Managing The Stress of a Complex Student Affairs Grad Student Job Search

January 23, 2014 by Dustin Ramsdell in Student Affairs

Spreading the word about this cool and informative video for all my kindred spirits heading into the job search!

Guest Blogger

January 22, 2014 by Dustin Ramsdell in Social Media, Student Affairs

Hey everybody, I just wanted to highlight two other blogs where I have just started writing a blog a month (at least). Socialnomics and The Student Affairs Collective.

I've only been writing for a few months now but I've done more specific posts on those sites so I just wanted to spotlight those.

Thanks for your support! Have a great day!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 01/17/14

January 17, 2014 by Dustin Ramsdell in Weekly Geek Outs

Salutations! Check out what I'm getting into this week as I head into my final semester of school for the time being! (Wish me luck!)

So I finally saw this movie over the past weekend when it came out in wide release and it was great! The trailer is linked above and the quick review of it (spoiler-free) is that it's a beautiful, quirky, unconventional love story that reminded me a lot of another one of my favorite romantic movies, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Someone else said it reminded them of Lars and the Real Girl, which I agreed. Both of these movies are on Netflix if you can't make it out to the theater but I highly recommend Her. Go treat yourself to a great time at the movies (after you finish reading this post)!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Ah yes, the oft critiqued new series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is well into it's first season and I think the show is hitting its stride. Introducing a few villains to expand the universe and progressing the plot along each episode (albeit at times at the cost of their characters), I have been on board with this adventure so far. I am sharing the show with my partner, Jenn too, and I think that is also a great part of the appeal; it's just good TV. She has seen all of the recent Marvel movies but isn't a huge comics junkie or anything. It's just a fun ride and I like being able to relax with her and watch the show together.

Josie Ahlquist

Going into student affairs mode here. I've been sharing a lot of what Josie has been posting lately, since it blends my love of student affairs and my fascination with social media into one smoothie of intellectual awesomeness. She's researching it all for her doctorate and in a cool way, putting it out into the world for everyone to easily check out. It's great and if you're into either topic at all, you should take a gander at what she's writing on her blog. I'll be forwarding more of her stuff I'm sure anyway so you might as well get ahead of the game.

* Honorable Mention: @midnight - It's a fun, topical show with my role model Chris Hardwick that makes fun of the latest internet headlines with hilarious comedians every night. It's a gaggle of laughs, do yourself a favor and check it out.

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 01/10/14

January 10, 2014 by Dustin Ramsdell in Weekly Geek Outs

Greetings friends! I am going to try to structure the stuff I'm putting out to make myself more consistent with my content. So here is the first of a weekly series of what I've been geeking out about this past week.

ASAP Science

So I am just generally geeking out about this YouTube channel. I pretty much always watch their weekly videos when they come out and tend to fall into a science wormhole of connected videos. They're short, sweet, engaging, and entertaining. A particularly intriguing video was their one on frozen versus fresh foods (which you can find here).

2014 Student Affairs Feature

This free ebook (or PDF) contains a highlight reel of the articles written for the site of the same name (found here). I really enjoyed seeing some of my favorite stories featured as well as all the great ones I missed over the past year. This is a great gathering of knowledge and insight for any of my fellow student affairs folks. Share it and support great, independent, collaborative communities!

Arrow

I recently caught up on this show, binge watching it rather quickly to be ready for it's return next week. For those unfamiliar, it's a new look at the classic DC Comics character, Green Arrow (aka Oliver Queen). It is an exciting, action series that has some great writing and a lot of fun nods to the greater DC Universe, which I hope play into a bigger play by DC alongside their upcoming powerhouse film, Batman VS. Superman. The first season is on Netflix and some of the second is on Hulu. Check it out!

What are you geeking out about? Share in the comments and come back next week for more awesome stuff!

2014: Looking Ahead At The Year To Come

December 31, 2013 by Dustin Ramsdell in Milestones, Student Affairs

I just posted about the year that was, and on the eve of a new year, I thought I'd look forward to what is to come. I'm heading into my last semester of school for the foreseeable future, which is a new feeling. For the past few years I've always been under the pressure of figuring out how to pay for my next semester or putting in applications for programs. Now I'm replacing all of that with job applications and the start of the rest of my life. It's scary but I feel more ready now than I ever have.

I have two new adventures ahead with the job search. I'll be heading out to Indianapolis for the annual ACPA convention as well as down to Baltimore for the annual NASPA (another broad student affairs organization) convention. I've been to Baltimore briefly when I was much younger and I've never been to Indy so I look forward to visiting both of these places for a bit.

As I noted in my previous post, I've recently begun seeing my awesome new partner, Jenn. We have a habit we like to do every once in a while when either of us is having a bad day to pick out one positive thing, one best moment, or one 'win' from the day to make ourselves feel a little better. We have done it sporadically before now but with the start of the new year (as well as my love of 30 Day Challenges), we've committed to telling each other one positive thing each day for the next 30 days. I'm excited for this since there are always those days where there just doesn't seem to be anything going your way. It'll be a fun challenge to try to find anything awesome from the day regardless.

I look forward to graduating with a master's degree, something I never would have thought possible years ago, I look forward to more memories with my friends, I look forward to proudly turning 25, and I look forward to all the things to come that I can't even fathom yet.

Cheers to the new year! Let's make it a good one, folks!

Looking Back on a Year Filled with Adventure

December 28, 2013 by Dustin Ramsdell in Milestones, Student Affairs

I felt the need to reflect back on my year, personally and professionally, as I settle into the comforts of winter break. I've been able to sleep in, see family, work through my Netflix queue, spend time with my wonderful partner, and generally not have to do anything I don't choose. This has been a relaxing, calming experience since the residence halls closed. I've been able to center myself again after the sort of manic-ness that is the end of the semester. Looking back, this past year had a few ups and downs but I feel as though it was a year where I challenged myself in a few new ways, and grew because of it. I'm thankful, with the clarity of hindsight, to see that it all happened for a reason to make me a better, more confident person.

To work chronologically, I honestly started the year in a bad place. I had a rough time getting through the holidays, having spent them pretty much alone. In response, I just kept to myself in my apartment and didn't really get up to much. I actually looked forward to the semester started since it would give me a purpose and something to do with my time. As the semester went forward, I was volunteering some of my time in various offices and was honing in my focus on the type of work and skills I wanted to cultivate. I was doing some things I didn't find that rewarding and others that I had a blast being a part of, namely doing marketing work for the Division of Student Affairs here at Rutgers. I worked with great people doing cool new things I'd never tried before. Flexing these new muscles, I was able to gain confidence that I could be a quick learner and contribute meaningful things to a new team.

A huge new adventure for me this past year was flying out to Las Vegas for the annual convention for ACPA (a national college student affairs organization for those who don't know). At this time, I hadn't flown for years, much less gone across the country. I'd always just stuck to the East Coast so going to a whole new place, also never having gone to a big convention before, made the experience an amazing one once I came back and crashed on my bed in New Jersey after a whirlwind week. While I wasn't much of a fan of the city of Las Vegas, I had a very rewarding time challenging myself to go far out of my comfort zone; learning new things and meeting new people.

Next, after feeling great finishing my first year of graduate school and getting through a year supervising a residence hall community, I quickly transitioned right into my summer working with New Student Orientation here at Rutgers. The journey to get here, however, was not what I thought it would be. I applied for various NODA (the national college orientation organization) internships around the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the country. I interviewed for several of them and got rejected for all of them. I simultaneously applied for opportunities here at Rutgers as a backup plan, hoping to continue my spirit of adventure at another institution for the summer. Nevertheless, I ended up here, at the very least doing the sort of work I wanted to do, so I was happy enough. Little did I know I was getting myself into one of the best summers of my life, personally and professionally.

First off, I was able to deepen connections with fellow members of my cohort who were also in the area for the summer. Second, I garnered a newfound respect for Rutgers and everything it is capable of as a large institution. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I met my new partner, Jenn. I would not have had the pleasure of having her in my life if I hadn't stayed here. I feel different about her, as opposed to others I've dated, and it's been an amazing ride so far these past few months so I look forward to what's next. She's pretty awesome. I can't say that enough. I'll have to introduce you soon.

My last interesting experience I wish to quickly share was going to the Firefly Music Festival that takes place in Delaware (my home state). I went with a friend and it was a wild ride. I have to mention it and share the fun I had since even though it was just a brief part of my year, I never thought I'd do something like that and I am proud to say I did.

So here I am, having completed 3/4 of my master's degree, on the precipice of the job search, and having a wonderful relationship to support and inspire me. I feel very grateful and while everything may not have worked at times like I thought they should, as I tell folks all the time, it all happens for a reason, whether or not we can see it yet or not. Be on the lookout for a post on the year ahead.

Happy New Year everyone!

Strengths Finder, True Colors, and MBTI: Developing the Language of Leadership

December 10, 2013 by Dustin Ramsdell in Nerdy Stuff, Positivity, Student Affairs

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the popular personality tests Strengths Finder, True Colors, and MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Inventory). They give you a list of questions and output a term, a type, or a temperament that describes how you interact with the world and those around you. I personally have Ideation, Connectedness, Intellection, Input, and Adaptability as my top five Strengths, in that order (here’s a good list of them all. I am also a Blue/Green (logically emotional like Spock I like to say) and I am an INFJ (a good description listed here).

What I think is the best part of these tests is that it gives me the language to describe who I am and what is important to me personally, which obviously impacts my work. A large part of being an effective leader is knowing one’s self. Taking these tests, and even taking them multiple times at different points in my life to see how I’ve changed, allows for a great deal of self-awareness. I know how I am typically so I can either let people know that or work to incorporate others better since I know what my quirks are. While I have heard some naysayers to these tests speaking to how they don’t like to be put in a box but I think knowing any one or all of these results is a good place to start to just be able to get others to understand you. You don’t need these tests to understand yourself necessarily but they definitely help others understand you. I’ve learned recently that this is a big step in working well with a team. I can be okay with myself and how I work but I need to be able to get others to be okay with how I do things or else there is going to be a lot of friction.

I encourage you to think about bringing these tools into your teams, especially with student staff members. They are trying to find themselves and their leadership style. These tests can enable them to be proud of their unique strengths and traits that make them great, rather than focus on their flaws. I know I felt like being an introvert was an issue, after exploring myself and what I have to offer, I am ready to tackle any issue head on in my own way. I know now my difference is an asset, not a weakness.