00:00:21.750 --> 00:00:23.910 But anyway, I guess we're just, we're rambling on why don't you 00:00:25.020 --> 00:00:31.890 tell folks who you are. And I think there's a lot of people listening probably already know. But for those that don't 00:00:33.390 --> 00:00:40.890 Yeah, I would. Happy be happy to introduce myself. My name is Caitlin Kerrigan I am an employee here at the University of Arizona. 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:54.450 My current title is coordinator of faculty programs. And oftentimes, people don't quite know what that means. A lot of it is reinventing that and kind of getting students connected to faculty in unique and 00:00:56.040 --> 00:01:05.880 So I oversee two programs I oversee the Faculty Fellows, which is what Dr. Straight is a part of and that is a program where we have about 60 faculty from across campus. 00:01:06.360 --> 00:01:16.050 all over campus who come together and build a community with each other, but then they're also stationed at all these different sites across campus all the cultural centers all the resource centers. 00:01:16.890 --> 00:01:26.640 You a south. We also have them at the dorms all the dorms have a Faculty Fellow. And the point of the program is to really make faculty fun 00:01:27.150 --> 00:01:33.300 approachable. They're humans they drink coffee. They go to the grocery store. They report record podcasts. They do it all. 00:01:33.780 --> 00:01:46.140 And so I think oftentimes students are pretty intimidated by faculty and its really building that bridge between the two and making sure that students feel comfortable talking to their faculty, but 00:01:47.160 --> 00:01:56.790 What else about me. I'm also currently a student. So I'm a student at any you I've met Northern Arizona University and in their doctoral program in educational leadership. 00:01:57.360 --> 00:02:04.200 So I'm in my second semester and I'm feeling for all you, all of you just learning how to be a student again and also 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:13.680 In hybrid classes so redefining what my own experience was as an undergrad in my master's program where I was really on campus in classes 24 seven 00:02:14.430 --> 00:02:24.090 This time around, it's a hybrid program. So I drive up to Phoenix, and Flagstaff in the summertime and I sit in classes on Friday night, and Saturday morning, and it's 00:02:24.660 --> 00:02:32.370 We do that for three weekends for each class and then the rest of the time is from a distance. So really trying to figure out how to motivate myself. 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:41.460 How to set deadlines, how to get my task done. So yeah, that's important to me. I would say this one of my really stealing identities right now is being a student 00:02:44.370 --> 00:02:45.780 It's a job. It is a job. 00:02:47.850 --> 00:02:51.240 And I think we talked about being a student pretty lightly. 00:02:52.350 --> 00:03:07.800 Just in general, I think, like, it's like, Oh, your student cool, but it's really a sense of responsibility for me to get my work done to do it well and really having to give up the fun in my life sometimes like playing a board game or theories 00:03:08.820 --> 00:03:14.280 I directed theory. I really do. I would say some of my top three so marginality mattering sense of belonging. 00:03:15.480 --> 00:03:21.150 Short spurts transition. So yeah, I'm all about their total nerd your advisors listening this week. 00:03:22.950 --> 00:03:36.240 Yeah. But yeah, I've also I've been away for about three years now. So I was a community director for a couple of years, which means that ran a dorm of 518 year olds. So I'm sure we'll touch on that a little bit depth podcast, feel free. Now, 00:03:37.290 --> 00:03:37.740 Because that's where you 00:03:38.790 --> 00:03:47.640 Know, trying to get back to the student thing yeah yeah that interest me yeah so you know it's it's it's a fun job. 00:03:48.750 --> 00:03:54.180 I guess I kind of want to start from like my own journey in higher education if that's cool. Yeah, absolutely. 00:03:54.870 --> 00:04:01.500 And that's, you know, we talked about this a bit on the way over here. Yeah, it's one of the things that I like doing with this. I'm one of the reasons I do it is because I love 00:04:01.920 --> 00:04:12.240 people's stories. I want to know how they got to where they are. Yeah. Today, yeah. And you know, maybe they don't know where they're going from here and that's okay. Yeah, that's exactly where I'm at. Yeah. 00:04:14.640 --> 00:04:19.590 So I was born in Mexico and I moved to Oregon. When I was 11 so Oregon is home for me. 00:04:20.970 --> 00:04:28.410 When it was time for me to start thinking about college, I was pretty good student in high school, you know, did did well enough. I had a pretty good GPA. 00:04:29.010 --> 00:04:33.720 And my dad worked at a small liberal arts college and we had a partnership with all local 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:48.390 small liberal arts colleges in the region. So I kind of knew that college was going to be a thing for me and I was going to go to a small liberal arts college so ended up attending Pacific University in forest Grove, Oregon, which is small. I've never heard 00:04:49.560 --> 00:05:03.330 I'm sorry. No, no, no. Slight at all. It's a hidden little gem in Oregon. And you know, I started with this thought process of I think a lot of incoming first year students is, I'm going to be a doctor. 00:05:03.810 --> 00:05:17.280 Because I want to help people. I want to help people. What can I do that will help people. Oh, medicine, like, yeah, I can literally touch someone and heal them like that's what I'm going to do. And I was so closed minded on other options of what does helping people mean 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:28.320 So I started, I did decent my first semester you know I got like three. Oh, it wasn't terrible was. It was bad for me because I had been pretty much a straight A student high school, but 00:05:28.830 --> 00:05:39.720 Just in a college. I kind of chalked it up to have, like, okay, it's fine. I'm gonna I'm gonna get better. I'm going to improve. So my second semester I took Chem capital calculus and biology at the same time. 00:05:42.270 --> 00:05:52.950 And you'd say if you tell how well that went. Um, I also was taking Spanish and band huge bengie great here. So just throwing that out there to my band people 00:05:54.210 --> 00:05:59.640 But I quickly learned that as I'm sitting there, my chemistry class. I just like 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:05.190 I hated studying it. I wasn't good at it. I really resented my professors for making 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:13.740 Exam, the day after Halloween, like I was, I remember sitting in the library on Halloween night studying and just being like, this is the worst I 00:06:14.430 --> 00:06:24.810 Don't understand anything I'm studying well. And so, yeah, the second semester I wasn't willing to admit that I wasn't good at this, that's a hard thing to do. 00:06:26.010 --> 00:06:31.620 I didn't like it. Yeah, I was so set on this idea of Doctor. Doctor, Doctor. And this is what I have to do. 00:06:32.760 --> 00:06:42.900 But i by the end of the spring semester I think it really the top of the cherry, for me, was it was exam day for chemistry, my final exam. 00:06:43.530 --> 00:06:59.250 And I was studying I had woken up I was trying to kind of understand what I didn't understand. And I got a text, my friend said, Where are you, I was like, What do you mean I'm in my room setting. She's like the final is right now. It's like, what, so just like this is like a 00:07:00.330 --> 00:07:05.580 TV series or a movie or something that only. Yeah, yeah. That never happens in the room. Yeah, it does. 00:07:07.380 --> 00:07:20.910 It does to me. And so I of course printed over and I did not great on my final and was pretty devastated calculus was a chemistry was terrible biology was 00:07:21.840 --> 00:07:31.890 And so I kind of was pretty sad about it. And my dad is been in higher education for a long time and what he did, which this was like the 00:07:32.340 --> 00:07:47.550 most brilliant piece of parenting counseling advice. I think I've gotten in my time. My dad just happened to be both. And so I brought my my like report card or whatever it was. And I just was like in tears. And it's like, put it on the desk in front of him. 00:07:48.660 --> 00:07:49.410 Please look at this 00:07:50.940 --> 00:07:59.880 I can't bear to tell you what grade I got and he opens it happened because I know it's funny because I'm really like not that dramatic of a person. I don't, I don't see myself as that. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:07.590 But I opened it and I, and he says, hmm. And he reached into his door and he pulled out his own report card from when he was a freshman. 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:18.540 And he had done the exact same thing that I did, except for so you'd like crashed and burned and all of those classes. He was put into a math class. He wasn't supposed to be in his chemistry class biology law was just like, no, this isn't working. 00:08:19.020 --> 00:08:24.270 And so I quickly learned. He says, I have a PhD like things will be okay. 00:08:25.320 --> 00:08:32.760 It's okay if you fail. It's okay if you make a mistake, but now it's time to figure out what will work for you and also 00:08:33.540 --> 00:08:47.820 How to get over that disappointment in yourself and the, the, the idea of failure and what that means for students and in my young life I was at 18 at the time. I just, I was so devastated so that summer, you know, I was home was working. And when I came back. 00:08:48.870 --> 00:08:53.730 My freshman year I really like just hung out with my friends in our dorm room like I didn't do anything. 00:08:55.230 --> 00:09:03.450 I kind of studies, not really. And I hung out with my friends. So when I came back I was, I was really determined to get involved and to do something. 00:09:04.140 --> 00:09:11.820 So I had sought out a hall Council, because I was still living on campus. I was a tour ambassador. So I was giving people tours and I was an orientation leader. 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:20.250 I joined a sorority, fun fact. I don't think anyone would guess that I was instability, but delta delta Pacific University local chapter 00:09:21.450 --> 00:09:32.190 So you're spread thin is what you're saying. I was. It was manageable, though, you know, I don't know about other people. But for me, being busy helps keep me organized and it keeps me on track. 00:09:33.210 --> 00:09:38.460 So I was finding my purpose in a place on campus that was beneficial for me. 00:09:38.970 --> 00:09:46.800 And my academics, I was still Gung on chemistry. Like, I was like, No, I'm just, I'm still going to do it. I'm going to retake Gen Chem one so I can be prepared for Gen Chem to 00:09:47.220 --> 00:09:55.650 But in the meantime, I was also taking intro to psych in sociology and I was just realizing in both of those classes like little I like this so much better. It's way better. 00:09:56.070 --> 00:10:00.390 And much better at this myself. Like, I'm actually good at this. I can comprehend what this means. 00:10:00.930 --> 00:10:09.090 And so when psychology kind of came into the picture. I was there was this professor that I just like idolized. Her name is Dr. Heidi island have to send this 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:18.300 Podcast to her because we're still in touch and she gave this talk. And I was like, wow, I want her to the my my advisor my you know my thesis person or whoever. 00:10:19.350 --> 00:10:27.240 And I went up to her and it's like, hi. Will you be my advisor and had made an appointment with her and I told her. Yeah, I wanna, I want to help people. And she's like, and 00:10:28.410 --> 00:10:37.140 And do what with that, like, do you think being a doctors. Only thing that you can do to help people. I do like psychology. Do you like this. So she was really the one that can challenge me to think differently. 00:10:38.010 --> 00:10:46.500 And realize like, I can still do something medical he without having to get an MD or a physician's assistant like the end like actual like medical field. 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:57.750 And so she says, Are you a psychology major because I only advice psychology majors and I was like, No. And the next day I went to the registrar I became a psychology major and I yeah 00:10:58.740 --> 00:11:06.810 Yeah. And so I really shifted gears that that fall semester my sophomore year, and I said, Okay, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be a psych major 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:18.360 And I didn't do great and interest. I guess it was kind of at the class, but I liked it enough to kind of pursue it and do. And so my focus was on physiological psychology and neuroscience. 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:30.210 So I still kind of got that medical field, which is what I thought I really loved and it was fascinating learning about the brain, seeing what different disorders are were what's responsible for what function in your body. 00:11:31.920 --> 00:11:48.540 Sensation and Perception. We did all these really cool apps Dr Island, if you're out there. She was a phenomenal professor and really shaped me to be a really excellent student and then you enter in Dr. Allison burns Glover, who is also one of my longtime 00:11:49.560 --> 00:12:01.740 Mentors and friends. We're still friends on Facebook and she does social psych and she is a bomb. She's a boss. She's just she's just amazing. I don't even I can't even say like enough good things about Dr. Glover because 00:12:02.700 --> 00:12:08.370 She would call herself Dr Bou that was her email Dr Bou at Pacific you.edu I'm sure it's still the same. 00:12:09.780 --> 00:12:19.860 Okay, we're good. And she she was just one of those professors that would really take the time to sit down with their students and ask them about their day what they're doing the writing. 00:12:20.760 --> 00:12:28.350 And I was able to switch gears for my thesis and actually did it with her instead of Dr Island, although that was also a good option but 00:12:28.680 --> 00:12:37.380 My I was finding that my interest for pulling me more towards the social psych instead of neuroscience and so yeah I can't say good enough things about the professors at Pacific 00:12:38.550 --> 00:12:46.350 I really work at a big school now but I definitely feel like my heart is that small liberal arts colleges. I really love them. I feel like they're 00:12:47.310 --> 00:12:59.370 A great place to build connections with faculty and staff and students also yearly colleagues. And so I just I can't say enough good things about Pacific and my upbringing there so 00:13:00.570 --> 00:13:11.940 Lots of connections and I'm saying, yeah, to your history and and what I do, where we are now. Yeah, exactly. And like what I do now, my main job if I could like summit into one sentence is 00:13:13.410 --> 00:13:27.750 build connections between faculty and students so that they can have a positive experience where they feel like they matter. And they belong to someone and that they can get the most other college experience. I could sum it up. So yeah, that's my college journey. 00:13:29.310 --> 00:13:31.920 I don't think many people know that I went to Ecuador for a year. 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:39.750 I didn't. I went to Ecuador for a year. Yeah. After I graduated, I was kind of like just wondering, what should I do. I don't really know. 00:13:40.500 --> 00:13:54.900 I had been able to do a couple of short term study abroad trips in college, but I really wanted to go spend some time at a different country. So I started doing some research and Dr. A big Dr. Boo. She gave me a book called What's it called 00:13:57.300 --> 00:13:58.650 Oh my gosh, it's not about me. 00:14:01.110 --> 00:14:02.730 It's about empowering women through 00:14:03.900 --> 00:14:09.750 To education essentially worldwide. So I'll put in the show notes. When you because I'm sure you will. Yeah, yeah. 00:14:10.830 --> 00:14:11.070 Yeah. 00:14:12.090 --> 00:14:15.480 I woke up at two o'clock in the morning. Yeah, name of the book is the only half the sky. That's what it's called. 00:14:17.340 --> 00:14:23.700 Yeah, and so it's essentially a series of stories about women who have improved their conditions in life through 00:14:24.510 --> 00:14:31.350 Education, so they talked about like micro finances in Bolivia and how women are able to pull themselves. 00:14:32.190 --> 00:14:47.790 You know, educate themselves and and create a bit of income so that they can leave like an abusive spouse or something like that or educating women about this doulas in Africa during childbirth and like how you can really mitigate that by educating people 00:14:48.840 --> 00:14:55.860 So I saw that book. And I actually saw a chapter that said like more people should go teach abroad and I was like, well, I don't really have a job. I don't have anything going on. 00:14:56.790 --> 00:15:03.060 It's true. I have a college degree. Now I should have a job, but whatever it is, what it is. And so, I realized that 00:15:03.540 --> 00:15:09.420 I wanted to spend a year in Ecuador and I looked at a couple organizations ended up going with one called rope teach 00:15:10.230 --> 00:15:20.640 And I went to a town called on bottom. And so I was I went in August, and I was there till August I did a full year there. And so it was arguably one of the best years of my life. 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:25.710 I had a great time in Ecuador. Oh my gosh. It was so fun and 00:15:26.340 --> 00:15:38.340 What did I do. I mean, I taught adults English at a trade school. So it was a really unique experience. We spent, we spent a month in Quito we kind of got acclimated to Ecuador and the culture and we stayed with 00:15:38.850 --> 00:15:48.450 A family and then we would come and do training for a month to kind of build our little cohort and just all it also teaching skills because obviously none of us had really taught at that point in time. 00:15:49.590 --> 00:16:07.770 And so after a month, we were able to go to our actual sites. And so I was in a town called amato's about 200,000 people up in the mountains. Yeah, it was pretty big. And there were probably like 10 white people in this town. So really different than Quito work. He does like 00:16:09.720 --> 00:16:11.400 They have a neighborhood called lon dia 00:16:12.930 --> 00:16:18.720 Because there's a lot of people that say they're their visitors tourists. There's nothing wrong with that. But I was kind of looking for like something a little more 00:16:19.500 --> 00:16:35.790 Ecuadorian, to say the least. And so I was able to. There were two sites in Ecuador. There was one called daddy University. And then there was one called setup which is SEC a Peep. And so, my friend, Krishna and I, we were at sick up together. And this is a trade school 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:40.890 It was frustrating fun and super fulfilling 00:16:42.060 --> 00:16:42.840 Three F words. 00:16:44.670 --> 00:16:55.140 Because we had students that were opting to come to these classes they were adults that were choosing to be in class for like three hours, Monday through Thursday night for a whole module. 00:16:56.040 --> 00:17:02.520 And they were really interested in English, they had probably taking English classes before, but those classes were mostly top by Ecuadorians 00:17:02.880 --> 00:17:16.350 Who weren't native speakers so they were like jumping like to get an experience with a native speaker. Yeah, and American the holy grail of foreign language learning. Yeah. And so, yeah, we didn't have a curriculum. There was no book. 00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:19.230 We didn't really have anything 00:17:20.970 --> 00:17:27.360 My first class I was was have 30 and 60 people showed up. I was like, this is gonna be a problem. 00:17:29.070 --> 00:17:38.580 And it was interesting. They're, they're kind of philosophy was like, oh, a lot of people show up on the first day, but people are going to drop so you'll be fine. You'll be okay. It's the same everywhere, I guess. Yeah, yeah. 00:17:38.970 --> 00:17:46.860 Yeah, and they're just like, you know, it'll be good. Don't worry about it. And it did dwindle down so that was good. I guess. 00:17:47.400 --> 00:18:02.220 I don't want people to leave the class, but it was also nice that I could kind of control class of 30 verses 16. And so, you know, where do you start, what do you teach someone the first time that they're learning English, I was like a notebook no curriculum. Hello. 00:18:03.750 --> 00:18:13.680 Numbers colors the verbs to be to have to walk to the all the like very basic things. So it's pretty proud of myself. By the time we were done with 00:18:14.280 --> 00:18:23.790 That semester because like we had gotten pretty far. And we were able to do things like a Halloween party, but it was also tied with their Dia de los Santos, which is like their Day of the Dead. 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:29.040 And we have Halloween party, but they also brought the string called color Miranda, which is like a 00:18:30.300 --> 00:18:45.420 Thick purple oatmeal fruit drink that they drink and then they had what they plan, which is his baby breads, they like big they make bread and the shape of a baby because it's like a. It's kind of like de de los ninos like it's like a day of the kids. 00:18:46.440 --> 00:18:55.770 So anyway, Ecuador was a trip. I got to travel all over the country, my host family was amazing. We lived like an hour from an active volcano so 00:18:56.460 --> 00:19:02.640 So no, no stress there a good time. No, I was not stress is like the best time of my life there. 00:19:02.940 --> 00:19:12.570 But it's funny. I remember looking out the window and day and being like, Oh my gosh, the volcano is like erupting right now. And the students are like it has allergies, like there's this ash that falls like 00:19:14.220 --> 00:19:15.660 Like there was a king. 00:19:16.710 --> 00:19:22.950 And so, and you could see lava coming out of it and everything. And so my students, I was like making a big deal out of it. And they said, 00:19:23.490 --> 00:19:29.730 Do you want to go see the volcano that was like, yes, so it can't go class and we went over to the volcano. We actually like drove over there. 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:41.550 And it was fascinating. It was like a thunder in the ground. So you could feel the ground rumbling. And anyway, it was, it was just, it was really a really awesome experience and 00:19:42.300 --> 00:19:53.310 We had a lot of friends who were kind of station throughout Ecuador, so it could go travel go visit people and then asked to do Peru, which was really cool. We did three weeks in Peru with my friend Krishna in Asia, so 00:19:53.940 --> 00:20:11.580 Yeah. It was a time of discovery growth trying something new going somewhere different like completely different and I had the time of my life. But I in late fall I was starting to think like, Okay, what's what's next after this, because I could see myself here a year or two, maybe three 00:20:13.350 --> 00:20:19.290 And I started reaching out to my community directors who are my resident directors there one in the same FROM PACIFIC. And I said, 00:20:19.890 --> 00:20:31.320 I want to do what you do, because I was an RA and I loved it. I thought it was so fun. I know you have these jobs, like how did you get that job. And so they were like, Well, you have to go get a degree in student affairs, I said. 00:20:32.610 --> 00:20:34.050 What is student affairs. 00:20:35.070 --> 00:20:36.360 What do you mean by half. 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:47.220 I have no idea what that means. And so started doing some research and found my real passion area which, like, don't get me wrong, I love psychology. I love teaching English 00:20:47.880 --> 00:20:55.500 But Student Affairs was my jam. That's like my sweet spot. So I'm sure there's a bit of overlap that you can see a lot of it. 00:20:56.310 --> 00:21:02.160 Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. There's a lot of overlap. And so I was just looking at my own experiences and college of 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:10.020 I did love being a student, but I also love just being involved being active and so I reached out to this to my audience. And they're like, Yeah, you should apply for 00:21:10.710 --> 00:21:25.200 Student affairs program. So I had applied to Oregon State. It was the only school I applied to because my host family got rid of the Wi Fi right as I was applying for my programs, which was like Okay, great. I guess Oregon State, it is 00:21:26.490 --> 00:21:34.530 It was. Yeah, it was good. You know, it actually worked out really well. I'm kind of things kind of fall into place. Whether you plan them or not. 00:21:35.430 --> 00:21:40.650 And I was able to do all my interviews via Skype, the Wi Fi was backup at that point. 00:21:41.550 --> 00:21:48.600 And so I got accepted and at that point I was like man would love to have stayed a little like another gear. Can I defer and they said no. 00:21:49.140 --> 00:21:57.450 You can't differ if you're going to come. You're going to come now. And so in July, you know, packed up all my stuff that my goodbyes. And I came back to Oregon. 00:21:58.170 --> 00:22:12.900 And really had an experience of culture shock coming back to the States. I feel like it was different. It was more intense coming back to the States than going to Ecuador. For me, I have heard that I have a friend here in Tucson. That wasn't principal at a school 00:22:14.550 --> 00:22:16.020 Public Private charter or something like that. 00:22:17.610 --> 00:22:18.510 Join the 00:22:20.190 --> 00:22:41.670 Peace Corps, he joined something one of those kind of ship you off to a place for her to, you know, and he he says exactly that. He says, Whenever I come back. That's so much harder. Yeah. Then acclimating to there. Yeah, because it's just it's just so loud and it's busy and there's options. 00:22:42.750 --> 00:22:50.430 When you live in a place like that. There's a lot of options. You just have what you have in learn to deal with it. But when you come back and you go to Walmart, you just look around like 00:22:52.950 --> 00:23:07.440 Yeah, well I just give me the corner shop and you know it's funny. I feel like a lot of the times, Americans. And I say, Americans as in people who are from the United States, because in Ecuador. They were like, you know, we're also Americans were South Americans. I was like, oh, 00:23:08.460 --> 00:23:18.690 Fair enough Eurocentric just our own sphere of influence of just thinking about ourselves. Um, it's, it's, it is what it is, but it. There's a whole wide world out there. I 00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:35.460 Had an advisor in my master's degree and master's program that he to drive that home. Yep. Every time somebody said, and it was typically, you know, a white student would say america he had to stop everything and skin which America. What are you talking about 00:23:36.780 --> 00:23:41.670 And at first, you're like why is he making this distinction we know what it means is colloquial, and he's like, No. 00:23:42.060 --> 00:23:49.230 You need to remember that this is loaded. You know, you need to get that out of your head. Yeah, I was. Yeah, I love that thought yeah it's in charge. 00:23:50.190 --> 00:24:02.730 I fail. Oh yeah, definitely. All right. Um, but it was it was interesting coming back with states because I was looking at all the all the American things and like separate myself from them, like those Americans over there like, oh, that's me. 00:24:03.750 --> 00:24:12.390 And so this recognition of like figuring out my experiences in Ecuador and it was significant me to lot to me. But also, like, oh, I had a lot of privilege over there and I 00:24:13.620 --> 00:24:21.180 You know, being white like there was a lot of privilege in in that, like, yeah, there was some discrimination, I guess, somewhat, but I mostly was seen as like 00:24:22.230 --> 00:24:29.820 Rich like girl who wanted to party and blah, blah, blah. Like, it was just like their various different stereotypical and you knew what they were expecting of you. 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:40.050 And it was just, it was, it was fascinating kind of turn of roles, but I would encourage any student to the if they have the opportunity and means and the privilege to go abroad. 00:24:40.410 --> 00:24:46.560 Do it push yourself try something different because you'll learn a lot about yourself and sometimes that learning 00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:52.710 You happen. It happens the moment and then you reflect on it and you kind of go through a second wave of of learning and thinking about 00:24:53.190 --> 00:25:04.170 Who you are, as someone from the United States. And what you want to pursue the privileges that you have those types of things. So, and even you know the the study abroad kind of 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:08.160 Situation opportunities call opportunities. 00:25:09.450 --> 00:25:15.750 Even if you don't have the means or whatever. At the time, there's all kinds of grants and 00:25:16.170 --> 00:25:23.790 And stuff that you can get. Now I'll try to put some stuff in the show notes for students that are yeah for anyone that's interested in that because, I mean, I never got to do it. And I was really bummed out about that. 00:25:24.780 --> 00:25:36.090 I had never even left the country until two or three years ago when I went to Bolivia with my wife, who's from Bolivia. Okay, cool. And we were there for like three weeks, which is, you know, far, far cry from a year. 00:25:37.350 --> 00:25:43.380 But long enough for me to to get a little bit acclimated and get over the initial culture shock and whatnot. 00:25:43.800 --> 00:25:53.160 Yeah, and it changes how you think about things. Yeah, I mean I think even a short amount of time is is beneficial, just to put yourself in a different situation, a different culture. 00:25:53.850 --> 00:26:02.610 A different mindset is really important and what's good about places like the survey is that there are resources for students to get sculpt like travel scholarships or 00:26:03.120 --> 00:26:08.400 That's what I meant. I didn't mean grants and scholarships. No, no. There's grants to there are. Yeah, the one I was thinking that I met 00:26:09.750 --> 00:26:14.850 And there's, there's, there's faculty who are working to make trips affordable for you and to really 00:26:15.570 --> 00:26:23.700 Supplemented through additional funding so that you can go to a castle in Paris. This is Dr. Brian Carter. He's a Faculty Fellow as well. And he asked for. 00:26:24.030 --> 00:26:34.170 A student faculty interaction grand I it was to take students to like a live castle tour in Paris, when he goes in the spring during spring break, too. Cool. And he does a lot of digital 00:26:34.740 --> 00:26:40.620 Literacy stuff and he does the Renaissance heart Harlem Renaissance through virtual reality so 00:26:41.070 --> 00:26:51.300 I think that's probably what he's most known for. Absolutely, yeah. Yeah, definitely. So yeah, there's there's opportunities out there for students, it's just kind of a matter of like navigating and finding out where those opportunities are and 00:26:52.320 --> 00:27:00.150 I am assuming my my contact information will be in the podcast notes and so please feel free to reach out to me, I'd happily connect you to those 00:27:00.540 --> 00:27:16.470 Resources I'll link to you. I mean, I liked everything. Obviously. Yeah, I want to share as much love as I possibly can. Totally, yeah. It makes me think just there tends to be I've found in all the conversations that I've had on this thing so far. 00:27:17.610 --> 00:27:27.960 There's a theme, maybe not a theme, maybe just a common thread of the benefit of doing something that's not necessarily doing something that's scary. 00:27:29.040 --> 00:27:39.720 But doing something that is and you don't even know if you're gonna like it. You don't know if it's going to be beneficial but it's just so foreign to you that jumping in with both feet. 00:27:40.800 --> 00:27:42.630 Turns out to be one of the best possible thing. 00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:45.150 I was. Yeah. 00:27:46.350 --> 00:28:00.450 I was a there's a lot of things in my life that are are like that and like whether is choosing to go to grad school when I hadn't had a chance to actually visit the campus or moving to Idaho, who I didn't know soul. There are coming to Tucson. 00:28:01.470 --> 00:28:07.710 That's what I did with Susan. Yeah. Didn't a single person here. Yeah, it sounds a little different for me because I have family here. 00:28:09.030 --> 00:28:16.470 Fun fact my mom was born and raised in Tucson. And my dad got his doctorate from UVA and so that's when they met and then 00:28:17.400 --> 00:28:27.990 They moved to New Mexico. So when I came to Tucson. I was, I had a little bit of family here and I have some family connections. And then, of course, I met my partner and then his family. 00:28:39.900 --> 00:28:41.070 My experience in Idaho. 00:28:43.020 --> 00:28:53.700 Which was after Oregon State. So I got my master's student in student affairs and then I went to my first position was 11 staff Hall director at the College of Idaho, which is in Caldwell, it's about an hour. 00:28:54.870 --> 00:28:59.940 An hour half an hour from the border of Oregon small farming town. It's about half an hour from Boise. 00:29:00.840 --> 00:29:12.210 And yeah, it was, it was a trip. I really love that campus and I love the people there. There were some of the most kind genuine and caring people I'd ever met who really cared about students 00:29:13.080 --> 00:29:19.350 And what was cool about that campuses because it's so small you were able to do a lot of different things were a lot of different hats. 00:29:19.890 --> 00:29:30.060 So even though I was like just a hall director, I was able to do gender inclusive housing on campus. I was able to implement our interfaith club and room. We created a storage closet into an interfaith 00:29:31.230 --> 00:29:36.810 Like spiritual room for anybody on campus that wanted to use that because there were a lot of students who didn't identify as Christian 00:29:37.440 --> 00:29:42.630 And they wanted to space to pray. So it was like, All right, well it looks like we have this really big. 00:29:43.320 --> 00:29:56.100 empty room. Let's make something of it. There were a couple of rooms in there and everything. So find a new home for the brooms, totally. Yeah. And so that was what was really awesome about that campus. It was just, it was so awesome. And there were 00:29:57.210 --> 00:30:01.890 Over 10% of the population was international so it really got to work, hands on. 00:30:02.490 --> 00:30:09.360 With a lot of international students. And that was just amazing. I loved that job. I would probably do that job for like the rest of my life. 00:30:10.170 --> 00:30:19.980 But instead you're stuck here with the problem was a little problem but Caldwell, the town that I lived in was there wasn't much for a young 20 something 00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:27.270 I didn't have much of a life there and I was wanting more that my colleagues and co workers were really amazing but 00:30:27.750 --> 00:30:33.540 They had lives. They were already settled down, they kind of had been Idaho people for a long time. And so it was just looking for something 00:30:34.140 --> 00:30:45.060 That I could have in my personal life because I was working a lot and I loved it. But it was like, Okay, I'm ready to be at a bigger school with a little more grad students are more professional more entry level professionals. 00:30:46.500 --> 00:30:50.430 And I started doing the search for an exposition, and my friend Luke. 00:30:50.880 --> 00:31:00.660 Who went to Oregon State with he had just gotten hired out to you and said, hey, there's a community director opening. Think about apply and and I applied and it just kind of like was serendipity, it all fell into place. 00:31:01.560 --> 00:31:09.900 And yeah, so I've been here for three years, almost three and a half. It's crazy. I moved here in June 2015 so almost three and a half years. 00:31:10.800 --> 00:31:21.840 But I started, even though, as a community, director, it was like similar title or similar similar job description from Idaho. I can't say how different those experiences were 00:31:22.920 --> 00:31:23.370 Because 00:31:24.450 --> 00:31:32.010 I was put into Arizona Sonora Hall, which is a big building. It's at the time had 500 residents. 00:31:32.730 --> 00:31:44.520 Half of the building was triples half of the building was singles or doubles and they were 70% Greek life students and there were 500 518 year olds. 00:31:45.240 --> 00:31:56.160 As well as, you know, managing a staff of 16 or as a grad student, the staff that was there for all the facilities management, but also the cleaning the custodial staff. We had a desk staff. It was huge. 00:31:56.970 --> 00:31:59.850 And so a new as the dirty, you're in charge of 00:32:00.720 --> 00:32:10.500 All of that, or at least in. Uh huh. Yeah, kind of organizing it all. Yes, I'm not in charge of like the maintenance and facilities crew specifically but I work alongside them so you know if there's like 00:32:11.490 --> 00:32:22.800 A flood or something. We work together to like mitigate that issue or if someone's room is cold, then you would kind of call facilities to check out the heater to something I appreciate this wall. It's cool. Yeah. 00:32:23.190 --> 00:32:42.750 So yeah, so that was a trip. It was a lot of it was really fun. They were really rambunctious group and they were all about. They're really communal and I really loved about easy so I feel like there's this persona of this building in people's mind of, like, ooh, Rowdy party to arm. Yes. 00:32:44.430 --> 00:32:52.560 Yeah, but it's not just that it was. I loved how open the students were to each other to talking to. They were just like, ready to be friends with everybody. 00:32:53.370 --> 00:33:03.540 And the areas that I had a really exceptional. So it was a good experience. I just was ready at three and a half years of living on campus, including Idaho to not do that anymore. 00:33:05.880 --> 00:33:15.000 That's understand. Yeah, and you know it was a lot of concepts. So I did a lot of like meetings with students about like, why did you rip down the paper towel dispenser or 00:33:15.420 --> 00:33:22.770 Where's the fountain from the third. Why did you punch a hole in the wall or you can't smoke in the building, you know, things like that. And so 00:33:23.040 --> 00:33:28.290 I was spending a lot of my time and energy was being drained, because I was having to have those like conversations with students that 00:33:29.280 --> 00:33:32.610 Or just making trouble. And I was like, Okay, I'm kind of ready to not do that. 00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:42.900 I had a duty weekend. So, as a community, director, you take duty and you have a phone and people can call you from across campus. There's two for this campus of 7000 on campus residents. 00:33:43.410 --> 00:33:58.830 And when we can. I got 123 phone calls from Friday morning to Monday morning, and it had anything you could imagine any type of issue drugs, alcohol, domestic violence party, whatever it was, it was, it was in that weekend and I was like, Okay, I'm 00:34:00.390 --> 00:34:12.900 Ready to do something else. So yeah, then I kind of shifted gears and I was looking and disposition came available and I had Faculty Fellows as a site host. I was a creative director and I had Faculty Fellows in the dorm with me and 00:34:14.010 --> 00:34:22.470 I love them. They were so wonderful and just these faculty members who were choosing to spend their time with students outside the classroom, just because they like students so much 00:34:23.610 --> 00:34:27.930 And so it's weird for a faculty member to like students right. I know. 00:34:29.310 --> 00:34:36.900 Yeah and you know what's what's awesome about the Fellows Program is a really diverse group of faculty. They're not all tenure track. They're not all research, they're not 00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:51.300 All career track and just teaching real mix. And so I applied to that job. And again, it was one of those like this is happening. Okay. I guess I'll be doing this and it worked out really well. So the last two years, I've 00:34:52.620 --> 00:35:00.960 Yeah, yeah. It's been two years it's been two years since I've been in the position. I've been running the programs and gather. They're fun and challenging and 00:35:02.100 --> 00:35:06.750 The program's themselves. The faculty are pretty awesome night little shout out to my fellows over there. 00:35:07.680 --> 00:35:16.890 But I also received a grant program, the student faculty interaction grant. And I don't think a lot of folks know about that program, but trying to get the word out. I didn't know about it until you mentioned it at fellows lunch. 00:35:17.220 --> 00:35:25.770 Yeah, we're gonna be doing a lot of work on that in the next coming weeks will really this year we're just kind of reimagining what the SSI grant is 00:35:26.370 --> 00:35:32.760 And that's what the new supervisor, who's really supportive of kind of revamping things and changing it and making it accessible to the masses. 00:35:33.420 --> 00:35:41.460 while also providing more structure to it. So really looking forward to see what we come up with and how we can kind of revamp it and make it accessible so 00:35:42.300 --> 00:35:57.630 Yeah, it's been good. I love that. So this is your second year, or you, this is like your third year you've been here two full years and this is your third in this position. Yeah, I just hit the two year mark. So I'm entering my third year okay so I started in December 2016 00:35:58.680 --> 00:36:10.500 And now it looks almost December 2018 okay are you starting November some yeah yeah cuz I'm like, does that mean we started at the same time when you were when you're behind me. Yeah, yeah, you said two years. This is my second year. 00:36:11.520 --> 00:36:19.740 Yeah, I've been in a position to two full years and then I've been in the I'll be entering my third year. So yeah, and there's 00:36:20.520 --> 00:36:33.720 The fellows are like I said, the first group. There's folks have been the program for like 23 years there are folks who have been in three months. So it's pretty. I really like that. There's a wide array of experiences identities. 00:36:34.650 --> 00:36:45.360 You know expert areas. So it's pretty awesome. There's a lot of a lot going on within the fellows program and and when I was offered the opportunity 00:36:46.710 --> 00:36:55.290 There a lot of people didn't know what it was, basically. Yeah. Yeah. Like even even on my campus. They were like, what's this thing. Yeah, I understand. Yeah. 00:36:55.950 --> 00:37:05.280 So it started in the 80s. Yeah. It was founded in 1984 so this old. Is there any other initiatives like that that's on campus. That's that old 00:37:05.790 --> 00:37:13.710 I'm sure there is. But I think this program is unique in the fact that it brings faculty together for like strictly non academic purposes. 00:37:14.310 --> 00:37:23.400 And I really like to think of it as like a bridge between student affairs and academic affairs so academic affairs is like what you do, what classes you take 00:37:24.300 --> 00:37:32.700 The colleges that you're in those types of things. And in student affairs is essentially everything else. So it's all the things that you can do on campus like 00:37:33.120 --> 00:37:39.480 Housing or Multicultural Affairs or leadership programs or a student engagement. 00:37:40.290 --> 00:37:47.340 Enrollment Management does are all kind of part of this other area of Academic Affairs and student affairs so they don't 00:37:47.820 --> 00:37:54.780 I think a lot of people don't know that that's the thing, and it is there's people from across campus who built their whole careers careers in student affairs. 00:37:55.590 --> 00:38:05.070 So yeah, it's, it's been it's been around for 34 years and started in the Dean of Students and started with for faculty members that were stationed in dorms. 00:38:05.940 --> 00:38:15.450 And they sat in their office. And it was kind of like every other faculty office across campus where they kind of have to do some experimenting and see, like, what does this what actually works because 00:38:15.870 --> 00:38:22.830 Me just being here like doesn't really do much like I have to be active have to go out and see people or just or just bring 00:38:23.280 --> 00:38:33.510 Freshly baked cookies. Sure waft the smell. Absolutely into the toy. Yes, that will bring them. Yeah, from what I understood. Absolutely. Yeah, and it's it's really evolved over the years, which is so cool. 00:38:34.290 --> 00:38:44.670 You see kind of faculty come in and like I don't really know if I'm doing this right. Or, you know, my first year was a little rough. I have to kind of figure out what works for my team or my site. 00:38:45.060 --> 00:38:52.650 And so each fellow kind of puts their own flavor of what they do for their role as a fellow, and we have some that do like 00:38:53.490 --> 00:39:00.000 Maker in burrito night. Sure. Yeah, they do everything Canyon. Yeah, yeah. 00:39:00.540 --> 00:39:05.280 There's like Don McCarthy and Coronado he always make s'mores on Monday nights, that's his thing. 00:39:05.610 --> 00:39:14.400 He walks around with a little cart and he rings a bell, and then the students know that he's there because of the bell, it's routine. It's what they know. Please tell me he dresses up for Halloween, like the 00:39:14.820 --> 00:39:20.550 Grim Reaper and I don't know. I'd have to ask box around the door. Yeah, I'd have to ask him about that. 00:39:21.210 --> 00:39:25.860 Yeah, like, it's like I feel like it's a giant missed opportunity if he doesn't. Yeah, yeah. There's also like 00:39:26.610 --> 00:39:34.350 A fox in Goshen, and I'd pray there who are in the vet center. So we have Faculty Fellows at the center to help students who are 00:39:34.920 --> 00:39:43.410 former military and they do like weekly roundtables with that. So they kind of just talk to them about what's going on in the world. How can they connect them to resources. 00:39:44.130 --> 00:39:53.400 And also just like, What can we do as faculty, how can we support you. And so they've created like a piece called a peer advocate liaison program. So it's like 00:39:54.060 --> 00:40:08.130 They are kind of coaching. Other Bets to help new that's come in and transition to the institution because that transition from active duty to civilian life is obviously a huge one. And so, like, that's just an example of what they're doing. 00:40:09.300 --> 00:40:20.850 Yeah, there's, I mean each fellow again, they have their own spin. There's a fellow who brings in like a chef to teach students how to cook affordable meals, like how to amp things up. There's a fellow 00:40:22.740 --> 00:40:26.100 There's a fellow Brian St. Louis, a podcaster students where they're at. So 00:40:26.730 --> 00:40:33.330 Yeah, I really love that we kind of provide the skeleton. And then the third is can kind of fill in. What do they do, what's their approach and how can they connect to students. 00:40:33.900 --> 00:40:44.070 For their site because a dorm is just not the same as QA online or the vet center or the African American student affairs, like they're all different. 00:40:44.820 --> 00:40:55.530 And it would be wrong for me to tell everyone you must do this this way and that way. Like, that's the whole point. It's customizable to the sites and the students that are there and you know it might just be me, but I 00:40:57.240 --> 00:40:58.530 It seems rare. 00:40:59.790 --> 00:41:07.680 To find that kind of program that is willing to just say, here's some money, do a thing we trust you. 00:41:09.750 --> 00:41:22.830 And you do a thing. And maybe it works. Maybe it doesn't, then you do another thing and you use the money and and they're both of those programs are kind of like that by other programs like that too and I is unique. I think it's very unique that we say like, okay, we've kind of trained 00:41:24.570 --> 00:41:36.510 And you know, I always tell fellows. I'm like, make it fun. You do not have to be lecturing, like, don't, don't, don't, don't, please do not lecture on like Renaissance art at 8am on a Tuesday morning like 00:41:36.900 --> 00:41:39.000 It's not going to go well that's interesting is that maybe 00:41:39.840 --> 00:41:44.910 This is not replacing all the time. Yeah. Like, what do you like to do. What are some hobbies. What do you want to bring to the site. 00:41:45.120 --> 00:41:55.050 So that you can catch students and kind of get them excited about it. I have a fellow who is really into astrology and she like read students charts. Because who doesn't want to hear about 00:41:55.560 --> 00:42:07.500 Their own like identities of, oh, you're an Aries with whatever I don't even know astrology very well, but it's it's pretty fun and students like are really active and engaged in those types of things. So 00:42:08.040 --> 00:42:12.930 Yeah, it's it's really a build your own kind of model of what works best for your students, which I really love. 00:42:13.560 --> 00:42:18.270 I think it's worth. It's worth doing a shout out to the site host as well. Oh, yes, we couldn't 00:42:18.960 --> 00:42:25.770 Do different work for them absolutely logistically. There's just, there's no way. Yeah. So yeah, I thank you for saying that because 00:42:26.520 --> 00:42:32.160 I think it's crucial the fellows program would it be the the program without the site host. So we have 00:42:32.940 --> 00:42:38.670 All those student affairs folk that I was talking about earlier, the people who are not in the classroom, who are not professors 00:42:39.240 --> 00:42:48.510 Those are the site hosts. Those are my people who got their degrees in higher education or student affairs and are choosing to work on a college campus and so 00:42:49.200 --> 00:42:55.770 Again, it's all the dorm. So all the Community directors all the people who run the buildings. Then we have all the directors and coordinators of all the specialized centers. 00:42:56.700 --> 00:43:03.990 And then anyone in between their students that help out with that. So yeah, really couldn't do the program without the site host 00:43:04.590 --> 00:43:12.300 And I just can't say enough good things about that because I was one as well. And sometimes it's a little bit of a thankless job. So I really am trying to work. 00:43:12.630 --> 00:43:22.500 To create some recognition for all the work that the site is do to make the best program run because we couldn't do without them. And that's what was really nice, actually. Um, excuse me. 00:43:24.120 --> 00:43:28.170 three episodes ago when I had just, you know, I, we 00:43:29.250 --> 00:43:36.930 We met each other at fellows. I didn't know each other before that. And then she was referred to me by Angela thunder. 00:43:38.160 --> 00:43:48.150 And then when she came in. I was like, Oh, that's right. We're yeah okay we know each other from the fellows. I didn't even occur to me that that was her some reason I don't know why. Um, and then 00:43:49.200 --> 00:44:02.640 Turns out her site host Nikki was on the next episode. Oh, cool. So it was it was it was a nice fall fellows. Kinda, yeah. Back to back episodes. Yeah, yeah. Again, just thank you for saying that like, and I just 00:44:03.210 --> 00:44:17.610 Trying to like figure out what we can do to recognize the site host because they are just so important. We couldn't do what we do without them. So shout out to all use that house out there. Thank you. Yeah. And if there's any of you out there that would like to do what Caitlin's yeah 00:44:18.900 --> 00:44:30.000 I'm more than happy to talk because I think that you're exactly right. I think a lot of beyond just being a site host. I think a lot of what 00:44:30.870 --> 00:44:39.270 Staff especially do at the university just goes not unnoticed, but it's it's the effects that are seen and not the work, not the person 00:44:39.630 --> 00:44:45.840 Totally behind it 100% so the student gets their financial aid find student gets their medical withdrawal taking care of fine. 00:44:46.590 --> 00:44:57.210 But there's a person behind that there's there's someone out there that has either hit the button or walk across campus or send the email and they don't get enough credit. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you're preaching to the choir. 00:44:58.590 --> 00:45:11.310 Yeah, I agree. I totally agree. So yeah, there's, there's just so much to do and so much to thank staff for because they do a lot and the fellows, of course, they put a ton of work into but the site hosts are really 00:45:11.790 --> 00:45:19.410 They make things run, they are the unsung heroes in the background. Yeah. And I, when I think of like my own college experience. I don't know if you feel like this yourself, but 00:45:19.770 --> 00:45:32.430 I had a lot of staff members who really took me under their wing and shaped me and supported me as well as faculty right so like I talked about Dr. A big and dr, dr island. 00:45:32.970 --> 00:45:39.870 But then also, like I had all the Community directors that were there for me advisors and really directed me to the field that I found today. 00:45:40.320 --> 00:45:46.500 And so there's a lot of research out there like let me just get a little academic about the importance on this podcast. I know. 00:45:47.130 --> 00:45:54.690 The importance of student faculty interaction and just how how important that is to help students feel engaged and cared for. 00:45:55.470 --> 00:46:09.210 And that they want to get involved because someone has notices them and sees them. It sounds so simple, like that if someone cares about you, you feel like you matter if someone doesn't care about you, you don't feel like you might and so 00:46:10.170 --> 00:46:18.000 And if someone cares about you, then you feel a sense of belonging, you feel a sense of connection to your community to the survey. And so lots of research about that. 00:46:18.420 --> 00:46:23.490 And I would argue it's the same thing for Student Affairs to like professionals who really take the time to 00:46:23.910 --> 00:46:31.440 To get to know you interact with you like those are my people and I can't thank people enough everyone along my journey. 00:46:32.190 --> 00:46:41.310 For really taking the time to work with me, get to know me and who still choose to engage with me now, like, yeah, I'm a fact I'm a professional. But there's so many people out there. 00:46:41.970 --> 00:46:48.510 Shout out to my boss, Dr. Matt across. She's amazing. And she really just invested in me and 00:46:48.840 --> 00:46:58.440 It makes me want to invest in other people, it's really much like a pay it forward type of situation that's literally the phrase that just popped in my head. Yeah, it's like before. Yeah. And so, you know, there's just 00:46:59.880 --> 00:47:15.480 You. I feel like student affairs and universities in general is just like a feel good. Like there. If you feel connected right that's the caveat, and we need to recognize like you think you have a and the university system in the US as a whole is is a very privileged place to be. 00:47:17.430 --> 00:47:22.230 And I recognized my privilege. I was like a white woman like yeah i i have a lot of privilege in that 00:47:22.560 --> 00:47:28.830 And just my access to college, like you know that my dad had kind of coached me into being this and like we had the scholarship that was got me there. 00:47:29.700 --> 00:47:36.030 But, but, yeah, if we can help connect and support marginalized populations and minority populations to 00:47:36.660 --> 00:47:48.090 cultural centers or to a faculty member that looks like them. Little things like that or or doesn't look like temperatures can like help support them or connect them to resources like it's just so important and so 00:47:49.050 --> 00:47:57.720 Yes, we need to recognize like the privilege base of higher education, but we also is our due diligence and it's our job to really connected students and faculty and staff. 00:47:58.320 --> 00:48:08.580 To each other. So yeah, I would say one of my passion areas is is social justice and just kind of examining the Academy of higher education. And what that looks like. 00:48:09.630 --> 00:48:14.100 And also just looking at whiteness of of the university because 00:48:15.360 --> 00:48:26.070 Again colleges were built by and for white men, back in the day, back in the 16 1700s, but we still see those effects today. And so how can we really take that 00:48:27.000 --> 00:48:35.490 And flip it on its head and make it accessible and welcoming for everybody. So I feel like that's another podcast but I feel like that probably is. Yeah. 00:48:36.600 --> 00:48:39.690 Yeah, so this is my passion areas and like as I study 00:48:40.860 --> 00:48:49.290 Like I'm really have more critical eye about higher education as as now I have these five, six years of experience. Now, going back to school, like I really want to 00:48:49.650 --> 00:48:55.080 Kind of take my experiences and the experiences I've heard of students and faculty and staff so far and kind of 00:48:55.440 --> 00:49:03.150 Apply that to the lens of being a student and examining what higher education is and how we can kind of work to break down those barriers that were built. 00:49:04.140 --> 00:49:09.030 For privilege and how can we make that accessible to the masses and it's things like making 00:49:09.780 --> 00:49:18.990 Up online thing. Like that's more accessible to a lot of people because they live far away, or they can't make it to campus. They have a child that any child care, whatever the case may be. 00:49:19.770 --> 00:49:26.340 That's just like one. One example of things we're doing, but also like the Cultural Resource Center is like creating space for people 00:49:27.420 --> 00:49:33.480 If you look at the UVA it's it's a white space, even though we're now at Hispanic serving institution which is amazing. 00:49:34.260 --> 00:49:44.760 But like it was primarily built on a bigger like I guess setting for like for just privileged people. And so now it's like, how are we carving up the space for people who 00:49:45.150 --> 00:49:53.310 were excluded from the get go. And how do we continue to do that and just kind of make this place more accessible and welcoming for for everybody, more inclusive. 00:49:53.940 --> 00:50:03.870 And more universally designed and it's, I mean, I don't know how much this applies to staff student relationships because it's, I don't think there's the same 00:50:04.980 --> 00:50:08.340 Basis for relationship there i mean it's it's more, it's more 00:50:11.220 --> 00:50:22.140 Exchange based you know they need something you can provide it. Yeah, but for like faculty, I tell students constantly I'm like this, the best thing that you can possibly do aside from doing the reading. Yeah, yeah. 00:50:22.650 --> 00:50:29.670 Besides being a student besides reading the syllabus and actually doing the reading the best thing that you can do is go to your professors office hours. 00:50:30.330 --> 00:50:39.390 Absolutely go hang out with, you know, say, Hey, do you have a minute. I just want to chat, because I mean that you build a relationship, you get to know them. And then I think I might have said this before on the pod. 00:50:40.800 --> 00:50:47.910 Two years from now four years from now when you need a letter of recommendation or you need some advice or something like that. Sure. If you hear all that Professor they're probably going to do it. 00:50:48.270 --> 00:50:56.190 Right. But if you never showed up. You never came to class, the professor doesn't even know who you are. Aside from a user ID or a student number 00:50:57.000 --> 00:51:01.470 They're not gonna have anything to base that off. Yeah, it's all about networking. This connects you with that person than 00:51:02.070 --> 00:51:06.120 99 times out of 100 even if the faculty doesn't know the answer to your question. 00:51:06.570 --> 00:51:12.660 Or cannot help you with that they will say hold on let me, let me write down email address emailed this person. Sure. Tell him I sent you. 00:51:13.140 --> 00:51:22.170 And they'll get you what you need. Yeah, yeah, I totally agree with that. I don't think there's it's rare to find someone on campus that you ask them a question and they're just like, Nope, can't help you by going 00:51:22.980 --> 00:51:33.720 Not my job, not, not my circus, not my monkeys good anyway, right. So I think yeah that's that's the beauty of, of the, of a feel like that's very applicable here as well as a lot of other college campuses is 00:51:34.380 --> 00:51:45.120 People aren't going to lead you astray. But you have to be willing to make those connections and just get over your fear your initial reaction of, like, oh, like my faculties at the front of the room like 00:51:46.110 --> 00:51:54.180 You know, I'm just a student like no like their people to go talk to them. And I do that too. I have to say, like, this is not a 00:51:54.750 --> 00:52:01.410 One and done type situation where, like, as a student. I was like, I'm so intimidated talk to faculty. I still feel like that and then voila, you're not know 00:52:02.310 --> 00:52:09.180 Yeah, I still feel like that, as far as this as a as a staff member and I'm sure you feel like that as a faculty that there's just people were like, oh, 00:52:09.810 --> 00:52:16.290 My gosh, yeah. There's no fancy or I don't I don't I don't have anything intelligent to say, but at the same time, like they're going to embrace you. 00:52:17.040 --> 00:52:26.820 And if they don't, then. Okay, let's go find you. Someone else to talk to you. But overall, like it's all about just making that connection, just like you said networking feels a little like 00:52:28.080 --> 00:52:41.610 I think, yeah, I hate the word, but it's yeah leadership buildings. Yeah. So clunky, it is lucky. Yeah. So there's, I just, there's so much inherent value of connecting with other people building those relationships. 00:52:42.450 --> 00:52:48.480 Whether that's your faculty, whether that's your peers like ask someone to study with that's up there reading like 00:52:49.050 --> 00:52:59.220 Working together a little library, you know, just to sit and sit in the same study room. You don't even have to help each other just be there. Yes. Be press and that yeah it's a huge thing because you 00:53:00.210 --> 00:53:07.680 Like we said on the way over here, call it the most important thing about college as the experience. Yeah. Most important thing about higher education is the experience 00:53:09.000 --> 00:53:17.070 The skills that you develop the things that you learn those are good and they will help you only if you apply them the experience is with you, no matter what. 00:53:17.730 --> 00:53:26.760 Sure, yeah. I had to do anything for that to be there. Absolutely. And just like so many resources. This institution has so many resources for students and 00:53:27.120 --> 00:53:31.500 I think people know maybe like 1% of what's available to them. Oh, I'm learning about new phone. 00:53:31.920 --> 00:53:37.320 All the time, same, same, right, and like you've been here six years I've been here three years, like we're all learning right but 00:53:37.890 --> 00:53:44.070 Things like your academic advisor, like, go talk to them because they can help you and they can keep you on track. So like 00:53:44.400 --> 00:53:52.710 You know, if, if you walk in your senior year. And you're like, I'm going to graduate this semester. But then they look at your transcript and they're like, Oh, you haven't take math English, Spanish 00:53:53.880 --> 00:54:02.940 Or the other required class like it and you still have two classes to do so they're going to help keep you on track. So if you're talking to them or regularly, they can kind of connect you and see like 00:54:03.450 --> 00:54:11.880 Okay, I know you don't like math. But get this done your freshman year sophomore year. It's not like the one hurdle, you have to jump over after you finished all of your classes. 00:54:12.240 --> 00:54:15.300 That is that is literally my exact college experience right 00:54:16.110 --> 00:54:23.340 Yeah and you know it's it's this idea of having a growth mindset. You know, I think a lot of people are scared of like math and science right because 00:54:23.670 --> 00:54:31.050 Those are, quote unquote, the hard classes, those are the classes are going to be the leader classes, the ones that lead you out and like 00:54:31.770 --> 00:54:37.770 I can speak from experience like that was my experience with chemistry right let me quickly go back to the beginning of the podcast but 00:54:38.640 --> 00:54:47.490 There are people who can help you and the think tank has stood it has like tutors and there's also academic success and achievement there around 00:54:47.970 --> 00:54:56.490 There's so many resources out there for you. And it's just like, just take it on and just just get it done. And then from just purely logistical standpoint. 00:54:57.420 --> 00:55:10.350 For the students, you're already paying for it, it's rolled into your Swisher totally you are paying for this you should use it. Yeah, that's what tells it like you have access to the Adobe Creative Cloud. I don't care if you don't need to know Photoshop you should down 00:55:11.370 --> 00:55:20.130 I shouldn't have this stuff, you should use it because you are you are paying for. Yeah. Yeah. And one thing I want to dimension to was this idea of of a growth mindset. 00:55:20.730 --> 00:55:24.720 So like I said math and science are scary. 00:55:25.320 --> 00:55:33.090 But what would it be if you went into a classroom, saying, yeah, I can do this. Like, I'm going to get the help and the support that I need. I'm going to study. I'm going to put in the work. 00:55:33.420 --> 00:55:36.780 Like I can do it, versus being like, Oh no, I have to take math and like 00:55:37.260 --> 00:55:45.510 Putting it off and not really taking like just really not engaging with the subject until you have to. And that's too late to study for an exam. That's the next day. 00:55:45.900 --> 00:55:58.020 So what if, what if you are good at math. Like, think of it that way. Like you, you can be successful and you will be successful if you just put in the work and the time, but I think that's like 00:55:58.500 --> 00:56:04.260 It's so critical because it's human nature to go to that negative place of, Oh, I can't do this. I can't do that. What blah. 00:56:04.740 --> 00:56:15.810 And I do that too. Like right we're all human we all do it. But what would it be if if math wasn't an obstacle, but it was an opportunity and I say that because, like, I'm not taking math right now but 00:56:17.400 --> 00:56:32.160 But you, you, you can do it, you can do it. And there are support systems in place to make sure that you succeed. So just get it done just just power through it, instead of like putting it off because that's the one class that's holding you back from graduating. Like, that's terrible. 00:56:33.210 --> 00:56:43.080 So just trying try and do it. Do it early, do the hard things face to face them head on and if you fail once right it's okay like you can grr the class, you can retake it 00:56:44.130 --> 00:56:48.990 You can you can recover from it. It's not the end of the world if you feel class I felt a class of Phil couple. So it's like 00:56:49.500 --> 00:56:57.270 And here I am getting a doctorate. So I think it's just, it's important to normalize this idea of failure like absolute and mistakes like it's okay. 00:56:57.900 --> 00:57:06.090 It's okay if you make a mistake. Just learn from it and try not to repeat it. And if you do. Okay. What else can you learn from it and just kind of move on from there. So, 00:57:06.600 --> 00:57:09.150 Yeah, I think that's just really important and I say that 00:57:09.870 --> 00:57:14.610 As a former student as a current student and then as a staff member and I've also taught classes, too, and 00:57:14.940 --> 00:57:20.130 You know, I watched students just like founder, because they're just like afraid of something or they don't want to ask for help. And it's like, no, no. 00:57:20.730 --> 00:57:29.640 If you just asked me help. Like I would have clarified this instruction that you've been and, you know, just like thinking about for hours and hours like we could have medicated this, you could have just been gotten it done. 00:57:30.060 --> 00:57:35.790 So just don't be afraid to ask for help. I guess that's my biggest takeaway. And that's that goes along with what I was saying time 00:57:36.810 --> 00:57:43.560 Your faculty wants you to succeed. Yeah. They want you to pass the class. They're not going to just give you a 00:57:44.190 --> 00:57:52.980 You know, you're going to get what you earn, but they want to make that happen. They want to support you. They want you to get that help if you need it. Oh, yeah. And even if they 00:57:53.400 --> 00:58:04.290 can't necessarily be the person to do that. They will point you in directions and this is maybe a TA, or the air make a student study group. Here's this service and so on and so forth. So the students support. 00:58:05.310 --> 00:58:22.830 There is no there's no shortage of students support the key, I think, like you said is, is making sure that students know about it. Yeah. Don't know how to get there know who to talk to, and not be afraid to ask for help. Exactly, yep, that's exactly that was my final what I was gonna feel 00:58:23.850 --> 00:58:35.640 Like the sports are in place. And now that you're educating yourself now you just you have to be able to take the next step to actually seek those out and ask for help if you need it. So we've all done. Everyone should, yeah. 00:58:37.500 --> 00:58:42.420 I'm doing it right now is a doctoral student to, you know, it's like, I don't really know. Let me ask my professor or 00:58:42.900 --> 00:58:52.110 Now, having a rough week like, Can I have an extension on this assignment know it. Yeah, sure. Yeah, go for it just means I don't have to create the day the time. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, it's 00:58:52.920 --> 00:59:02.880 But just really thrilled to be here and to be on the podcast. I would love to come back and if I if I can answer any questions for students or staff or faculty who are listening. 00:59:03.540 --> 00:59:15.480 Please, please don't hesitate to reach out. I have a broad network and I worked all across campus, which is unique to my position. So yeah, just, yeah. I don't know if any final thoughts. I'll vouch for you. 00:59:17.100 --> 00:59:32.280 I'll vouch for you. Yeah, yeah, I got. She's awesome. Yeah, so I'll put all of everything we talked about virtually in the show notes and everything. So if anybody has any questions about how to get involved, how to learn more about the SSI grant for sure. Yeah, or 00:59:33.360 --> 00:59:39.240 To interest in being a site hosts are interested in being a fellow are interested in learning about you know who I live here. 00:59:39.960 --> 00:59:44.940 Who's my fellow. Yeah. How can I get involved. I don't know what this is about. They can 00:59:45.600 --> 00:59:54.420 All go to you please bring it on. I'm ready to connect to us. We talked about relationship building, and building a web our network for the obey like I'm a girl so 00:59:54.840 --> 01:00:02.880 I will happily connect anyone and happy to just take the time to sit down for coffee. If you are looking for a staff member on campus, just to ask questions to 01:00:03.750 --> 01:00:14.730 Yeah, I, I love working with faculty, but I also love working with students. So if I can be a resource to any of you do not hesitate to reach out so so you heard the one. Yeah. Bring it on. Yeah. Bring it on. 01:00:15.900 --> 01:00:16.950 Thank you. Thank you.