“My Great Place”.

If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I just moved to South Dakota from my home in Northern Michigan.  What you may not know though, is that South Dakota is home of many great faces and many great places.  So many in fact that they adopted “Great Faces. Great Places.” as their state slogan.

I’ve been thinking about this slogan since deciding to embark on this journey to South Dakota.  I’ve given a lot of thought to what makes a place great and even more so, what makes a face great.  This is a tough thing to think about, actually.

The more I thought about it, these three things kept coming to mind:

1. Sense of place
2. Sense of belonging and connectedness
3. Community

In order for a place to be considered great, I believe you must feel connected to it.  You must feel some sense of belonging.  Once you feel connected and you feel that you belong here, a sense of place may develop.

I believe that many things contribute to your connectedness and belonging in a place.  First is your own willingness to become connected, meet new people, try new things.  Next is opportunities.  Obviously, in larger areas there are more opportunities to do more things, find your niche, and thrive.  But this does not mean that you can’t find a sense of place, or have an abundance of opportunities in a small town, just simply that you may have to look harder for them.  Lastly, I truly believe it is the people who make the place.  If you aren’t finding people that you are compatible with, it is much more difficult to get a groove and to make a place home.

For me, I have never felt a greater sense of place than I did when I lived in Marquette, Michigan.  So I’ve been reflecting on what it is that makes Marquette so great.

These are some of the things that I came up with:

1. Lake Superior
2. Northern Michigan University-My alma mater!
3. Nature-Never more than a five minute walk away-For me this means trail running and hiking, cliff jumping, swimming, and many other things.
4. The people I love live there-Shoutout to my Marquette family!
5. Small town mixed with a big city vibe-While there is not a mall, I can get anything I need in Marquette, while still having that small town, close-knit community feel.

After coming up with some things that make Marquette great, I reflect on my values and interests and what is important to me and how they factor into my love for Marquette.

The things that are most important to me are:

1. Love-family, friends, partners, pets, community, etc.
2. Adventure-I am a sucker for trying new things and experiencing something for the first time.  Lump running, hiking, and nature into this category.
3. Water- I have a deep connection to water, and feel most alive when I am near it.  I have never lived more than five minutes away from a Great Lake, so you can imagine that my move to South Dakota is a pretty big one.
4. Education-Obviously I would not be pursuing a career in Student Affairs if Higher Education didn’t mean something to me.
5. Coffee-No explanation needed.  Just coffee.

So friends, what made Marquette my home?

The fact that it offered me everything that I desired.  Everything that I truly can’t live without, I can find in Marquette.  This is why it is such a great place in my eyes.  With that said, I do however, know people who really don’t like Marquette, and could never live there.  This is because their values are different from mine.  The things that make a place great to them are probably different from those that make a great place for me.

Everyone is different.  Everyone has a different experience with people and places.  But it is all about what you make of it.  You must be flexible and find the things you value in every place you are, or learn to bring them everywhere you go.  Make that connection.  Find that gym.  Join that club.  Go on that date.

Fall in love.  With both new faces and new places.

This is what I’m determined to do.  Because in the two days that I’ve lived here, I have already come to believe that every place and every face is great.  You just have to adjust your perspective, step outside of the box and learn to appreciate it all.

As a #SAGrad, I must be able to show my students the positives of their new home, while still being real, raw, and transparent, knowing that every student may not love USD.  I need to be able to help them enjoy their time here and if I am not making this home and enjoying my time here, how the heck will they?

This is my newest goal for living in South Dakota.  I want to make this place home.  I want to feel connected.  I want to belong.  I want to explore my community and dive into the local scene.  I want to get everything that I can out of my GA position.  I want to learn as much as my brain and body will allow in each of my classes.  I want to make great new friends, and carry these friendships with me forever.

Here’s to making Vermillion My Great Place.

-Joel

A New Wild Everywhere.

“There’s a new wild feeling dancing in the air.  There’s a new wild everywhere.” -Great Lake Swimmers

Tomorrow is the day.  I start my move to South Dakota.  I am making a little bit of a trip out of this move, so I won’t be arriving in Vermillion until Thursday, but tomorrow is the beginning of this journey. The start of the next adventure in my life.

I guess I never really anticipated this day coming.  I just always thought that I would keep saying “I move the end of July” to people when they asked, and that the end of July would never actually come.  It seemed surreal to me that I would be leaving Michigan so soon-yet the time has flown by, and tomorrow is the day.

I have been packing, and cleaning, and throwing out junk.  I bought a car.  I had my last day of work, and said goodbye to my friends and family.  So why is it that now, tonight, I feel so unprepared?

I’m nervous and excited all at the same time.  I know that I have a lot to do, yet I am sitting on the couch typing away.  I’m not sure how much more I can prepare.  I think I just have to say “This is it” and just go.

It is time for my next adventure.  That’s what this blog is all about; my adventures.  It is time to go out there, attend grad school, learn a ton, live my life, and share my story.  After all, there’s a new wild everywhere.  It’s time that I go out and find my new wild.

If anyone has any advice about moving away, starting grad school, or anything else of that sort, feel free to comment or reach out to me on social media.

In search of a new wild,

–Joel

 

#AfterOrientation: Reflections Of A New Student Orientation Staff Assistant.

Orientation season is coming to a close, and as it wraps up I can’t help but feel nostalgic about my own New Student Orientation, and the two great summers that I spent as an Orientation Staff Assistant.

I spent the last two summers of my undergraduate career working for New Student Orientation and they were magical-seriously, if you’ve ever been part of an Orientation program, you know there is something magic about it.

This summer, I am living back at my parents house, as I transition from undergrad to #SAGrad.  I struggled greatly at the beginning of summer.  I missed Marquette.  I missed my friends, and Northern Michigan University.  I missed the independence that college provided me.  I missed a lot, but I really missed the magic of Orientation.

The first morning of this summer’s staff training, I woke up bright and early, thinking that I was missing something.  I was no longer on staff-I was not even a student anymore-but I felt as if I was supposed to be in that conference room with the other 12 staff members.  I shook off that feeling, and headed into work for the day hoping my shift at the Blue Caribou Café would keep my mind off of things.  I slowly got over the feeling that I was missing out on staff training, but when the first day of sessions came, I found myself awake at 5 a.m. ready to go.  I would not be seeing any future Wildcats that day, but my mind was there-in Marquette, with staff and the nervous students and families-and even greater my heart there.

I channeled this energy by sending pick me ups to my friends that are working on staff this summer.  I know how the little encouragements go far and so I felt that I could do my part by sending my thoughts and love their way.  This helped a little but seeing social media posts about Orientation on campuses around the country had me yearning to be a part of the action.  I had this “put me in coach” feeling and I couldn’t shake it.  The only thing that got me through was reaching out to people that I knew on staff and encouraging them in every way that I knew possible.  I started connecting with people on Twitter and following university Orientation accounts.  This allowed me to see the fun that others were having, feel like I was part of the magic, and help me cope with the pit in my stomach that still ached for that magic of Orientation life.

So here I am tonight, at the near-end of Orientation season, reminiscing on my experiences and reflecting on what made that time so great.  This is what I came up with:

• A welcoming staff, a strong program built on tradition, and pride for my university.
  • I was madly in love with Northern Michigan University, but it wasn’t until I started working with the New Student Orientation program that I truly understood what it meant to be a Wildcat.  My staff taught me about love, life, family, and belonging.  The traditions that this program were built on showed a pride for NMU, the UP, Michigan, and most of all oneself.  Orientation taught me that it is ok to let go, be yourself, and know that sometimes life will take an unexpected course, but to continue being myself and to never lose sight of what I’m most proud of, who I am, or what my values are.
• A true sense of place and belonging
  • To have a sense of place is something so important to me.  I am the kind of person that falls deeply in love with wherever I am because I allow myself to be totally in the moment.  Because of this, I tend to be drawn to my surroundings, especially the natural environment around me.  I already had a love affair with the Upper Peninsula, but learning some of it’s history and the history of NMU during training for Orientation, I gained a new appreciation for the area around me and I felt a greater sense of place than ever before.  I believe wholeheartedly that I belong in the UP.  I am a Yooper, and I am wildly in love with the Great Lakes State.  I would not have discovered this pride for where I am from without connecting to my environment and learning some history.
• Immense self growth
  • If it weren’t for my experiences with the New Student Orientation program at Northern Michigan University and my amazing staffs both summers, I would not be the person that I am today.  I learned and grew in my beliefs and values, academically, socially, and in ways that I never knew possible.  I learned so much about myself and about my friends, and about life in general.  It was these two amazing summers that led me to my future in Student Affairs.  It wasn’t until my senior year that I truly knew that this was the path that I wished to embark on.  It was Orientation that gave me the confidence and the recognition that this field was where I was meant to be.

Staff hangout!  Brunch and cuddles are what we know best!

As this summer’s Orientation season comes to a close, I am reminded of how grateful I am for my experience with this program.  As the school year creeps ever closer, I am reminded that I will not be headed back up North this year, and I will have a totally different experience coming my way.  I hope that this year at USD brings more personal growth and development, a love for a new state and so much more!

 

-Joel

My Next Adventure.

If you read my first post, you know that I am on the #SASearch, which also means that I am anxiously awaiting my future.  This time of year is stressful for graduates, and Student Affairs professionals alike as we wonder where we will be headed in the next few months, in pursuit of a future in the exciting and crazy world of Student Affairs.

I am more than excited to announce that the wait is finally over.  I have accepted a Fraternity Graduate Assistant position at the University of South Dakota!  This week I was fully accepted into their Educational Administration graduate program and I will be specializing in Adult and Higher Education.  I am officially going to be a Coyote!  And a #SAGrad!

I have no experience with Greek Life and know absolutely nothing about the Greek system other than the fact that it carries with it a stigma and many negative stereotypes.   I’m hoping to find that these stereotypes and stigmas are proven wrong.

Honestly, it is my lack of knowledge mixed with my desire for a new experience that weighed into my decision to attend USD and to accept this position.  I am ready for a new challenge.  I am excited to work with a group of young men who have chosen to be a part of the Greek system and to learn from them as I go along.  I can’t wait to see what Greek Life is all about!

In the meantime, I have to make it through my finals and summer.  I will spend the majority of that time working, around a bonfire, and researching all there is to know about Fraternity and Sorority Life.  If you’re reading this and have any insight, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

#GoYotes

-Joel