Support and Confidence

  

This time tomorrow I will be flying to Anaheim, CA to attend ACUHO-I's Annual Conference and Exposition. For all kinds of reasons, I am very excited! I lately have been thinking about my first exposure to ACUHO-I when I attended STARS College in 2006 in Atlanta. I decided to revisit an online journal I kept sporadically in college and found this entry...(pasted unedited below for your reading enjoyment):

 

"STARS

Guess What?! in less than 10 hours I'll be sitting on a plane headed towards Atlanta! YA!!

 

I'm excited. you already knew that. However, i doubt many people really understand why i'm excited.

For the next few days when I talk about what I want to do after I graduate from Truman and even after graduate school, no one will roll their eyes at me. No one will tell me to 'grow up, move on, and leave college behind.' There will be no comments of " 'Student Affairs'---every SA's back-up plan." No questions like "so you are going to be a college babysitter for all of your life?" or "but what can you do with that degree?" or "will you make money for that?" or "Can't you find a real career?"

 

For the next few days what I want to do won't be laughed at. I'll have no need to defend myself.

At least this is what I'm hoping to find..."

 

 

I remember STARS fondly, including attending the ACUHO-I opening reception/session in the Georgia Aquarium (so many housing professionals in one place....I was mesmerized). Through STARS I found, among other things, the support I was looking for. I returned home so confident about my desire to pursue a career in student affairs, a confidence that continues to fuel professional pursuits today.

 

More and more I realize support and confidence is what student affairs and related professional organizations are all about.

Support:

 

• Providing resources to meet any individual's needs.
• Providing guidance and advice free of judgment.
• Being our students and colleagues' biggest cheerleaders--wanting whatever is best for them and celebrating achievements of all magnitudes.
• Respecting everyone's individual journey yet rejoicing in the interdependence within our relationships.

Confidence:

• Helping others identify their strengths and develop related skills.
• Publicly appreciating the interests and contributions of those around us.
• Having faith that what we do makes a difference, even when it feels like you are trying to fill a swimming pool using an eye dropper.
• Developing ways to use confidence for good, not evil.

 I'd say I'm grateful for STARS or ACUHO-I or my graduate program or this supervisor or that mentor or that student, but really I am simply grateful for it all. STARS and subsequent undergraduate opportunities certainly ignited something within me, but that foundation was there before I traveled to Atlanta. I just needed some help in recognizing all sorts of support that surround me and I needed that boost in confidence....both things we all need. With this in mind, I look forward to attending this year's conference and all I will contribute and undoubtedly gain from the experience.