Florida State Football
The roommate and I at a skating rink...yeah, there's not a lot to do in Tallahassee...Class --
Classes are going well. We just finished up midterms. Other than the 3 hour time blocks, I've really enjoyed my classes because I understand the purpose behind everything that we do. Everything is very practical and I appreciate that immensely. My favorite class is probably Basic Principles of Higher Education. We discuss the history of higher ed (satisfying my inner historian), management and administration, mission and organizational culture, students, faculty, policy, etc. I'm really interested in the development of institutional missions and how universities market themselves.
Assistantship --
The assistantship is going very well. I have formed many wonderful relationships with my coworkers and students. I'm currently working on compiling research from other institutions on service scholarship programs, promoting program applications, and advising ABC and other various student needs. We've really been pushing civic engagement this month, and yesterday we executed a flash mob in the Union: https://admin2k.fsu.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/33531339.html
Mentoring --
I am FINALLY starting to see my efforts pay off in mentoring. My athletes have been wonderful this month. They've really started opening up to me, they're making progress in their classes, and I've started looking forward to going to work. I went to a swim meet a few weeks ago to support one of my athletes and had a blast. It's also a lot of fun watching my football players on Saturdays.
FSU Challenge --
Job #3! We had Challenge Course facilitator training a few weeks ago, so within the next few months I'll be working with groups to facilitate team building, trust, leadership, cooperation, problem solving, etc.. Our course is located at the FSU Reservation (Rez) and it's beautiful. Take a look: http://fsu.campusrec.com/challenge/
Other life updates:
-Went to UGA/Bama in September. I loved reconnecting with UGA and I may or may not have shed a few tears during the Munson video. I'm going to UGA/FL this weekend and I cannot wait, although I have enjoyed FSU's success as of late as well. Supporting two teams means I get to invest myself in twice as much football.
-My friend Christine and I took a sailing clinic last week at Lake Bradford. Now we can throw out sailing terminology such as "jib boom" and "daggerboard" and sound like we know what we're talking about. We do. Kind of.
-Sunday night potluck dinners are still a weekly occurrence. We recently had a "North vs. South" dinner that ended in a travesty (the North won). Next week is "Asian" which is fitting as I will be leaving for Japan on Tuesday...
-Intramural flag football season just ended. I played with teams that are run out of the Wesley Foundation and I absolutely loved it. Softball season just started up and I wore my "Big Johnsons" jersey to our first game in honor of the VC glory days.
-I was able to visit Lauren Cole (formerly Popienko) this weekend in Valdosta. Her new baby, Carter, is 4 months old and absolutely precious. This weekend was probably the first extended period of time that I've spent with a baby in about 10 years. It'll be good practice for when I become an aunt in May.
-Jill is pregnant. Due May 21st.
-I'm visiting Jill in Japan next week. I'll take lots of pictures.
I will *try* and update soon after I return from Japan. Working for the airline this summer is clearly still paying off :)
