Freshman Session #1

Yesterday ended the first Freshman Session of the summer and I was quite impressed. The schedule flowed so smoothly and everyone was on point. I must say that the Orientation Coordinators are THE BOMB! They have so much responsibility and handle it with such flair.
I think my absolute favorite parts of this past week were the performances. The OA's have practiced for so long and all of their hard work was rewarded with cheering and laughter from the orientees; actually a lot more than expected.
Week one did not go without a few bloopers on my part. But now that they have happened, I will take notes from them and apply them to the rest of the summer. I kind of feel that the bloopers resulted from a lack of common sense. I wasn't on my A-game, but I will be sure to be on my P's and Q's in the coming weeks.
My only fear is that people won't have confidence in my abilities because they have witness my areas of weakness.
I hope that this experience can turn into opportunity in the future. We can only wait and see....

To reward myself from a tiring week, I went to the Alamo Drafthouse with Mary, Austin, and Courtney (intern and two OA's). We watched Pelham 123 and it was pretty cool. The food was okay....however, it could have been better. I may go out for Salsa or Line Dancing tonight....we'll see.

So I've in Austin since late Monday night and have yet to see the sights. We all have been caught up in meeting the Orientation Advisors (OA's) and staff members, plus my mom stayed for a few days, so I was constantly checking on her.
There are so many people involved in this operation (close to 100); it's hard to try to remember everyone's name. But they are all sooooo nice and welcoming. The staff has taken us, interns, out to eat to some really nice restaraunts.
The parts of campus I have seen (mainly the southside) is really nice. However, the campus is in the middle of downtown. Sometimes you can't tell if you're on campus or in the city. I keep my map handy. lol. I will try my hardest to keep my camera on me, so that I can take plenty of pictures. I have a few good pics so far, but I have all summer to get a bunch more.

Haha

I'm so horrible at this blog thing. For a while, I'd forgotten that I'd had one. lol. Anyway, I'm in the midst of writing a paper and organizing another. Procrastinating all the while. I guess I should shell out some updates, since it's been a minute....
I'm in my last days of Housing and Residential Life. Yes people, I am moving on. I will be a graduate assistant in Campus Life for Fall 09 and Spring 10! Am I ever excited! It will be my opportunity to try my hand at something new and hopefully find my niche in Student Affairs!
Meanwhile, the UT internship is coming up soon and I just realized I have NO money! ha! I hope the parents are feeling generous! I received my information packet about the program and about Austin a few weeks ago. Kyle, my NODA supervisor, sent it out in hopes that it would give us an idea of how things operate there. The packet was insightful, but it has me a bit overwhelmed. There will be so much going on all at the same time! I'm sure I can handle it without a mental spaz out. lol. Speaking of Kyle, he, I, Mary (another NODA intern), and his office staff had a conference call two days ago. We talked about the program and the packet. Mary and I had the opportunity to ask questions and address concerns. Everyone in that office seems soooo nice! I'm anxious to meet them all. Another bit of info, Kyle informed us that there will another intern joining us this summer; Allison! We are going to be trio! Yay! She's been at UT for some time now, and will be able to school us on some inside stuff.
I can't wait to get to the city. Everyone keeps telling me how GREAT Austin is....I'm ready to experience it for myself! Only two more weeks and I'll be there! Decided not to fly.....so I'm taking my truck. It gives me a sense of stability and independence knowing I'm not stranded. lol. It will also give my opporutunity to explore the city! I'm very much and explorer. Can't Wait!
I just have to make it through writing this paper and "organizing" the other. ARGH, Finals :(

After reading the last few posts of my fellow bloggers, I was inspired to contact my NODA supervisor, Kyle, for some additional information on the school and my NODA buddy. I dropped him and email about how I'd been doing and that I was concerned that I hadn't heard anything since I was offered the internship. He assured me that everything was fine and that the office had been busy the past few weeks. Boy, was I relieved. I thought they'd forgotten about me. I was also anxious to hear if my potential NODA buddy, now my official NODA buddy, had accepted their offer. Luckily she did! I was so excited to hear that I would be sharing my NODA experience with another grad assistant. I immediately contacted her to share my excitement and I, of course, Facebook stalked her. From what I've discovered, she seems to be an ambitious and experienced student, and I look forward to learning all I can from her. I hope she's ready for me! LOL.

So, I created this blog a week ago and wasn't really sure what to write. I've never done a blog before, so this is kind of new. I can talk your face off, however, it's a little difficult to think of things to write in a blog. (Laughing at myself).
To set up the scene here....I'm currently a Graduate Hall Director for Residential Life at LSU. I have a long history with Housing beginning with RHA my freshman year at Mississippi State University (shout out to my DAWGS!). When I began looking for an internship, I wanted to experience something new, but not completely foreign. Chris and Ryann, two of my classmates, told me about NODA and I knew immediately that that was what I wanted to do. I have a history with Orientation as well, but its not as extensive as my Housing background.
I was, and still am, pumped about the opportunity to experience a different part of the country and a totally different style of programming in which I'm accustomed too. Never did I think that UT:Austin (one of the big fish in Orientation) would have chosen me as their Summer intern.
I'd applied to five other schools, but had only interviewed with UT and another school up north. I thought for sure that I would here back from the other schools, but they never contacted me. However, when I interviewed with UT, they told me their timeline and actually stood by it. I was truly impressed and again honored to be serving their school this summer!
They are like a beast of a school, so I know that Orientation will be a blowout. I'm anxious and excited all at the same time. I can't wait to meet the staff, the OA's, and my Intern buddy :).
I'm also anxious to begin building my professional network. I've never really considered myself a business-minded person, so this experience will lead me in the direction of becoming a young professional. I'm ready to see myself grow....like in an out-of-body experience kind of way....ya know?