What do I know? I’m just a grad student

I probably use this line at least once a day. 90% of the time it’s in jest. It really has become more of an inside joke than anything else with a few friends. But really, what do I know? I am after all just a grad student. I started my graduate program in Fall 2009 and simultaneously began work at the same institution as a GA in the Student Involvement Office. (Oh, and I also work as a “part-time” Residence Director… Yes, I do have a life outside Student Affairs). In my four years of undergrad, I threw myself into Residence Life – I would eat, sleep, breathe and live ResLife. I was never really able to get directly involved in campus programs (some failed attempts at board positions) or orientation (would have had to choose between reslife and orientation… no brainer for me).

Needless to say, I was incredibly nervous about starting my GA in Student Involvement. I was really excited to work with the professionals in my office and get my feet wet in this area of student affairs, but I was still incredibly nervous.  Ask anyone in my office, I was basically mute the first month or so in the office (not too mention slightly overwhelmed). I think my biggest fear was failure. It absolutely terrifies me. I know that failure is important for learning, but the prospect of failing makes my heart beat a bit faster and cause serious internal freak-outs. And really, what did I know? I was a new grad student with practically no experience in this functional area!

It probably was not until mid to late October when I realized that what I didn’t know didn’t matter. And truth be told, I proved to myself I knew a lot. Homecoming is kind of a big deal at Bridgewater and it is the responsibility of the GA to organize various vendors to donate their time and their flat beds to the parade to serve as floats. Everything was booked by the beginning of the month, trucks were to be delivered for float building on Friday of Homecoming. I called to confirm in the beginning of the week and 2 of the 4 vendors backed out at the last minute. After a minor freak-out because of my epic fail I jumped into crisis-management mode.  I used some common sense, knowledge from past experiences, a little bit of begging, and just found a way to fix the problem (U-Haul basically became the unofficial sponsor of the parade).  No it wasn’t perfect and it certainly didn’t go as planned, but I realized I knew more than I thought I did. I have had to problem solve with programming in ResLife tons of times – why should this be any different?

So what do I know?
-Failing still isn’t all that fun, but is certainly a learning experience
-Experience is a student affairs grad students best friend
-There is a lot of overlap in student affairs functional areas
-Nothing is ever going to perfectly as planned (even if you have a series of back up plans)
-Challenges make life and my job interesting

I definitely don’t know everything about everything and I’m okay with that. I know as Student Affairs professional I’ve signed up for the life-long subscription to learning and I am definitely okay with that.