Friday night was graduation at Braden Auditorium for Heartland students. I have to be honest when I say that I wasn't so excited to help (mostly because I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing) and I didn't really feel like giving up my Friday evening for it. But since I made the commitment, I went. Right when I walked into the Brown Ballroom I knew that I made the right decision to show up and help. Seeing graduates in their garb just makes me so happy. I handed out programs to the graduates and helped them line up (and be quiet) outside in the lobby before they walked across the stage. There was just such an air of pride and accomplishment; it made me happy to know that I helped (some of) them in a small way maybe. Gayle and I watched and listened to some of the speeches, namely the student speaker and the Distinguished Alumni speaker, Tim Rixstine, a former Alumni Board member who I know. They made me tear a few times (dorky, I know), but I just have so much pride ...
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Last week was my last week at ISU and my first week back at Heartland. I had been doing half days at each place. It was fine, but it made for long days, since I was at Heartland until 7:00 pm. I am glad to be done at ISU, but also a little sad to leave. I have enjoyed my graduate assistantship--getting to know the students who use the office and my colleagues there, as well as doing the logistical work, coming up with new ideas, and learning more about disabilities... all of it... has been fun. I'll miss that office, but it's time to move on. :) On Tuesday the department had a little going away get-together for me with Einstein's bagels and cream cheese; they all know it's my fav. They gave me a gift, as well, which was a professional portfolio with my name engraved on it--perfect for job interviews and whatnot. It was very nice, especially since I wasn't expecting anything. So starting this week, I'll be at Heartland full-time. I feel sort of nervous abou...
I have a full-time temporary job! I will be an Academic Advisor II at Heartland Community College June-September. My first full day is June 6. I'm really excited about it and I'm so lucky that it worked out this way. I'm hoping for a posting for a full-time permanent advising position in the near future, but we shall see. And even if there's a posting, it's not for sure that I'd get it. Cecilia sounded optimistic, but who knows? Ahh! I'm so excited! Oh... I think I forgot to mention in a previous post that I didn't get offered the job at Lake Land. She called me last week and was super sweet about it--saying she wished they had two positions, if another opens they'll call me, that she wouldn't have changed anything about me or my interviews, etc.... but that they chose someone else. Hahaha. I got off the phone feeling good about it and I don't regret applying and going down there twice for interviews. It wasn't meant to be that I move t...
Good things are a'brewin'. Yesterday was my last day at Heartland for practicum. Inbetween drop-ins with students, Cecilia, the Director of Advising, came in and asked me what I was doing this summer. Before I even began at Heartland, Cecilia had mentioned that there would be 30 hours available over the summer, but we hadn't talked about it in so long that I just figured a practicum student would be filling those hours. Cecilia essentially told me that I can stay through the summer and that there is a possibility that I could go full-time temporary, which would mean a one-year contract (with or without benefits; I'm not clear on this part). There is also the possibility of one or more advisor positions (possibly even 3-4) opening up within the next year, in which case I could apply and interview for the job I would be already doing. It's super confusing, but Cecilia will hopefully find out all of these things next week sometime. I got really excited about...
I got the official "no" from Heartland. I'm not surprised and I feel as though I prepared myself for it. Candace left a really sweet message for me as she was breaking my heart (haha)--she said that they discussed me at length and that I did a great job and have a lot to offer. She said that I should "hang in there" because in the future there will be other jobs at Heartland and in Recruitment and that she would love for me to be in the pool of applicants for those positions. I don't really know what that means, but I don't feel terrible about not getting this job, even though I really, really wanted it. I know something will work out. I got another call for an interview today. This one is at Bradley; it's an administrative assistant position for the women's basketball program. I'm overqualified for it and the job responsibilities sound exactly like what I did at Advocate BroMenn. I wonder if it wouldn't be much of a challenge for me a...
Still no news from Heartland. I'm really hoping that I hear soon. Like really soon. I have an interview at Lake Land College in Mattoon next Wednesday! This is good news, especially if the job at Heartland doesn't work out! The job there is basically ideal. It's an Academic Counselor/Coordinator of Student Accommodations position--all of my experience wrapped up into one. I am qualified for the job, but I definitely feel as though they would choose someone else over me. I have to give a short presentation in addition to the actual interview, so that's even more nerve-racking. I might fall in love with the town and the college and the position, though, so it'll be worth it. I'm already in love with the position, so that's a start! And if not, it will be good interview and presentation experience. I have a lot of studying and preparation to do before next Wednesday, that's for sure.
The interview at Heartland went pretty well, but I could have done better. I hate feeling that way. I will continue to go over and over the entire thing until I hear something, which might not be until April 1. I just really want that job and will be terribly disappointed and sad if I don't get it. I hope that I was able to convey how good I would be for the position. I knew 4/5 of the people on the search committee. I'm not sure if this was good or not. It's just so hard to know how it went! If the other people they interview are incredible, there's no way I'm getting the job. *sigh*
It's really sad that I'm annoyed on several levels with something that I should be excited about. In semi-related news, I think I should stop talking. Or at least think a little harder before I tell anyone anything. Sometimes I think I blab a lot of stuff to people I feel comfortable with when it might not be something that person needs to know. It's quite disappointing to me that I can't just blab whatever I want to people I'm comfortable with (I mean, they are family and friends, for Pete's sake), but that's the way things are these days. In really good, awesome, spectacular news, I have a campus interview at Heartland on Monday. I've been debating on whether to write about my job search in my blog and I've decided that I'm just going to do what I want. Ironic, since I just said that I shouldn't blab things. This isn't really blabbing, though; I mean, I could go into much further detail about it, but I won't.
Work tomorrow. I have had 15 days off from ISU. I'll be happy to have some sort of routine again, but it's so hard to get amped to go back to work. It'll also be nice to have a reason to leave this house and walk around a bit. I feel like my body is stiff from just sitting around all day. I'm meeting with Matthew (who will now be my practicum supervisor at Heartland) on Tuesday to talk about what I'm going to do. I'm still really nervous for this. It's the advising with someone watching me advise that just gives me stomach aches. I have to start somewhere though. I'll probably feel better after this meeting, knowing that I have a plan for the semester. (Unlike this past semester where I literally felt like I was flying by the seat of my pants every day.) I'm currently in talks with my old academic advisor from the sociology department at ISU, Teri, about getting some advising experience there, as well. I contacted her probably two years ago about...
A gentleman with an accent came up to the advising desk yesterday morning at Heartland. I quietly and cordially asked him if I could ask where he was from and he said England. And then I asked if I could ask where at in England and he said Liverpool. And I told him that I was there over the summer, in Cambridge, doing an internship. He had no interest in my story and I was bummed. I really wanted to talk England with him and ask him why he was here, of all places, but he just wasn't having it. :(
I got an email yesterday from John Harding, who was my supervisor at Cambridge. He wanted to update me on where the project I worked on has been going lately. Today he presented it to a committee and he's gotten word that the University of Cambridge has been talking about adding a £ 40,000 budget for international disabled students' needs. Though this is directly related to the work I did, it's not because of my project that this happened. It's still really cool, though, to see that things are happening with it already. If that budget is approved, it'll happen next academic year and I totally didn't think it would move that quickly. Awesome news! I know I've said this a hundred/million times, but I can't believe that I was in Cambridge and I did that. I can't believe that I can look at the picture above (King's College Chapel) and tell you exactly where I sat on the green space next to the river at "Singing on the River." I can...
Today was basically ridiculous for crazy people at Heartland. Okay... not crazy. Rude? Yes. I mean, the number of crazies wasn't that high (about three that I actually dealt with), but this is still way more than normal. (Normal being none. Today I apparently picked up all of the #2 and #3 callers.) I guess it's just getting to be that time of the semester when people are freaking out, but what gets me is that it seems as though people want to generally always blame someone else for their issue when really it's possibly and probably their own fault. One woman literally yelled at me on the phone today. Really? Yelling at the person at the advising desk? I pretty much just disregarded her tantrum and treated her just as I would anyone else. I just cannot respond to someone who is belittling me. How did people ever learn that treating other people like that will get you ahead in life? I just don't get it.
Yesterday morning I had a great opportunity to watch the film Shooting Beauty . Disability Concerns co-sponsored the screening with Diversity Advocacy, so it was suggested that I attend. I must say that I was blown away by this documentary. Basically this woman (a professional photographer) volunteered at a center for folks with cerebral palsy and rigged cameras to their chairs so that they could take photos of their lives. Their pictures were eventually featured in a gallery in Boston. The woman/photographer and the director (a cute, married couple) were there to talk about their experience afterwards. I thought the movie was just really well done. The content was so inspirational and it made me think a lot about working with students with disabilities. Though there are only a few students that I come into contact with that have severe disabilities, I feel in some way that I have a heart for it. So I'll keep that feeling and chew on it for awhile. In contrast, yesterday afte...
Incredible news! When I met with Cecilia on Friday, she let me know that I would get paid for the work I'm doing at Heartland. I am officially a "graduate intern" in academic advising and can work up to 15 hours a week. I'm so excited about it because I was going to do the work anyway for the experience and this way I won't have to get a second job to make ends meet. So, yes... awesome news! Essentially I'm there to shadow the current advisers, learn more about the programs and classes, work on a couple of projects (an advising lab and a transfer day), and eventually advise students. I'll be there for the entire academic year and I can do my practicum there in the spring. The other fantastic part is that I'll be able to work there 30 hours over the summer if I need to--for example, if I'm unable to find a job right away. I'm so lucky to have this opportunity and I'm glad that I got in touch with Cecilia when I did. The mug is my f...
Well, I've officially begun my graduate assistantship. I was so excited to get this name tag! It represents me being a second-year grad student AND being full-time... things that I've been so ready for. I've been looking forward to feeling as though I'm a part of my cohort group for a long time, and I'm closer to that now. I've had three days of learning the ins and outs of the Accommodations Office so far. It seems fairly easy, but right at the beginning when everything is new, it's always overwhelming. My supervisor, Brady, seems really nice and easygoing. I've been so lucky to have the best supervisors and I think Brady will be no different. I got an email back from Cecilia at Heartland. I'm going to try to intern a little in the advisement center there over the next year and do a practicum there in the spring; I'm just trying to get as much experience as possible. Hopefully I'll be able to actually do some advising since that...
It seems like the worry about the future never ends. For months it was the practicum this summer. Now it's the assistantship for next year. I'm wondering if I worried too much about the practicum and have neglected the assistantship--my peers seem ahead of the game on this one. (Not that it's a competition, but it kinda is.) I only have four GA positions that I'm interested in enough to even bother applying. In order from most interest to least interest: 1) Advising at Heartland--I should meet with Cecilia probably some time next week to discuss the possibility of being paid as an GA advisor there. She seemed sort of optimistic when I met with her in December and this would be the ideal situation for me. I cannot express how perfect it would be; it is exactly what I need experience-wise if I have any chance of getting an advising job in the future. 2) Advising Social Work majors at ISU--I'm not even sure if advising at ISU is possible at this point. They may be c...
Sending off these care packages to my soldiers before Christmas has been a pain in the ass. I know once I've done it the first time that I'll know how to do it for next time, but it's a lot of hoops to jump through. It's been quite expensive too, because I want to make it worth my while. I think I've spent close to $75 for each one, and it's $12 to send the package. I mean, it's my choice to buy whatever and put it in there--I want them to be excited about it, so I don't want it to be crappy. I think I'll only be able to do that once every 3 or 4 months though. Sending letters should be easier, so maybe I'll do that next time instead. Anyhow, I now have to go to the post office to weigh each individual item for customs. (I have 19 items per box.) I'm just scared of doing something wrong and then all of that money and time will be wasted. I also hope that it actually does get there on or before Christmas, though nothing inside of it is super-C...
I was so bummed yesterday when I randomly looked to see what jobs Heartland had posted and saw that they are hiring an Academic Advisor II. If I would've gone to graduate school right after I graduated, I probably could've gotten that job and would be a real adult living on my own and having my own life and career. It's very disappointing to think about, even though it's been purposeful that I got hired at BroMenn and I'm so glad that I've had the opportunity to work there for the past few years. I don't know why I even still look at jobs... I'm just so ready to be done with school now that I know for sure what career I want. Le sigh...