What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 03/13/15

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Geek-and-proud

Hey there! Here's what is going on in my world:

  • Spring Break

This week has been Spring Break for my institution, which has meant having a quieter campus and more free time coming off the whirlwind weekend of ACPA. I've been able to sleep in a bit, catch up on work, and spend time with my partner. I appreciate this time before the race to the end of the semester in less than two months, which is wild. The end of my first academic year as a full-time professional is near!

  • Lost

My partner and I have been watching this show (mostly) together. I've seen it all many times but she was watching the entire series for the first time. It's one of my favorite shows of all time and it's been really nice to share it with her. I can share something I'm passionate about with her and we can bond over the show, which is a huge thing for me. We'll have to start on another show here soon but in the meantime, we'll still have our other shows that are currently on the air like The Walking Dead, Agent Carter, and Agents of SHIELD.

  • Reflections from ACPA 2015

I mentioned ACPA before, and while I've shared some thoughts on my podcast, I wanted to write some additional thoughts here. I'm planning on writing a more thorough post on conferences in general, but I'm still conflicted at times with how I feel about these big conferences. There is value in the connections and networking but the costs can be exorbitant for professionals and especially for students. It is hard to justify for me and maybe I'm just at a different point in my life having just started working full-time and not being willing to pay for a conference as I try to build a foundation for my life. I have a lot of other thoughts on this in relation to how sessions are handled for example. I look forward to getting that out for you all to read.

Thanks for stopping by!

What I Was Geeking Out About: February 2015

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Geek-and-proud

Hey there! Here's what was going on in my world last month:

There so much to geek out about last month, and to help you sift through it all, here's my monthly wrap up of all the stuff that was on my mind in February.

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What I Was Geeking Out About This Week - 03/06/15

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Geek-and-proud

Hey there! Here's what is going on in my world:

  • Tampa

So I am officially in Tampa today for ACPA 2015. This city is gorgeous and it was nice to get to my hotel, clean myself up, and walk outside in shorts in 80 degree weather! The area here around the convention center is very nice and I'm looking forward to exploring a bit more this weekend. I've taken a few photos already and I'll take a bunch more. I'll post them on my Facebook and some on my Instagram (check my "About" page if we aren't connected already!).

  • Changemakers

I recently wrote a post surrounding the topic of my presentation here at ACPA, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to talk about this subject matter that I am very invested in. I just want to give specific thanks to Krista Kohlmann for being a big part of making this happen in the first place and making the presentation a success (it hasn't happened yet technically as of writing this post but I know it will be awesome!). Check us out if you're at the convention and check out the #ACPA15 and #RUChangemakers hashtags on Twitter to follow along on the discussion.

  • Travel

I had a very long day yesterday with traveling down here to Tampa from Maine. My day started at 3am when I had to drive two hours to the airport in Portland, ME (only place I could get good flights out of), then take two connecting flights totaling around 4+ hours, and then once I got here, the convention kicked off already and everything was happening. Thankfully I had some time to check into my room, shower, and then go check in for the conference and bump into some lovely people right as I was getting in, which was serendipitously welcoming for me as I just got in. I don't mind travel too much, but I just wish I could have gotten a direct flight down here. I'm not a fan of connecting myself.

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On One Year of Podcasting

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SAC Podcast Today marks one year ago exactly to when the first episode of The Student Affairs Spectacular Podcast (let's call it SA Podcast for short) premiered. Since then, we've had almost 50 awesome episodes with student affairs professionals all over the country (and even abroad in Canada). I've learned a lot from these great people about our work with college students, and have also learned a lot about myself. I wanted to share with you all some of my reflections and lessons learned from this first year.

Preparation

A big lesson I've learned after a year of producing, hosting, and editing this podcast has been the value of preparation. When we started this endeavor, we had just began sourcing guests and kept pace well with our weekly episodes. However, there were certain times last year (especially when I was in full fledged job search mode or our team was away at conferences) that we had to scramble to get episodes. We also had some technical issues get in the way of keeping up with our weekly schedule. It was nice to take a break for the winter holidays as it allowed me to reset and get ahead of the schedule to where now I have episodes lined up for weeks in advance already recorded. The whole process has been far more enjoyable and less stressful this year due to my intentional effort put in to preparing ahead of time.

Conversation

The whole premise of the SA Podcast is fun, engaging, and relevant conversations with and for student affairs folks. I would not have ever considered myself a conversationalist but this show has made me into one more and more with each week. The quality of the show hinges on my asking of good questions, validating answers, and keeping a good flow going with each dialogue. I like to think I've done an alright job with this, and nevertheless, I've seen the benefits start to spill over into my non-podcasting life. I talk to students and colleagues all the time in my day job as well as my partner at home and I know the universal skills I mentioned before have come in handy. I listened more intently and I ask questions more purposefully. While I still have a lot of room for growth, I've seen a positive impact already in terms of how I talk to people, am I'm very grateful for that.

Collaboration

The SA Podcast couldn't happen without the help of my fellow team members. Tom and I have hosted together as well as hosted our own episodes of the show, and I've interviewed some amazing people in our field that I look up to solely based on connections through Tom or the confidence I've built to reach out to people on my own. Sabina also is the community manager extraordinaire who helps get the episodes out every week and promoted to our audience. I'm very grateful to have their support and assistance as well as the opportunity the do this. It is a dream come true and I'm excited to do every episode. I couldn't do it alone so both Tom and Sabina deserve a big shout out.

I hope to keep providing engaging content and to keep learning about myself from the SA Podcast for years to come. Thanks to all those that listen and if you haven't checked it out yet, go do it now!

Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 02/27/15

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Geek-and-proud

Greetings! Here's what is going on in my world this week:

** EDIT: Condolences to the family of Leonard Nimoy, who passed away today at the age of 83. You will be missed.

  • Parks and Recreation Series Finale

I watched the finale the day after it aired with my partner (we wanted to watch together) and I was very pleased with how they sent off the series. While it is really hard to ever live up to the high expectations of a series finale, Parks and Recreation definitely went out on top. This entire final season was awesome and should serve as a textbook for other sitcom finales. I foresee this show being one I'll go back to and watch again and again. It cements itself as a classic show that will surely stand the test of time. Thanks for the memories, Parks and Recreation!

  • Avengers: Age of Ultron

Some new little tidbits about the film came out from unexpected places. The official movie poster for Age of Ultron came out, and some awesome nerds discovered some interesting cast listings, such as Anthony Mackie, Idris Elba, and Hayley Atwell (some having been rumored, others thought not to be in the film). I'm particularly excited for Anthony Mackie to be featured in the film in some capacity since I know he is passionate about the role of the Falcon. All of them are awesome actors with equally awesome characters so I'm glad they're all in the movie (they all also add some diversity to the film). We've also gotten some better looks at Vision recently, which also make me happy. I can't wait for this movie!!!

  • House of Cards Season 3

I've been looking forward to this since the end of last season. This Netflix exclusive series is an amazing dramatic political thriller led by the incomparable Kevin Spacey. Having Frank Underwood as the President of the United States only makes the stakes higher and the intrigue more deep. I'm intrigued to see what he does with his new power or if it stifles him and he loses everything he worked so hard to obtain. I'm not sure when I'll get to watch all the episodes so I'll have to do my best to avoid any spoilers! Definitely check out seasons 1 & 2 on Netflix if you haven't already. They're awesome television!

Thanks for stopping by!