Guest Post from Nathan Shelburne, Baylor HESA Alum

Posted on March 11, 2013 by scottshepherd

I chose Baylor’s graduate program for reasons that have attracted many others to Waco, TX. I was especially drawn to Baylor’s commitment to the Christian faith alongside a dedication to outstanding academics; to the institution’s size—a great blend of intimate community and generous resources; and to Baylor’s reputation, particularly within the Christian higher education landscape. Not surprisingly, these things proved to be resoundingly true of the Baylor I grew to know and love. Yet there was so much I experienced beyond what I imagined looking in. Here are some aspects I have most appreciated.

  • Learning to see myself as an educator. If I heard this once in grad school, I heard it a thousand times. But the message is well worth repeating. As a recent college graduate and aspiring student affairs professional, I had lots of ideas as to how I hoped to impact and shape students’ lives. My own college experience had been incredibly enriching, challenging, and formative, and I was eager to have some part of giving that gift to others. But I hadn’t yet made the connection between those hopes and my sense of what constituted “education.” This was a subtle, ongoing shift that had dramatic implications on how I saw my role as a professional. In all aspects of campus life—academics, recreation, residence life, organizations, performances, ministry, etc.—there is tremendous potential for students to be deeply and powerfully impacted. Understanding myself as an educator gave me fresh eyes for the possibilities and purpose of each piece of the work we do and of each interaction with students.
  • Opportunity to learn about and observe higher education within a unique, distinctive environment. Baylor is a fascinating place and a great case study for higher education. It occupies a unique position in higher education as the largest Baptist institution in the world and as a university with high research activity. Baylor also has a historically strong dedication to teaching undergraduates; its heightened emphasis on research has been a fairly recent development. My years in grad school were in the midst of Baylor’s pursuit of the goals of Baylor 2012, an ambitious 10-year strategic plan that set the university on a number of new trajectories. I was able to observe how the institution went about its pursuit of these aims, and how the process and outcomes affected Baylor’s culture and identity. The opportunity to learn about higher education administration by simply observing such a unique institution was one of the most beneficial aspects of my grad school experience.
  • Cohort model built on relationships. Through the cohort model, the people I initially knew just through classes turned out to be one of the highlights of my Baylor experience. I learned so much through our conversations in class, from working on projects together, and from hearing about each other’s assistantship experiences. Even more enriching were the friendships themselves. The other students in my cohort provided such a great sense of security as we took our first steps together into the profession.
  • Commitment to excellence. Baylor’s commitment to excellence was apparent in virtually every part of my experience. Faculty and staff were driven to excel in their work, to be knowledgeable and professional, and to be outstanding advocates and educators for students. There was a desire not just to put on programs or have activities, but to meaningfully engage students in purposeful experiences both as participants and as leaders. This desire for excellence is contagious and has been a challenge and motivation for me throughout my career.

There are many other things I could mention: faculty who challenge, encourage, and believe in the potential of students; relevant work and practicum opportunities; the chance to work with and serve exceptional undergraduates and much more. My Baylor experience prepared me for roles at a variety of institutions because it helped me clarify who I wanted to be as an educator. I also gained a richer sense of the kinds of places I would most enjoy working, which has brought me back to serve full-time at Baylor! Sic ‘em Bears

Nathan Shelburne
Assistant Director for New Student Programs
Baylor University

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Interview Placement Recap

Posted on February 18, 2013 by scottshepherd

Well, Interview Placement is over. In just two days you were able to experience (among other things) a faculty panel, a distinguished lecture, a campus tour, dinner with program faculty and current students, coffee at Common Grounds, interviews with various apprenticeship locations, Dr. Pepper Floats, presentations from 1st and 2nd year HESA students, and (maybe) some sleep. I hope that you enjoyed your visit as much as we enjoyed hosting you!

And now comes the waiting…….

I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy waiting. In fact, it is one of my least favorite activities in life. I think Tom Petty may have said best: “The waiting is the hardest part.” But’s it is also a necessity. Regardless of whether you are interviewing at variety of institutions or only Baylor, you will probably not hear back as quickly as you would like regarding your admission and/or apprenticeship placement status. Please don’t be discouraged by this. Know that there are a variety of HESA representatives who are more than happy to answer whatever questions you have during this interim period.

Again, it was great to spend time with you all!

God Bless,

Scott Shepherd
2nd Year HESA Student

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Measuring for Success: My Apprenticeship with Campus Living & Learning

Posted on February 11, 2013 by scottshepherd

In your time at Baylor it will not be at all strange to hear people in the cafeteria say things like, “Well, I’m a Woo, so…” A colleague may pipe up in a meeting to tell you that, “if Strategic is not in your top five, it has to be in your top ten!” At Baylor, we care about utilizing people’s strengths to best effect, and it is convenient to talk about them with one another using the terms given in the Clifton StrengthsFinder. My own Strengths have been very important in my role as Grad Apprentice for Academic Initiatives and Marketing in Campus Living & Learning (CL&L). My Input and Context strengths were particularly useful early on in my time at Baylor, as there was so much to learn about my position, the culture of the department, and the story behind CL&L’s unique approach to housing.

CL&L has taken the traditional role of a Residence Life department and expanded upon it. Baylor’s traditional campus housing options are not “dorms,” but residence halls. They are not just barracks that students come back to when they need to sleep; CL&L has built a culture in which the lines are blurred between the classroom and housing. One of the ways that it does this falls within my duties as a GA, namely faculty involvement.

I hope that you have enjoyed rewarding relationships with at least one faculty member outside of the classroom context at some point over the course of your time as an undergraduate. If you have, I do not need to tell you how much that connection can enrich and enhance the college experience. It has long been established that students who enjoy semi-regular interaction with faculty outside of class are more likely to graduate, perform better academically, and are more satisfied overall with their college experience (Kuh, et al., 1994; NASPA, 1987; Parscarella & Terenzini, 1991; Astin, 1985). A growing number of our communities have faculty-in-residence, living and interacting with students every day as an integral part of their community. We are working on including faculty more in the regular rhythm of life in our other communities, as well.

Another portion of my apprenticeship involves various assessment initiatives. Assessment is a scary word for many people, but the truth is that there is a great deal that one is simply guessing at until there is hard data to be had. It is fascinating to see intuition challenged by reality and to begin to work out how to change in response to new information. For example, using a recent survey, I was able to tell our Resident Chaplains how many residents felt that they knew their Resident Chaplain, how involved their residents were in faith-related activities, and how many students wanted more faith-related conversations in their community. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

In this position, I have learned so much about what it takes to get faculty involved in residential communities, how to back up ideas with good research and hard data, and how to handle the multi-faceted challenges of programming and marketing. I have been challenged, supported, and have ultimately been changed by my time in Campus Living & Learning. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work under a great supervisor who not only wanted to see me succeed, but also challenged me and helped me to develop as both an individual and a professional. It is so rewarding to look back on my time at Baylor and to think of how far I have come through the combination of my time in the classroom and in the office.

Micah Wheeler
2nd Year HESA Student

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Experience Connection: Discover, Belong, and Thrive in New Student Programs

Posted on February 5, 2013 by samanthariley

For those who enjoy fast paced, student-centered, high energy work, New Student Programs is a perfect fit. As an the graduate apprentice for New Student Programs, I am able to use my talents and interests to contribute to Orientation, Line Camp, Welcome Week, and Welcome Weekend. New Student Programs was a natural fit for me – I love working with students in transition, particularly those moving from the high school setting to college. Not to mention, my office is full of individuals who are passionate about the students they serve and students who are passionate about serving Baylor – we also have the most rockin’ Grad Pad in the SUB.

My day-to-day work varies depending on the season. My apprenticeship is a lot of fun, but also a lot of hard work. Here are just a few things you’ll get to look forward to:

  • In the fall, I start the year by helping coordinate Welcome Week. I facilitate training, supervise student groups, and ultimately lend a hand wherever I am needed. As a staff, we have a great time with our student leaders coordinating the Big Event, Round Up, President’s Picnic, and various other Welcome Weekend events.
  • I play a vital role in Baylor Line Camp, BaylorBound, and Welcome Week recruitment! This includes everything from planning and facilitating interviews, to selection and training of leaders.
  • My busiest and most exciting season is the summer – this can be a little stressful with coursework and comprehensive exams, but completely worth it! New Student Programs wants to give you an experience that is tailored to you as an individual. For me, that meant facilitating the large-scale service project for Line Camp and developing programming for academic success sessions at Orientation. I was able to experience and contribute to a variety of different components of Orientation and Line Camp. This experience will likely look very different for you depending on your interests and strengths! 
  • In the second year of your apprenticeship, you will run Welcome Weekend; this is the culminating experience of your apprenticeship. Welcome Weekend is shortened version of Welcome Week for spring freshman, transfers, and international students. You have complete autonomy over the programming, logistics, and leadership selection and training!
  • Your semesters may be filled with various other projects as well, which might include compiling assessments, contributing to the Student Life newsletter, assisting with the student leadership class, or helping assist with various NSP events throughout the spring and fall semester.

New Student Programs will always keep you on your toes; however, you have a chance to work in an environment full of laughter, fun, and truly rewarding experiences. I work with some of the best students and staff on campus (though I must say I am a little bit biased!) and have had wonderful opportunities to have experiences that compliment what I’m learning in the classroom. Of course, in case you aren’t convinced, here’s a little snapshot of me in action:

Samantha Riley
Graduate Apprentice for New Student Programs
2nd Year HESA Student
samantha_riley@baylor.edu

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Life in the Fast Lane–Student Activities Apprenticeships!

Posted on January 28, 2013 by scottshepherd

I know a lot of people assume that if you work in Student Activities you must have a lot to do with Homecoming, Christmas on 5th, Sing, or other big programs like that.  But as an apprentice for student organizations I really don’t touch any of that besides as an attendee!  However, Student Activities is a really lively office to work in, and I have the pleasure of sharing a suite with five other GA’s who are first-year’s now—we have more fun than should be allowed at work (shout out to my Grad Pad homegirls)! 

First off, my job title is Graduate Apprentice for Student Organizations and I work under Craig Willie who is our Associate Director of Student Activities for Student Organizations.  I have to lead off by saying that this apprenticeship has been a great experience simply from having the chance to work with Craig.  It’s been such a blessing to have him as a supervisor!  Especially as I had very little experience in Student Activities/Student Orgs coming into graduate school, but he has been an amazing teacher in the learning process for me.  I’ve become so much more confident in my ability to lead, plan events, and work with ambitious student officers over these past few semesters—all things I was lacking in prior to my apprenticeship.  So don’t feel like you have to have it all together before you start your job, it will come with time and good mentoring!

Now, for my day-to-day work, I spend most of my time communicating/meeting with new student organization leaders and working with them through the process of chartering a new organization on campus. The charter process at Baylor is labor and time intensive, so I walk with them through the process from start to finish.  I typically meet with 2-3 new student organization leadership groups or individuals per week, and give them a briefing on the “Steps to Recognition” (which are publicized on our website).  Of the 25-30 groups I meet with during the semester, 40-50% of those will actually pursue a charter for their group.  Then, after receiving their paperwork, I act as a liaison between that group and the Charter Council who ultimately reviews and makes a recommendation for the application to the Vice President.  During this stage, I communicate with the student groups on what they need to do to improve their application (technical edits and/or larger philosophical suggestions from the Council), and I also arrange the Charter Workshop Leadership Series where those leaders are trained on policies, recruiting, and event planning. 

This part of my job is pretty cyclical, so I can easily forecast when my busy times will be in the semester (based on application due dates and Council meeting times).  Beyond the charter process (which constitutes about 75-80% of my work), I also:

  • Work with Campus Visits to plan the Bear Fair at Spring/Fall Premieres;
  • Collaborate with several departments to plan Late Night;
  • Present Student Activities information at New Student Orientation sessions as needed;
  • Organize the Dr. Pepper Hour Organization Fair early in the Spring;
  • Coordinate the Fall Charter Ceremony and Spring Awards/Charter Ceremony;
  • Assist the Associate Director and our Coordinator for Student Organizations and Leader Development with leadership training initiatives; and
  • Arrange meetings and prepare materials for the Charter Council while serving as a Council Member
  • Develop and update website publications for Student Organizations

Student Activities will keep you hoppin’ no matter where you are working, however, you have a chance to work with a diverse group of students which keeps every day interesting.  My supervisor always gets a kick out of my daily schedule as it can look pretty random, (i.e. briefing with Lego Robotics Club at 12:30, constitution tutorial with Baylor Powerlifters at 1:45, and meeting with the Unconventional Weapons Group at 3:00) there is never a dull moment!

My best to you all as you navigate the apprenticeship selection process; feel free to email me with any questions: Monica_Sandstrom@baylor.edu

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Graduate Apprentice for Outreach, Baylor Counseling Center

Posted on January 21, 2013 by scottshepherd

When most people think about working in student affairs, the areas that most often come to mind are Student Activities, New Student Programs, or other similar departments. However, in student affairs we often talk about caring for the development of whole persons, rather than just focusing on the academic or professional aspects of students’ identities. With that being the case, mental health is one realm of students’ lives that simply cannot be ignored! There are a number of ways that I am able to put my student affairs knowledge to work as Graduate Apprentice for Outreach at the Counseling Center:

-       As my title suggests, the main component of my apprenticeship is providing outreach programming for the Counseling Center. This includes attending events such as New Student Orientation and Welcome Week to provide students with information about the services that we offer. However, it also includes partnering with other departments on campus to develop new outreach programming. For example, every semester I work with the Department of Wellness (and my fellow cohort member, Scott Risinger) to host Virtual Vacation, which provides a variety of stress management resources to students.

-       Another component of my apprenticeship is acting as an advisor for the undergraduate student organization Active Minds. Active Minds is a national organization that aims to educate students about mental health disorders on college campuses and to reduce the stigma associated with those disorders. Working with Active Minds has not only been fun, but it has also been a great opportunity for me to apply the student development theory that we learn in our courses.

You can find more information about Active Minds and the great work that they do on their blog http://BUActiveMinds.wordpress.com/ and on their Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/151345924890039/

-       Finally, the last major component of my apprenticeship is providing QPR Suicide Prevention Training to students, faculty, and staff across campus. QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer, which are three basic skills that anyone can learn to prevent a suicide. This training is incredibly important, especially for those of us working in student affairs, because suicide is the second leading cause of death for college students. It has also provided me with a great opportunity to develop my public speaking skills and to become comfortable having difficult yet important conversations with students.

Ultimately, the Counseling Center has provided me with invaluable opportunities to apply both student development and administrative theory, and I have enjoyed every minute of it!

Christa Winkler
Graduate Apprentice for Outreach, Baylor Counseling Center
2nd Year HESA Student

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Apprenticeships: They’re Kind of a Big Deal

Posted on January 14, 2013 by scottshepherd

As I’m sure you’ve realized by now, graduate apprenticeships are an integral part of the Baylor HESA program. Apprenticeships provide HESA students with the opportunity to apply theory to practice, grow professionally, and form stronger connections within the Baylor community. However, as evidenced by Kaitlyn and RaeLynn’s posts, no two apprenticeships are exactly alike. Accordingly, over the course of the next month various 2nd year HESA students will be posting about their apprenticeships. My hope is that these posts will provide you with greater clarity regarding the various apprenticeship opportunities that will become available this year.

So let’s start with my own apprenticeship. I am the graduate apprentice in the Office of the Dean for Student Learning & Engagement. So what exactly does that mean? Basically, everything that I do relates to promoting the success of first-year students at Baylor University. Thousands of first-year undergraduate students arrive at Baylor every fall and I work to help support those students as they transition to a university setting. My supporting first-year students has taken a variety of forms from co-facilitating a section of the first-year seminar course, to organizing and conducting focus groups of first-year students, to coordinating an academic transition program for orientation, to streamlining the set-up and coordination of the various sections of Baylor’s required first-year seminar course. However, the primary way that I have worked to support first-year students is by coordinating the Baylor University Peer Leader Program.

The Peer Leader Program is a student leadership and mentoring program that connects first-year students with upperclassmen peers. Peer Leaders play an important role in supporting first-year students. They meet one-on-one with first-year students, plan group activities, assist with the instruction of a first-year seminar course section, and take a three-credit leadership course to further their understanding of leadership theory. For the past year and half I have had the honor of recruiting, resourcing, and supporting these Peer Leaders. It has been an absolute joy to work with student leaders who are so strongly committed to welcoming, teaching, and mentoring first-year students. They are an excellent example of how Baylor University is truly a caring community.

Scott Shepherd
2nd Year HESA Student

 

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How Can I Help You Today?: My Apprenticeship in Baylor Campus Visits

Posted on January 7, 2013 by scottshepherd

“Welcome to Baylor Campus Visits, my name is RaeLynn. How can I help you today?”

This is my tagline at work. From the moment you enter my office, to the moment you leave it, you are the center of attention. My job is to make sure that any question you have about Baylor is answered before you leave. And if I don’t know the answer, I’ll find it for you.

In case it isn’t already evident, my apprenticeship is in the Wiethorn Visitor’s Center, which is an extension of the Admission Services Department. While my apprenticeship is a lot of fun, it’s also a lot of work. Ready for a rundown of a typical day? Here we go:

-       Create student schedule for the week. With about 50 student workers to manage, scheduling can be a daunting task. First, I have to look at each day’s tasks and figure how many students are needed for each. Then, they are assigned on Outlook. Finally, the calendar on Outlook is transposed onto a daily spreadsheet that students use to sign off their responsibilities.

-       Coordinate group tours. When a school group wants to come and visit the university, it is my job to make sure we can accommodate them as well as set up their itinerary. We get requests every day for school groups ranging anywhere from 15 to 150 students. Because we host four standard tours per day, it can be a trick to schedule groups and find enough student workers to provide tours for them.

-       Files, files, and more files. There are always files to be worked on. When a prospective student decides they want to visit Baylor, they submit an online request that comes directly to our office. Because we are a team, everyone works on these files. During our busiest seasons (primarily Spring Break), our office receives upwards of 300 emails per day. Once we receive these requests, we input them into our system and send itineraries. A lot of times we have to contact various departments and professors in order to set up appointments and class visits as well.

-       Events. Campus Visit events are large-scale recruitment events geared toward various types of students. Our largest event is called Premiere and generally brings about 2000 prospective students and their families to campus. This event occurs once a semester. Invitation to Excellence and Know Where You’re Going Day are our other two main events, which both occur once a semester as well. As the GA in Campus Visits, I get to help coordinate these events, everything from running information sessions during the event, to decorations, to arranging travel for keynote speakers.

So that’s it, right? Sounds easy enough. Well, there’s more, though most of these things aren’t daily. Here’s what I have to be prepared for on any given day:

-       Bus driving. Every person working in the Campus Visits is required to obtain their Class B commercial driver’s license (CDL). At first it can be a little intimidating to drive a 38-passanger bus, but once you get the hang of it, it can be a lot of fun. There are some days where I’ll know in advance that I’ll be driving a tour and other days that things just come up.

-       Presenting. Four presentations occur in my office on a daily basis. Usually, the Campus Host (who is also an Admissions Counselor) will give them, but if he/she is unavailable for any reason, that responsibility lies on me. If you’re not much of a public speaker (like me), this can be terrifying. However, it makes for great practice!

-       Hiring/firing. Being able to participate in the hiring/firing process has been a growing experience for sure. It’s certainly not easy to choose five hires out of a pool of 25 qualified students. In the same way, it’s extremely difficult to have a firing conversation with a student that you’ve invested in. But these are both very real experiences that will likely be encountered later in life.

-       Cleaning. Often times our office is the first building that prospective students and their families enter. Because of that, we pay very close attention to detail – everything from freshly baked cookies, to fluffed pillows, to cleaned restrooms.

Though Campus Visits seems to run like a well-oiled machine, there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes. Though there are days that I want nothing more than to go home and sleep for eternity, those are few and far between. More often than not, I find myself thinking how blessed I am to work with a group of students who love Baylor and a team of staff who love what they do.

Sic’em Bears,
RaeLynn

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Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2013 by scottshepherd

Happy New Year from Baylor HESA! We hope that you were able to submit all of your application materials for the program.

Interview Placement is scheduled for February 14-15 and will be here before you know it. Until then, please continue to check back each week for a new blog post.

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Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 25, 2012 by scottshepherd

Merry Christmas from Baylor HESA! We hope that you are able to gather with loved ones during this holiday season.

Also, the official application deadline is almost here (January 1st). Don’t forget to apply!

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