Why a Noun?

Several years ago I was asked (read honored) to give a keynote address to a group of students who were committed to developing as leaders at various two year colleges throughout Wisconsin.  For that speech I wanted to come up with a concise and simple way to describe the power of leadership, and the concept that came to me was the noun.  A noun as we all learned early on in our educational career is a person, place, thing or idea (ideas were added after my first experience with nouns).  To me the noun is a perfect metaphor for leadership because leadership is about people, places, things, and ideas that can challenge us, make us think, smile, and all around make us better people.


I cannot help but wonder now looking back how appropriate an example nouns to graduate school as well.  There are so many people that I am greatly indebted to, places that inspire and motive me, things that I have been afforded to do, and ideas that keep me up at night with excitement.  Too often I forget about these things because graduate school gets the best of me.  I am too caught up in what is happening now, and what needs to happen later to really appreciate how great and inspiring graduate school really is.  I hope this thought does not leave me so easily this time around.  I could use the inspiration sometimes, and I need to remember that it is all around just like nouns are all around us, in our speech, in our writing, and in everything we read.  Nouns too are in all around us in the people, places, things, and ideas that inspire us and remind us what is great about life (and even graduate school).  I am glad to be reconnected with my nouns, I hope you I hope you find a few nouns around too.


Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.

Economics

I hate to admit it, but my college economics professor was right.  Economics is all around us.  To me theories of economics find their relevance in my evaluation of time and effective use of the limited amounts of it within a graduate program.  Prior to enrolling as a full-time doctoral student I used to have a professional life.  A life that allowed me to volunteer for things, serve on committees, and engage in a variety of campus initiatives and community activities.  Throughout my first year it has been an adjustment to feel this change and its impact on my sense of belonging at my graduate assistantship.  At first, there were transitions associated with finding fit in a new place.  This adjustment takes time to network and find resources that are a good fit to appropriate use of professional skills.  In time more opportunities surface that are helpful, and contribute to both my personal professional growth but back to the institution and field.  I cannot lie, it is a good feeling to get back into that swing some.  In time, I like many other students and professionals in the field of student affairs found more areas of interest than there was time in the day.  This led me to think carefully about how to allocate time to best broaden my learning, while being of service to my institution and the greater good of higher education.  This cost benefit analysis has resulted in a model to inform my personal decision making.  


This model includes three options:

1. Lose, lose.  Taking on more than is manageable, ending up overwhelmed and with sacrificed quality overall.  This is possible, particularly if  the transition away from professional life and the active quest for new valuable experiences.  Being patient for good opportunities and being careful to 
2. Win, lose. Giving up something good for something better.  This is where I spend most of my time thinking, and I am sure other folks do to.  There are so many great opportunities to serve and learn that time and appropriate effort need to be carefully evaluated before adding or considering anything new.
3. Win, win. Intentional constructive networking and that contributes positively to an institutional initiative while challenging professional growth and learning.  This is ideal, but in moderation (refer to lose, lose).

While each of us have experience with making difficult decisions like this doctoral programs are different and challenge norms and ways of thinking.  With careful, realistic thought good decisions can be made that do not compromise academic work or sanity during graduate work.  


Remember that what lies ahead might be a challenge but it is worth every minute.

We Fall, So We Can Pick Ourselves Up

In the movie Batman Begins there is a great line where Alfred the butler tells a young Bruce Wayne that the purpose of falling is so "we can pick ourselves up."  I have been away from blogging for a while, and I admit that I feel guilt about it.  I honestly let myself make too many excuses.  As a result, I have come to realize that this blog (and the reflection associated with it) is important to me and my development.  My "falling" has led to "picking myself up" with a new and refreshed frame of myself.  Here is to a refreshed spirit, and new reflections.