Revisiting the Fork in the Road

Today I attended an impressive leadership retreat (or what I like to think of as an advance - not a retreat) for student leaders involved in the Student Government Association, Program Committee, and the Residence Hall Association (RHA) all of Bridgewater State University.  The speaker for the advance was Michael Miller.  It was the second time I've seen him speak (yell?), and he is an amazing and engaging speaker.  He is also probably the loudest and edgiest I know, but he drives home great points - and tells powerful stories.

I was at the advance because of my co-advisor role in RHA, an organization that transformed me when I was in college at Radford University in Virginia over ten years ago.  Michael Miller made many memorable statements, but one that struck me was his question, "What do you WANT in life, and what are you doing to get there?"  It sounds like an easy question, but it certainly is not.  It's practically an existential one, and that's what makes it so important.

As I pondered how I'd answer that question, I initially focused on the present time.  Right now, my journey is toward changing my career path to work in a college or university registrar's office.  Many people consider the thought of that career as boring, but I strongly disagree.  A registrar's office serves as the steward of all students' records and plays a crucial role in coordinating the academic class catalog and schedule.  It is truly the heart beat of any higher education system.  I've started taking steps to make this my new career by attending a regional registrars' conference, but I have stalled out in updating my resume and reinventing myself.  Time to stop stalling and make it happen.

The second thing I've reflected upon from that question posed by Michael Miller is - what did I want in the past, and what steps did I take to get there?  Well, my role in RHA as a college student largely influenced my decision to apply to graduate school in student affairs.  Ultimately, I ended up at The Ohio State University, and I will always parade my pride in my graduate education at such an incredible unparalleled institution.

There are many students I currently know who are interested in a career in student affairs, and they have graduate schools on their mind.  Part of the application process includes writing a personal statement on why you want to be a part of that program and the field of student affairs.  The personal statement is meant to describe the essence of what you want in life and what steps you're taking to get there.

Well - I pulled up my old personal statement for when I applied to OSU and was pretty impressed by both my naivety but also my maturity and decisive attitude.  So - I thought I'd share my personal statement with you.  It reminds me of why I chose to enter the field of student affairs.  And now it seems I'm revisiting the fork in the road: what do I want to do in student affairs?  The answer, it now seems, is the registrar's office.

On that note, I leave you with my personal statement written almost exactly ten years ago.  I stand by the same principles and governing values that I had at that time, which I think is remarkably positive.

Statement of Intent

The impact an individual can have on society is tremendous. Over an entire lifetime, one individual can change so much, inspire so many people, and create new realities with one unique vision. Taking the time to work with one individual and emphasize his or her potential can make a world of difference. I am a firm believer in individualism, and this belief developed into full form while attending college.

The transformation began my sophomore year when I received the invitation to serve as vice president of my residence hall council. It was a training ground to develop a sense of teamwork, community service, and commitment. I took the initiative to create a web site to expand our hall council’s reach. It has been my belief that web sites are especially important in reaching out to college students. After developing the web site, the opportunity arose to get involved campus-wide by designing a web site for the Residence Hall Association (RHA). My appointed position as web master gave me the opportunity to speak up at weekly campus meetings. As a shy individual, I previously felt my opinion was meaningless and my ability to make changes was impotent. However, I was becoming comfortable stepping out into the spotlight, and I believed I had the potential to make a difference.

The defining moment arrived when I sought out to become the Vice President of Policies and Procedures for RHA. I felt the RHA was in need of positive energy and an impassioned renewal. I spent several weeks working on a bid for the position, as well as a speech in which I wanted to show my commitment to the organization and the students within it. An overwhelming majority of the student representatives from the hall councils chose to vote me into the position. It was an emotional boundary that I crossed. At that moment, I became aware of my purpose in life. I knew I was doing something right. My dedication to the students was fully materialized. I wanted to work with college students and help inspire them to realize their own potential to make a difference.

The individual is my primary interest. I want to actively participate in the process of student development. Currently, I spend the majority of my time developing and implementing surveys to measure the opinions of the on-campus students regarding RHA. Surveys can accomplish two tasks: a) discover how an individual views and is affected by an organization and b) demonstrate how the organization can change to better the individual and itself. In the hustle and bustle of today’s fast-paced world, it must not be forgotten that the organization and the individual are closely tied together. There are too many individuals that feel their significance in an organization is minimal, while the fact is, any individual has the potential to change the organization! All it takes is some inspiration, ambition, and a focused effort to make that change.

I have also been intrigued by the noteworthy impact that personality and emotional development have on the lives of individuals. College students are at a stage of their lives when they are still discovering themselves. How they handle college life emotionally and how their personalities develop are both crucial to the way they live their lives beyond college. I believe the primary focus of student affairs is to promote the overall development of college students, and I personally would seek to contribute to the success of college students with a particular concern for their emotional and identity development.

A graduate school education would serve as my guide to explore the possible paths I could take in student affairs. My commitment to student affairs has already been realized; I just need to build on that. Starting in the Fall Quarter of 2001, I believe The Ohio State University and its program in Higher Education and Student Affairs, with an organization and student development emphasis, would offer exactly what I need to pursue a future career in student affairs. I am aware that Dr. Robert Rodgers has an interest in personality and Jungian psychology. I also understand that Dr. Susan Jones is involved with identity development research. I also am very enthusiastic regarding the Study Abroad program for England. The opportunity to get a first-hand experience working in student affairs in another culture is a thrilling prospect to me. Furthermore, coming from a small university, I would be delighted to get the “big university” experience and education at The Ohio State University. I believe all of what The Ohio State University has to offer would benefit myself and in effect, future student populations to come.

Looking Forward to April!

I am most definitely looking forward to April.

No, it's not because I'm tired of the snow.  I love snow - I'm in my element right now.

But in April, I'll truly be in my element with friends and folks who enjoy family history and genealogy just as much as me!  The New England Regional Genealogical Conference takes place April 6-10 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

If you don't already know I enjoy genealogy, I definitely encourage you to follow my "Take a Good Hart Look at Genealogy" blog.  I plan on starting a project of posting and explaining a total of fifty letters that my great-grandfather John Tyler Fairall wrote when he was a pilot during World War I in France.  So friends, even if you don't care that much about genealogy (but how could you not?), you might find the true adventures of a young pilot during WWI as mighty interesting reading!

So.  Back to the conference:

The above image advertisement is proof I'm going. ;-)

The NERGC takes place every two years, and the one in 2009 was the first one I attended.  It was really my first experience meeting other people who enjoyed genealogy, other than my grandfather.  All I had done before that was solo research and e-mailing other newfound cousins.  But I was able to meet two wonderful cousins at the conference in person for the first time (and I plan on seeing them again this time around)!  I met some amazing people, volunteered a little bit, and learned so much that it was a bit overwhelming.

It was at this conference that I learned about the Boston University Genealogical Research program that I later enrolled in from January to April 2010, where I earned the course certificate, fantastic knowledge, and many more friends.  I've stalled out a bit with my genealogy research since then, as work and personal life have dominated.  But I imagine going to the NERGC will rekindle that initiative to push forward with my family history.  I plan on volunteering more this time, and now that I'm much more comfortable in the genealogy world, I know I'll gain even more friends and knowledge.  I'm so pumped!

Early bird registration for the conference ends February 15, so if you see yourself as someone who'd love to learn more about genealogy (and you really could go to this conference knowing nothing and still gain much), you should consider it!