April 27, 2013

April 27, 2013

Purple Squad, Packing, and Reflection

Happy Saturday Cyclone Nation!  I hope everyone is enjoying the absolutely gorgeous spring weather currently on display outside!  It's about time spring showed up! :)

I cannot believe how fast this semester has gone.  It seems like only yesterday it was January and none of us knew each other very well and now we're like family.  These past four months have been great and I hope we continue our friendly competition in the fall.  But, of course, Purple Squad trumps everything so Tanner and I will have a pretty darn good section.  Exhibit A of evidence that Purple Squad trumps everything:

Enough said! And with that, I would like to say I am greatly looking forward to the fall and working with Tanner to shape and mold the minds of the new students.  Let the competition begin!

Also, I am very pleased with how our peer mentor digital story turned out!  I had a blast filming and doing it a second time will give us some better knowledge on how to help our students in the fall with theirs!  

I've gone back and read some of my previous posts, and I have to say I didn't realize how much I would change in these past four months or how much different things from the beginning of the semester would be until now.  I believe I am much more aware of myself than I was in January and I've made several new friends (all of you guys!) that I wasn't prepared for, which is great!! :)

Finally, I've just now begun to pack for my move to the Grove where I will be living for the next 15 or so months (May 2013- [at least] July 2014).  I had no idea how much stuff I've accumulated throughout the year.  Maybe now will be a good time to downsize...Or just find new hiding places for everything at my new apartment.  

I found a quote that reflects a lot of what we've covered this semester, and I'll leave you with that:

"It is not a question how much a man knows, but what use he can make of what he knows." - J. G. Holland

See everyone tomorrow at the retreat!

Katie

April 18, 2013

April 18, 2013

Less than three weeks...

Is it just me or does everything seemed piled up all of the sudden?  With exactly 12 days left of the semester (inlcuding today, Thursday), suddenly the end is in sight, and that's a little nerve racking.  While I am most definitely ready for summer, everything I have to do is mounting.  No worries; it'll all get done. Hopefully...

This past week Brooke and Tanner led discussion on peer educators on college campuses, which was essentially a good review from everything we've done over the semester.  ISU uses a vast variety of peer educator "settings/institutions" to get students adjusted properly and help them succeed.  I am currently involved with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Ambassadors, working mostly with perspective open option students considering Iowa State.  During their campus visits, these students meet with an open option adviser and an ambassador from LAS to discuss academics and any other questions the students or parents have about Iowa State or college life in general.  It's great to work with the advisers and when we have meetings on Wednesday mornings, there's usually breakfast, so that's enjoyable.  I also recently filmed a "majors" interview discussing my major (history) to present to prospective students who are considering majoring in history.  The Ambassadors program is a great way to get involved within your college (every college has a program!) and spread your knowledge of your college and Iowa State!

Chelsee also lead discussion on social intelligence.  The article we read defined social intelligence as "a set of interpersonal competencies built on specific neural circuits (and related endocrine systems) that inspire others to be effective." (page 76)  I found the article to be very interesting and I didn't really know that personality played such an important role in social situations and how the simple difference of having a positive outlook on the day to a negative one impacts others around you as well. 

Chelsee asked us to list two characteristics of social intelligence that we excell at and one that we could improve on.  I believe that my strongest two are inspiration and teamwork.  I believe that these are my strongest two because I am very passionate about Iowa State and I feel that shows (especially when it comes to sports and traditions of Iowa State).  I want to instill that passion for all things cardinal and gold into others and getting involved in the various on campus activities is a great way to do so.  I'm also a good team player.  I think I work well with others and being a strong leader also means that you are able to take input from team members into account and listen to what each person has to say.

Something that I need to work on in terms of social intelligence may be attunement.  I realize that I am not always the best listener and I need to work on my active listening skills.  I don't always actively listen and this is especially difficult when my mind wants to be elsewhere.  I need to consciously make an effort to be a good listener.

I hope everyone is having a good and safe VEISHEA week.  Too bad the weather has not been more cooperative.  I swear, it's like Mother Nature doesn't realize that it's spring (that snow word keeps popping up in the forecast) and that it's VEISHEA (in which nice weather should be a given for!). 

Also, as my dad has been adamantly reminding me since yesterday afternoon, student football tickets went on sale.  We're that much closer to kickoff, so get those tickets bought before you get left out!! :)  I think this will be a year that no one will want to miss!!

As always,
Go Cyclones!
Katie

April 14, 2013

April 14, 2013

Ethics and VEISHEA

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend.  I certainly did.  My family came to town yesterday evening and I got to go shopping and get some new outfits for work and summer (and I didn't have to pay!) and we celebrated my grandma, uncle, and mom's birthday with Hickory Park.  It was good seeing everyone and you can't go wrong with Hickory Park and ice cream.  So a special shout out to my mom as it is her birthday this week!  And to use her "newly coined" phrase: Hi-at-cha!

It's officially VEISHEA week and I can't believe it's actually here.  A little trivia here for you: If you don't know what VEISHEA stands for, it is an acronym for the colleges (at the time) of Iowa State - Veterinary, Engineering, Industrial Science, Home Economics, and Agriculture.  It is also the largest student-run festival in the nation, so there's that! :)

This past week, Cole and Haley did an excellent job bringing up potential ethical issues that we could face this fall in our sections.  These issues really got me thinking and I hope that I will be able to effectively navigate through them.  They posed the question: What are the five most important principles of ethics that are most important in your role as a peer educator?

This is a very good question.  The book lists twelve principles to enhance the quality of peer practice.  I believe that my personal top five would be:

1. Respond within the limits of your training and skill.
2. Show respect and dignity for other individuals.
3. Understand your own personal bias and avoid imposing this bias on others.
4. Knowing and managing your emotional response, while helping another, is crucial to your own well-being and to your ability to help.
5. Remember that as a peer educator, you are a role model!

These principles, to me, are very important as a peer educator.  To incoming freshmen, we will be one of the first contacts that they have with the general student population; people who, to them, are very knowledgeable to the ins and outs of Iowa State.  It will be imperative that we use that position to successfully guide our mentees through their first semester.  We must remember that we don't know everything and may have to refer them to people who do.  We must show respect for others.  This also goes for bias.  We all have bias in something (an example would be my prejudice against the University of Iowa) and we must be careful to not assert this bias when interacting with others. 

Again, props go to Cole and Haley in dealing with this difficult topic!  As Chelsee pointed out when going over additional situations, we may laugh at the prospect of what might come up, but these situations do come up and we need to deal with them appropriately.

I, for one, am looking forward to the etiquette dinner tonight.  It should be very interesting and I know for sure I will learn something (my etiquette is not always up to par...).  I hope everyone has a super fun and safe VEISHEA week - because you never know what will happen with VEISHEA! :)

Also, as another reminder, there's only three weeks left of classes, so we're finally in that final stretch!  Let the last minute paper writing, book reading, and test-taking commence!  We're almost there! :)
Katie