Geeking out about higher ed since 2013.
I posted this the other day on my various social media channels but I wanted to highlight it here as well. This video (from the cool PBS Idea Channel) has some very intriguing insights on the trend of highlighting the aspects of ourselves that are introverted and it is becoming quite the buzzword.
Are we all a little introverted? Is the word being overused? Check it out for some answers.
Good tidings to you all! Here is what I'm geeking out about this week!
Let me just start by saying that I love this show and have loved it for it's entire run thus far. It always seems to be on the NBC cutting board but nevertheless, all the passionate fans seem to get their way every year. I don't have a problem with this at all. It's a unique, quirky, smartly dumb show that I enjoy watching every week. This season that has been on for a few weeks now is sort of "rebooting" the show which is interesting to watch. It mostly feels like the same old Community but there are some major changes happening so I'll probably post again about how the season ends. Check out the entire series on Hulu Plus if you're a subscriber.
This app is a brilliant tool to help keep your mind sharp. It has a variety of brain games such as quick math problems and memory puzzles. It's a free app for your smartphone and you can pay for premium access. I have found it very useful to help me center my mind more as I have a lot of work ramping up now with the semester starting.
I recently posted about this excellent podcast on Socialnomics and got an email from Chris and Jon thanking me for the shoutout. It felt really awesome to be noticed and shown gratitude so I'm just echoing my praise for their content and their attentiveness to their community of listeners. They interview big names who are putting out big ideas for life, leadership, and work like Daniel Pink, Seth Godin, Tony Hsieh, Brene Brown, Drew Dudley, and many more! Take a gander at their library of over a hundred episodes and subscribe to never miss an episode!
So, what're you all geeking out about? Leave a comment and reach out! Have a great week, everyone!
Spreading the word about this cool and informative video for all my kindred spirits heading into the job search!
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!
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)!
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.
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.
More great stuff from Josie!
I am probably going to bombard you all with more of her stuff soon. It's a great mashup of tech and student affairs. Love it!
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.
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).
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!
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!
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!
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.