November 2012

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- PAGE 1 - NOV 2012 President’s Corner Greetings OACUHO, This edition of the Pulse focuses on provid- ing support to our students in achieving op- timal mental health. Mental health is a criti- cal current issue facing higher education institutions. Leaders at institutions have been asked to consider- what are the best policies, programs, and interventions to im- plement in supporting our students? As housing officers, we play a critical role in providing support for our students. We are first responders to a student in crisis, we work to create positive physical environ- ment for students to reside in, and we im- plement policies and procedures that en- courage student success. Our student staff are often responsible for providing front line support to our residence students that are in crisis. At times, these very students are examining their own strat- egies for maintaining optimal mental health while fulfilling their job duties. In recognizing this challenge, the OACUHO Professional Development committee has arranged for a free webinar for our student leaders on the topic of Mental Health and wellbeing. This webinar will be held Wednesday December 5 from 7-8 pm. More details can be found at: https:// attendee.gotowebinar.com/ register/8188027154400548608 As professionals it is imperative that we model positive mental health and wellness to our student leaders and students. We hope this edition of the Pulse assists you in supporting your students, and yourself as you strive to reach optimal wellness. Sincerely, Jen Gonzales OACUHO President [email protected] @jengonzales8 The Mental Health Issue CONNECT WITH OACUHO!! #OACUHO360 > MENTAL HEALTH - 2 > ALUMNI CORNER - 8 > OAKUDOS & WINTER SOCIAL - 9/10

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Updated version of the Pulse - Nov. 2012

Transcript of November 2012

- PAGE 1 -

NOV 2012

President’s Corner Greetings OACUHO,

This edition of the Pulse focuses on provid-ing support to our students in achieving op-timal mental health. Mental health is a criti-cal current issue facing higher education institutions. Leaders at institutions have been asked to consider- what are the best policies, programs, and interventions to im-plement in supporting our students?

As housing officers, we play a critical role in providing support for our students. We are first responders to a student in crisis, we work to create positive physical environ-ment for students to reside in, and we im-plement policies and procedures that en-courage student success.

Our student staff are often responsible for providing front line support to our residence students that are in crisis. At times, these very students are examining their own strat-egies for maintaining optimal mental health while fulfilling their job duties.

In recognizing this challenge, the OACUHO Professional Development committee has arranged for a free webinar for our student leaders on the topic of Mental Health and

wellbeing. This webinar will be held Wednesday December 5 from 7-8 pm.

More details can be found at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8188027154400548608

As professionals it is imperative that we model positive mental health and wellness to our student leaders and students. We hope this edition of the Pulse assists you in supporting your students, and yourself as you strive to reach optimal wellness.

Sincerely,

Jen Gonzales OACUHO President [email protected] @jengonzales8

The Mental

Health Issue

CONNECT WITH

OACUHO!!

#OACUHO360

> MENTAL HEALTH - 2

> ALUMNI CORNER - 8

> OAKUDOS & WINTER SOCIAL - 9/10

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The Mental Health Issue

This edition of the Pulse focuses on providing support to our students in achieving optimal mental health.

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UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MISSISSAUGA

Help me, help you: Helping the helper

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) is taking aim at efforts to promote positive mental health in colleges and universities across the country. A recent article in University Affairs sheds light on this evolving issue in higher education stating, “75 percent of mental illnesses start before the age of 25.” Considering the impact mental health issues have on our students, it is not surprising Canadian Colleges and Universities have responded by creating working groups, advisory commit-tees, and prevention programs.

In Residence Life, our student leaders are often the first people to identify students in need, are the first point of contact, and provide continued support. We provide them training and trust that they will guide and support their peers through any and all struggles. What we sometimes forget is the fact that our student leaders can face the very same pressures and struggles regarding their own mental well-being. We can lose sight of the weight held on the shoulders of our leaders.

Many programs and initiatives have been created to sup-port our students, however to my knowledge there ap-pears to be a lack of such support specific to our student leaders. UTM Residence Life in collaboration with the campus Health & Counselling Centre, are piloting bi-

weekly group counselling sessions specifically for Resi-dence Life Staff. The goal is to connect our student lead-ers with a counselor, and to provide a forum to discuss current student issues and methods of support. In addi-tion, the sessions create a safe environment for student leaders to discuss personal issues that have arisen as a result of their position. These sessions go beyond the support Student Life Professionals are qualified to pro-vide, and supplement the one-on-ones we current have. To date, the sessions have been very positive. While the initiative started slow with only a few student leaders at-tending the first session, we have seen an increase in attendance in subsequent weeks. A part of this change was a result of communicating the importance of self-care in an acute and proactive approach. In the end, it doesn’t matter if students attend one session or 12 sessions. Our goal is to ensure student leaders get the support required to mentor peers.

This is but one method of supporting our Residence Life Staff, and I am positive there exist others. I challenge readers to think about your student leaders and start con-versations around supporting their mental health. In Resi-dence Life, our student leaders are our greatest resource. Let us not forget the impact our student leaders have on students and ensure we are doing our very best to sup-port their efforts. Greg Hum Coordinator of Residential Transition Programs

RYERSON UNIVERSITY Highlights from Victoria University (U of T) Minding Our Minds Conference On Friday, November 2, 2012, Victoria University in the University of Toronto hosted its inaugural Minding Our Minds conference on uni-versity student mental health. I had the privilege to attend the day conference with my colleague, Simon Finn, Residence Life Special-ist at Ryerson Residence. The day began with two panels: the first discussing the rise in mental illness diagnoses on our campuses; the second on preventative and responsive models regarding student mental health. Stand-outs from the first panel were the identification of the increase in user traffic experienced by U of T-St. George counseling and psychiatric services, and the shift in the demographics of their accessibility ser-vices’ clients towards needs for support with mental health concerns more so than learning disability support. A best practice shared by a staff member from Queen’s University was a coloured folder of re-sources made available to university staff and faculty re: mental health concerns, campus services, and information about referrals. This project was adapted from one run at McMaster University (different colour folder/pamphlet though). In the afternoon, after hitting up holiday refreshments at Starbucks in Yorkville with Simon and our colleague, Dimple Savla from York University, we attended the break-out session for Student Life Pro-fessionals. Here we listened to and shared with colleagues in vari-ous functional student life roles, many from health promotion and registrar’s offices. One exciting idea that I recall was a “Worry Wall” program, where students can write their worries anonymously on a wall-poster, and peer mentors write words of encouragement in re-

sponse or information about resources available to address the is-sues. Even as a team-builder, within a residence hall or cafeteria on campus, this sounds like a pretty cool idea. The closing session addressed stigma and discrimination related to mental health/illness issues. We had the privilege to listen to the personal experience of a former Trinity College student, who worked with university staff and health professionals, and was able to even-tually graduate with her degree. She is part of a group that uses humour to help share experiences of mental health and reclaim the “mad identity”. Dr. David Goldbloom, UofT Professor and Chair of the Canadian Mental Health Association, offered thoughts about how society treats mental illness and how this has changed throughout the years. Kudos to the team at Victoria University (U of T) for hosting this

event! Hopefully there can be future offerings and opportunities for

students, professionals, and practitioners to connect on these im-

portant issues. With the mental health of students in the awareness

and on the agenda of many university and college presidents, it is

likely that our work to support students with mental health concerns

will only continue to grow and be continually more defined. For now,

a big take away I discussed with Simon was how we need to inten-

tionally and continuously thread awareness of mental health in our

student staff training as well as residence programming to help ad-

dress and re-examine the current stigma attached to these identities

and experiences.

Dan Cantiller

Academic Link Facilitator

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A Therapist’s Best Friend

Vladimir Smiljanic byby

Pets have been found to have therapeutic effects on a person`s

stress levels, blood pressure, and ability to boost an individual’s

overall spirits. The use of therapy dogs became widespread

once correlations were made between a dog visiting patients in

a hospital and the improved well being of those same patients.

This ‘animal assisted’ therapy can be seen anywhere from hos-

pitals to retirement homes. In recent years, therapy pets are

seen as an effective method for improving an individual’s men-

tal health regardless of physical health or age.

There is no denying that attending a post secondary institution

may cause students to develop anxiety and increase stress re-

sulting from a variety reasons. Between academic demands, the

economics of gaining that education and pressures from being

in a new environment, a student`s mental health may be put

under considerable strain.

Institutions have begun to incorporate therapy animals into

their student services to help students cope with these pres-

sures. In December 2011, McGill University launched their

therapy dogs program to relieve students’ stress during exam

period. The program was declared a huge success and received

great feedback from their student population. University of

Ottawa launched their animal therapy pilot program earlier this

year with the help of a therapy dog named Tundra, who is

trained to deal with anxiety and stress.

Running your own therapy dog program is not as hard as it

sounds. Last year during final exams, I contacted a local organ-

ization that provides therapy dogs to groups such as a hospitals

and retirement homes. All they needed from me was the num-

ber of expected attendees, a time and a location. They came

free of charge and the volunteers were more than happy to in-

teract with the students on campus (and even university staff

that heard about the event). The dogs get a bit tired after about

an hour but that was more than enough time for over a 100 peo-

ple to come and pet about 15 dogs. A St.Johns Ambulance

branch is a great place to call to get the ball rolling on this fan-

tastic opportunity. Make sure you have a good relationship with

your cleaning staff because you can imagine the amount of dog

hair from all that petting.

University of Ottawa Therapy Dog:

http://www.gazette.uottawa.ca/en/2012/02/animal-therapy-pilot

-program-for-university-of-ottawa-students/

McGill University Therapy Dogs:

http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=f733dba4-0ca0-45d5-

9b7b-92da4c8bc1e3

St.John’s Ambulance:

http://www.sja.ca/Pages/default.aspx

ENOP Network Update: Tweet-chat #1 on Hiring and Transition On Tuesday, November 13, 2012, the inaugural tweet-chat of the ENOP (Engaging New OACUHO Professionals) Net-work was held from 12pm-1pm EST. The topic of the facili-tated discussion was "Hiring and Transition: How You Got Here". There were four contributors who shared their re-sponses to six questions throughout the hour. Thanks to those who also helped promote the tweet-chat and those that followed along or read up on the chat afterwards, searching the hashtags #ENOP and #oacuho360. Here is a link to the tweet-chat transcript: http://storify.com/DanCanThinks/enop-network-tweet-chat-1-hiring-and-transition. Currently the membership of the Facebook group for the ENOP Network is at 36, with folks mostly from Ontario insti-tutions, but also some friends from out west and in the US. Folks are encouraged to complete the Google document (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtZItsihNwZOdF9UejNybFBxV0FQM1BJMmtKdnp6T

FE) with their information and areas of interest, so future tweet-chats and resource-sharing can aim to meet those needs. Those listed on the Google document will also be emailed the preparation documents (including questions) for any upcoming tweet-chats, as well as copy of the reports once completed. The next tweet-chat is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, December 4, 2012, from 12pm-1pm EST. Matt Harris from York University has suggested the topic of Recognizing our Student Staff and Colleagues. Thank you for your interest and support of the ENOP Net-work. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, feedback, or just to say hello. Submitted respectfully, Dan Cantiller p: 416.979.5000 ext.4249 | e: [email protected]

@DanCanThinks

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WILFRED LAURIER UNIVERSITY Like many member institutions in an effort to better sup-port residence students and staff members, Laurier Brant-ford has started working closely with counselling services department to offer a counsellor in residence pro-gram. Our students and staff benefit from a counsellor more familiar with residence policies and procedures and a more intimate knowledge of the supports that Dons and our Residence Life team are able to provide. One specif-ic benefit for our staff is increased access to counsellors to informally run mental health questions, concerns even programming ideas past a mental health expert.

One forum we have created to facilitate this dialogue is using some of our regularly scheduled in-service training sessions to facilitate bi-monthly counselling roundtables, where small groups of dons meet with our residence counsellor and discuss issues and trends that they are seeing in their communities and get advice on how to ap-proach it or support in dealing with it.

One common issue that dons have dealt with more than years previous are roommate conflicts. From those con-flicts, the prominence of anxiety and bullying has really come to the forefront and many dons came to the roundtables looking for further support with that is-sue. The counsellors were able to provide some great tips and support strategies individually and as a group

and the dons left with some great approaches on how to further support students feeling the way they do in room-mate conflicts.

The overall feedback we received from the roundtables was quite positive and it definitely showed the don team the positive impact that a counsellor can have on a situa-tion, even when the concern might not be a serious men-tal health issue. One don found that, “sharing issues within residence with other dons who are experiencing the same thing, brainstorming creative ways to tackle prob-lems within residence and identifying trends relating to mental health within residence” was the most helpful dur-ing the session.

Using the feedback we received, we plan to run the roundtables again prior to the reading break in mid-late February. Some additions that will be made are recaps of issues brought up in the roundtable with possible solu-tions so that important information is not forgotten and can be shared. Also, possibly providing the dons the op-portunity to share issues ahead of time to pass along to the counsellors so that the roundtable session can be more solutions based, rather than spending a chunk of time explaining a problem. Chris Eley & Paul Reifenstein

10 tips to living outside of your job in a student dominated environment These are some ways to get out of the professional staff bubble and enjoy yourself while remaining a

part of your student community.

1. Join an external gym facility separate to the institution you work at. 2. Seek out social locations for adults in the community, away from the “student bars” 3. Attend graduate student functions. Most of the time these individuals don’t live on campus and

are older than the average undergraduate student. 4. Join community clubs and leagues outside of your institutions’ intramural and extracurricular op-

tions. 5. Take advantage of car-share programs if necessary to get around. 6. Look for different societies and volunteer opportunities. 7. Subscribe to the local newspaper to keep up with the events going on around you off campus. 8. Contact your community’s local tourist organizations for a list of upcoming festivals/attractions in

your area. 9. Take advantage of opportunities to teach your skills and hobbies to others around you. 10. Realize that it takes some time to successfully build a social network especially in a new place.

By: Jordon McLinden and Caleigh Minshall, Queen’s University

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It’s Complicated: How recent research is showing the complexity of unsafe drinking

behaviour in university

Carrie Charters, Western University on behalf of the OACUHO PD Committee

In a meeting some weeks ago, my colleagues and I were discussing an alcohol awareness program that a group of staff members were interested in running. We weren’t sure of the activity’s validity as a harm reduction tool, so I decid-ed to do some (light) digging into current research on the reduction or prevention of student drinking. As with most topics in Student Affairs, the majority of available infor-mation is from research conducted in the U.S. Many of the studies available are qualitative studies about who is drink-ing what and how much of it, and the jist of the findings is, “lots of college students are drinking lots of alcohol.” How-ever, I found a couple of articles that sought to redefine how we talk about binge drinking in general and a third study – a literature review out of Alberta – that tells us we’re on the right track in how we’re addressing negative drinking behaviours in our residences.

In “College Binge Drinking: A New Approach” (2011), re-searchers from Poland, the UK and Australia studied uni-versity marketing students through focus groups in Canada and Poland, looking for trends in the way that they de-scribed their drinking behaviour in an attempt to expand the current, US-centric point-of-view. What they found was that the generally accepted definition of binge drinking – four standard units of alcohol in one sitting for women, five for men – is inadequate in its breadth and its lack of ac-count for the purpose and type of drinking occurring. In-stead, they defined three types of drinking that fit within the traditional definition: Initiation, Indulgence, and Modera-tion. In each, the consumer takes in four or five drinks in In the Initiation type, students are underage and find a thrill in seeking out alcohol, which means that they drink less of-ten, but will drink whatever they can acquire so long as it contains alcohol. Indulgence, which is perhaps what we see most often in our first year students, is when access to alcohol is easy and the aim is to simply drink as much as possible, with a goal of spontaneous behaviour or stories to tell later and a focus on the group experience. Moderation is when one might consume a large quantity of alcohol, but the primary focus of the social interaction isn’t the drinking itself, for instance, a bottle of wine (7.5 standard units) with a long dinner. While nothing in this study changes that over-drinking is a problem we need to take seriously, it can help us to assess what drinking patterns we’re concerned with and tailor our approaches to the concerns and ideas raised in the focus group data. Focus group data isn’t nec-essarily generalizable, but it can give us a good idea of what to try next.

“Drinking before drinking: Pregaming and drinking games in mandated students” (2007) is an American study from Brown University, but it’s interesting to me in its distinction

between ‘pregaming’ (defined as drinking before entering a primary social situation, either alone or in a very small group) and the playing of drinking games, and its conclu-sion that, among students disciplined for drinking, “pregaming was a unique predictor of intoxication on the night of referral, and drinking games were not.” It’s com-mon to think that drinking games serve as a ‘pregame’ ac-tivity, and they absolutely can, but this study found that while both behaviours were prevalent in the sample, stu-dents who reported having a bad drinking night (as in, one that led to a medical crisis or negative experience) were overwhelmingly pregamers, not players of drinking games, and pregamers had higher blood alcohol content registered than those who had played drinking games. The article concludes with suggestions for future research and poten-tial interventions that are worth reading. While much of the available research and many of our efforts target the reduc-tion of drinking games in residence, and certainly drinking games are an unsafe drinking behaviour, we may want to consider the ‘pregame’ as an unsafe drinking behaviour in its own right and address it with our residents outside of the context of drinking game playing.

“Preventing heavy episodic drinking among youth and young adults: a literature review” (2005) was compiled by Colette Fluet-Howrish, a researcher for the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission. It’s a neat little document of 47 pages that describes the prevalence of and risk factors for binge drinking among youth, and also discusses strate-gies for intervention focused on both individuals and stu-dent environments. It takes into account information from 2000 and onwards, and looks at both Canadian and Ameri-can sources. The conclusion of the study is that there is no single solution that will reduce rates of unsafe drinking; ra-ther, a combination of several approaches is necessary – intervening with specific students showing risk or becoming involved in disciplinary systems due to their intoxication through meetings or educational opportunities in conjunc-tion with the intentional construction of an environment that aims to change a drinking culture and support non-drinking behaviours. This study gives a number of excellent sug-gestions for and cautions against various types of interven-tions and may spark some creativity as we move towards the series of 19

th birthdays that second semester brings to

our residence halls.

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, Research Ser-vices. (2005). Preventing heavy episodic drinking among youth and young adults: A literature review. Alberta Ed-monton, Alberta, Canada: Colette Fluet-Howrish.

Borsari, B. et al. (2007). Drinking before drinking: Pregam-ing and drinking games in mandated students. Addictive Behaviors, 32(11), 2694-2705.

Kubacki, Krzysztof, Dariusz Siemieniako and Sharyn Run-dle-Thiele. (2011). College binge drinking: A new ap-proach. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 28(3), 225-233.

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HUMBER COLLEGE How the Annual NHTI Program is Impacting Housing

Professionals, One Cluster at a Time.

Each year housing professionals allocate time trying to decide what professional development opportunities or resources they will choose to spend their professional development dollars on. This yearly debate can involve many factors and variables, and often leaves us searching for the next best experience, com-plete with never ending learning opportunities; certainly not a small feat.

During my own professional development search I stumbled upon an Association of College and University Housing Officers International (ACUHO-I) association wide email, advertising the annual National Housing Training Institute (NHTI). This adver-tisement spoke of an opportunity that; “provides a thorough professional development experience for younger professionals looking to further their career in housing. Participants meet and interact with other colleagues, establish mentor relationships with experts in the field, develop professional development plans, and gain skills and competencies needed to meet the current and future demands of the profession”.

How could I go wrong with a professional development oppor-tunity that was not only targeted for my experience level but geared to connect me with experts in the field? Not only did my NHTI experience at the University of Georgia (UGA) fully achieve all that it advertised, but it forever impacted my profes-sional outlook, goals and experience in the field.

The NHTI class of 2011 included 30 participants representing institutions from Canada, the United States and Qatar; as well as 10 faculty members from across the United States. This group of 40 was then broken down into what we affectionately called ‘clusters‘. Each cluster was assigned a faculty mentor and three participants. The clusters, in true housing fashion, were diverse in nature and connected individuals with lessons to teach one another. Our clusters quickly became a staple in our NHTI experience as we shared accommodation, ate every meal and participated in workshops together. From the outside looking in, that might seem like a lot of cluster time and I would have to admit that I was apprehensive about these three strangers that would be a part of every aspect of my NHTI ex-perience, but words cannot express how much I value and ap-preciate my cluster to this day.

Throughout the five day experience, NHTI participants had the opportunity to learn from our faculty mentors, who are experts in the field, on a diverse array of workshops including but not limited to: administration, budgets, crisis management, leader-ship and politics. Each workshop provided an in depth look at the topic at hand, challenged us to think about how we would manage these topical areas as we advanced through our ca-reers and worked to provide new perspectives for 30 different career paths. One of the most memorable workshops for me

was the faculty panel. Our faculty mentors lined up at the front of the room and prepared for the barrage of questions that would soon come flying their way. Our class of 30 sat anxiously awaiting the opportunity to ask our new mentors detailed ques-tions about topics important to us and were looking for the straight answer; an inside look on the realities of advancing our careers in the housing profession. The frank, realistic sharing that our faculty mentors presented us, provided the most appli-cable and informative learning of our entire experience.

Alongside our time in workshops, having meals with our clus-ters or enjoying a social break, was one on one time with our assigned cluster faculty mentors. Each year we often hear Res-idence Life Staff be amazed at how they were paired together, or how well small teams were formed; and yet I found myself saying the same thing to the UGA staff. Cluster faculty mentors and cluster participants could not have been paired in a more appropriate and beneficial way. My cluster faculty mentor was Dr. John Buck the Associate Dean of Students and Director of Housing and Residential Life at Webster University in St. Louis, MO. Not knowing a thing about John, Webster University or quite frankly St. Louis, MO, I wasn‘t quite sold that this would be an impactful relationship or one that would forever change my outlook on the profession or my personal career plan. In following with the theme of my NHTI experience, my original perceptions could not have been more incorrect. In my one on one time with John he challenged me to consider new profes-sional goals and opportunities, and asked those really tough questions that we hate being asked but are certain have made us better professionals because someone asked us. My time with John helped me develop a personal career plan complete with short term and long term goals and many milestones in between. This pairing, compliments of the UGA staff, not only helped make my in the moment NHTI experience incredibly beneficial but provided me with a mentor who I look up to, a friend and someone I have no doubt will continue to support me throughout my career; even if that support comes in the form of tough questions.

My overall experience is one I still struggle to fully articulate but if I had to highlight a few mementos of my time in Georgia they would be: my new network of colleagues, new career goals and trajectory, and a re-energized perspective and drive for my practice. I walked away with an increased knowledge and skill set, new understandings of key issues and topics in the field but most importantly a NHTI family to whom I am so grateful for. As I reflect back on my experience from June 2011 I can confident-ly share that I still utilize lessons learned on a daily basis and that my practice has forever been impacted by my NHTI experi-ence. I would encourage any housing professional to join the NHTI family and experience this incredible professional devel-opment opportunity.

Applications for the 2013 class of NHTI are now open and can be found at: http://www.acuho-i.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1033.

Shari Walsh Residence Life Manager

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Sean Jackson Everything I ever needed to know, I learned in Housing and Residences. How often I find myself saying these words! It feels like a long time since I left the world of residence life at the University of Waterloo. The time I spent there, as a residence life coordinator, was the best professional preparation I could have hoped for. These days, I fill my time working with students before they get to you. After leaving UW, I jumped into a position with the Waterloo Region District School Board teaching secondary school physics and mathematics. It's a fulfilling, chal-lenging and exciting career and I can’t imagine doing anything else. But navigating the transition from the comfortable bubble of housing and residences to the sometimes-harsh world of high school wasn’t easy. Hormones, hostility, foul language and failing grades were all I could see at the beginning. And then something strange happened. I started to develop meaningful connections with students. I was shocked. The underlying message of any Dons Orientation – develop positive relationships with your students – was the one thing I forgot. And once I remembered it, once the value of making connections with people returned to my priori-ty list as a teacher, everything changed. In my opinion, this is perhaps the most crucial aspect of any career – the fostering, development and maintenance of positive relationships. And no matter where you go after the job you are in now, don’t forget this message like I did – take it with you! Over the past few years, I’ve reflected on certain tools, learned in housing, that I use in my career everyday. I never knew how important these skills would become beyond the walls of my residence. And I feel, in general, they are applicable to most workplaces. Let me highlight some of the tools I am most thankful to have learned. The Provision of Feedback Feedback is something, it seems, that no one likes to receive. But constructive criticism is nothing to shy away from. The ability to give and receive constructive feedback is a skill to practice and master. In a culture where feedback flows freely – it doesn’t hurt – it helps. Knowing how to give constructive feedback in a positive, helpful way can really help to transform a workplace and is very underrated. Assessment Assessment is a buzzword that is sweeping Ontario schools, colleges and universities. And it’s something I became comfortable with working in residence life – evaluations, surveys, focus groups – it is everywhere because we all want to know if what we are doing is making a difference. We can work as hard as we want, but if our efforts aren’t making the kinds or amount of change we’d like to see, we are wasting energy! I’ve found that placing a strong value on as-sessment strategies has helped me work smarter, not harder. Conflict Management Being able to mediate conflict between two or more people is a skill I never thought I’d use again. Its something you get good at after dozens of roommate conflicts or team building crises. But when leaving residence life, I figured I’d never have to run a mediation again. But surprisingly, I mediate all the time - both formally and informally. Conflict happens everywhere and using all those juicy skills like active listening and maintaining neutrality has come in handy time and time again. When I think back on my short time in housing, I am overcome with gratitude. I am so thankful for the opportunity to learn how to manage effectively – and this kind of hands on learning is one of the most effective ways to gain skills that set a path for continued success. All the best to each of you as you continue to serve your students with passion and dedication – you truly make a difference in the lives of your students! Sean R. Jackson teaches at Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School in Waterloo Region. He is also a

part-time professor in the Faculty of Education at Wilfrid Laurier University. Questions? He can be reached at [email protected]

Alumni Corner withwith

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o a k u d o s

Tweet Tweet! Interested in sending kudos to a fellow oacuho member?

Use #oakudos to show your appreciation!

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Thank you to all those that came out the OACHUO Winter Social on Sunday Novem-ber 18th 2012! We came together at Snakes and Lattes on a Sunday afternoon of the Toronto Santa Clause Parade. It was great to see so many people from out of town come in for the weekend to see that parade, shop and hang out playing games with us on a Sunday afternoon! About 20 people from the OACHUO community came out to Snakes and Lattes. We enjoyed in some games, coffee, tea, and delicious snacks! Thanks again for those that were able to make it! It was great to see everyone! -Sarah & Paul

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Registration Costs: Early Bird (until Dec. 1, 2012) Professional Delegates: $175.00 + GST ($197.75) each Student Delegates: $150.00 + GST ($169.50) each Costs increases by $10.00/person after Dec, 1, 2012

Delegate Numbers: Institutions with 1-29 Residence Life Staff members may register up to 5 delegates. Institutions with 30-60 Residence Life Staff members may register up to 7 delegates. Institutions with 61-99 Residence Life Staff members may register up to 9 delegates. Institutions with over 100 Residence Life Staff members may register up to 12 delegates.

RESIDENCE LIFE CONFERENCE January 25 - 27, 2013

www.housing.uoguelph.ca/rlc2013

December 5th, 2012

FREE Webinar for student leaders - Well Being and Mental Health

December 7th, 2012

Learning Community Development Workshop (Drive-In) at Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning

Professional Development

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Corporate Member Profile November 2012

Foliot

For information about our Corporate Member Profiles, please contact Brent Rohrer [email protected]