approximately $10k. David Gehrels: We were closer to $11k as we had to provide a larger show, based on higher turnout this year. What were some logistical and technical challenges? Charles Hueber: Getting a steady set of volunteers to manage the various aspects of the event. An esports tournament pulls you in a number of directions. David Gehrels: On the technical side, the shortage of resources, mainly gaming computers was an issue that caused some scheduling hiccups. Charles Hueber (left) and David Gehrels (right) supervised Pop Con 2019.

What departments and organizations were involved? Charles Hueber: Student activities, athletics, esports, leadership programs, academics, and dining services.

Who participated and what were the numbers? David Gehrels: The total participant number for POP CON was 379. That includes a total population of students, staff, faculty, alumni, and outside community members. What are your future plans? Charles Hueber: We would like to see this event grow and have celebrities involved. Perhap even host a national competition for college esports. David Gehrels: We want to include workshops on college POP CON 2019 Overall Tournament Champions, esports and popular culture from leaders in the gaming, Colorado College, advised by Chad Schonewill. film, music, and comic industries. Other priorities are to ramp up our peripheral gaming opportunities, and to expand our escape room experience. The goal is to host multiple gaming experiences and incorporate high school competitions, movies, comics, all under the same umbrella as POP CON.

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STUDENT AFFAIRS: A MENTOR'S ADVICE — CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 the date in advance, I knew I could always count on her to require all four (4) of her sociology classes to attend. Not sure how to get started? Your student organization faculty advisors are the key! They already understand the importance of the work you are doing. They have already bought in to campus activities. They can serve as advocates for your department. I T ’ S O K T O S AY Y E S T O T H I N G S , B U T I T ’ S A L S O O K T O S AY N O

In this profession, we have a bad habit of rewarding people who do good work by giving them more work. As you settle into your role as a campus activities professional, you will gain many valuable skills that others will want to utilize. People may ask you to join committees or projects that are outside of your area. If you have the capacity, it’s ok to say yes to some of these things. Gaining new skills and experiences is usually beneficial to you. These experiences outside your department may be what assists you with landing your next job. That all being said, it is also ok to say no. Sometimes, no matter what the experience might be, you simply do not have the capacity to add one more thing to your plate. Fear of missing out is real for many professionals, but so is burnout. TA K E T I M E F O R Y O U

Speaking of burnout, this last tip cannot be stressed enough for our new professionals. In your new role, you are going to want to try to do it all—adding more programs than ever before, being there for your students 24/7, saying yes to everything that’s asked of you. Campus activities seems to have a higher burnout rate than most. You will spend a lot of your nights and weekends at work. Talk with your supervisor about expectations of office coverage when you have night and weekend work. The expectation of being in the office at 8 a.m. after a late night

program may only be your expectation, not your supervisor’s. Take your vacation time. Banking up hundreds of hours of vacation time is not a badge of honor; it’s a sure fire way of burning yourself out. Also, when you do take your vacation time, do not spend it on your phone answering emails. Finally, this is a difficult one for me—it’s OK for that email to sit in your inbox for a moment. I always want to respond immediately, no matter the time of day. I received an email from a student late one evening, and I responded to them immediately from my phone. The student responded back with “Wow! I didn’t expect you to respond right now. Just because I’m a night person, doesn’t mean I expect you to be.” Thank you to my student for that amazing piece of feedback. I hope these tips are as beneficial to you as they have been for me. You are going to do amazing things in this role. You and your work will have an impact on people that will last a lifetime. Take a deep breath and enjoy the ride! Kathryn Stremiecki will be presenting training sessions for new professionals at our NYC and Las Vegas events. For information on attending, contact our office at (865) 429-9123 or visit us at www.apca.com

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STUDENT ENGAGEMENT Texas A&M Texarkana

SPO TLIGHT THE BIG EVENT Michael Stephenson

Assistant Director of Student Life

The Big Event began at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas in 1982. Since its founding, The Big Event movement has expanded to other colleges and universities across the country. Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMU-T) hosted its inaugural version of The Big Event in 2017 with the tag line “Eagle Pride City Wide.” The mission of The Big Event – Eagle Pride City Wide is to promote campus and community unity as students come together for one day to express our gratitude for the support of the surrounding community. Aligned with one of TAMU-T’s pillars, community leadership, our big event is unique from other big events across the country because we serve two cities in two states: Texarkana, Arkansas, and Texarkana, Texas. Students, staff, faculty, alumni, and their families come together on a Saturday to help clean playgrounds and parks, build houses, sort canned goods, clean yards, bathe and play with shelter animals, plant flowers, pick up trash, and so much more. Each year, the event continues to grow with 2018's event boasting over 280 volunteers logging more than 1,200 community service hours. The event continues to gain recognition in our community with more local organizations and nonprofits requesting to be project sites each year. The event is equipped with learning outcomes such as: participants demonstrating the importance of being an involved member of the local community, identify the needs of our community and local nonprofits, discover how to share talents and passions through community engagement, recognize the importance of social responsibility, and identify future community service initiatives in which to participate. We like to think of the greater impact our event has on the community. While we help about 20-30 organizations annually, each of those project sites have a ripple effect in our community (i.e. homeless shelter, food bank, animal shelter, etc.). The support of our community has been integral to the continued growth of TAMU-T as we add new academic and athletic programs. This is one BIG way that we show the community our gratitude and how much we appreciate their unwavering support.

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Fr o m S t u d e n t t o S t a r Interview with

Adam Ace is a nationally known icon of stand-up comedy in the Campus Activities market, performing for decades to a loyal fan base. Very few people know that he was also at the first APCA conference ever held, attending as a student with his campus activities board. We caught up with Adam on the road (as usual), where he is currently performing his new venture, a game show he books through Neon Entertainment. We asked him about his career and how APCA has affected it.

You were at the very first APCA conference in 1995, but as a student. What was that like? My first APCA was really incredible! It was one of the very first times I had seen so many live entertainment acts up close, and it was the first time I had seen live stand-up comedy. It was so great to meet other students from other activities boards and find out what they did on their campuses. But, watching the showcases and walking around the exhibit hall was definitely the highlight for me!

Did being at the first APCA influence your decision to become a comedian? I always wanted to be an entertainer and had always been fascinated by show business. I never really thought that becoming a comedian was something that could actually happen. But, seeing the acts up close, talking to the agents, learning about how the business worked, and talking to some comedians who were making a living at it definitely made me believe that it was a possibility. It became something that could actually occur. I remember sitting there thinking that if I ever got the chance to do a college showcase, it would be the greatest thing ever!

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What were the early days of getting into stand up like? The early days of stand-up were quite an adventure and lots and lots of fun! I would perform anywhere and everywhere I could, just to get stage time and experience. I would travel all over in my minivan to perform in front of any audience that would watch me; fairs, festivals, talent shows, comedy clubs, and even once at a Flea Market and once at a Prison. I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe that I was getting the opportunity to perform and that people were hiring me to do it. I was always writing material, coming up with new ideas, and trying to learn as much as possible from other, more experienced comedians.

You have developed a personal brand and red seems to be your color. What advice do you have about branding yourself, personally and professionally? I have always loved red and actually wore a red suit for the first time in college. Really, I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t taken it off since! The best advice I could give about building a brand is to just be yourself. Develop your personal and professional brand around who you are as a person and as an entertainer. Incorporate things that you like and things that fit you as a person and your personality. Really, when it comes down to it, the best way to brand yourself is to be a professional on and off the stage. Be easy to work with and always strive to put on the best presentation possible. Then once you have done that, having something that will make people remember you will just be the icing on the cake. You have changed your act from stand up to game show hosting. Which did you like better and why the change? This may seem like Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not answering the question, but I really like both stand-up comedy and game show hosting the same. I am happy doing either and I have enjoyed doing both in the college market equally. I just love being on stage entertaining people in any capacity. I have always loved game shows, since watching them as a kid, and even hosted a couple at my college when I was a student. As an entertainer, I wanted to offer something else to colleges. I thought they would enjoy it, but also I wanted to incorporate all the fun and excitement of my comedy shows. It is a great way to get many students involved and on stage.

To inquire about Adam Ace performing at your campus contact Neon Entertainment at (716) 836-6366 or email: info@neon-entertainment.com

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2019 APCA NATIONAL AWARD WINNERS

A S S O C I AT E S 2 0 1 9 N AT I O N A L AWA R D S Comedian of the Year Damon Sumner Houla Entertainment

Novelty of the Year Fun Fotos To Go Everything But The Mime, Inc.

Juggler of the Year Wacky Chad Cutting Edge Entertainment

Band of the Year Brother Brother Brave Enough Artist Agency

Hypnotist of the Year Sailesh Metropolis Management

Male Solo Artist of the Year Nellyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Echo Degy Booking International

leemayer@houlaentertainment.com

rjockel@cuttingedgeentertainment.com

info@metropolismanagement.com

carol@everythingbutthemime.com

mark@braveenough.com

ari@degy.com

Mentalist of the Year Larry & Raven Fresh Variety

Female Solo Artist of the Year Taylor Reed Brave Enough Artist Agency

info@freshvariety.com

mark@braveenough.com

Magician of the Year Ranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;D Shine Everything but the Mime, Inc.

Spoken Word Artist of the Year Ed Mabrey Melanated Concepts

carol@everythingbutthemime.com

edmabrey@gmail.com

Game Show of the Year Free Money Game Show Neon Entertainment

scott@neon-entertainment.com

Cultural Act of the Year 1st Klass Degy Booking International ari@degy.com

Dance Party of the Year GloCade Everything But The Mime, Inc. carol@everythingbutthemime.com

Campus Speaker of the Year Dave Kelly America's Student Leadership Trainer davekelly@gonzospeaks.com

Bill Fry National Agency of the Year Brave Enough Artist Agency mark@braveenough.com

Entertainer of the Year Brother Brother Brave Enough Artist Agency mark@braveenough.com

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SCHOOLS 2019 N AT I O N A L AWA R D S National Service Project of the Year The Big Event - Eagle Pride City Wide Texas A&M University - Texarkana National Event of the Year Diversity and Awareness Series: National Suicide Prevention Awareness Week Bossier Parish Community College Boyd Jones National Programming Organization of the Year The Student Events Board The College of Saint Rose National Student Programmer of the Year Tia Smith Northeast Community College Heart of APCA Award Robbie Chulick St. Bonaventure Ernest C. Jones National Advisor of the Year Sharinda Welton University of Findlay Lifetime Achievement Marjoree M. Harper Bossier Parish Community College

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