End of the Semester

Well...it seems as if I've been neglecting doing regular updates. I know nobody else really reads this except for myself and some of the other Hixson Scholars, but I thought it would be good to revisit this and reflect on the past half-year, so if I look back on this in the future I'll remember it better. This past half-year, scratch that, this past year, has definitely been the best year of my life!
I'll start out with concluding from this summer. As I believe I've posted before, Orientation was an absolutely wonderful time, and then the month of July was kind of relaxed with helping with campus visits, doing Experience Iowa State days, and planning for Destination Iowa State. The month of July was relatively uneventful, the highlight of which was being involved with one of my best friend's proposing to his girlfriend, and her accepting of course. Yay! So this next summer I'm going to be one of the groomsmen and get to be really involved with a wedding for the first time ever. I'm pretty excited!
Now, the month of August is when things got REALLY INTENSE. All the Cyclone Aides moved out of Frederickson Court, and those of us who were also serving as Community Advisors were soon about to start training for that. Training started out pretty normal...on the second day of training we all went to Camp Hantesa just outside of Ames to do some team-building activities and some diversity education...ended up coming back covered in mud, sweat, and blood...obviously a great day of training! Either that night, or the night after that was when we started to have an intense rain fall. We as a CA staff all decided to go out and play in the rain puddles for a bit, and when we realized it was flooding, instead of running off to safety and avoiding dangerous situations...we decided we were going to go play in the flood. So we set off through the flood waters, seeing metal grates covering tunnels leading underground overturned, streets flooded, and City of Ames workers putting up barriers and sandbagging. We offered to help but we were told they had all the help they needed, and they recommended we leave, so we did, but not before jumping in the Fountain of the Four Seasons, just because we could (which we later found out was illegal....oops!). The next day training was going on as usual, despite the floods. Partway through the day, things turned for the worse. Flood water contaminated the public water in Ames, putting the city in a boil order, and we found out Hilton Coliseum was flooded and would not be functioning in time for Destination Iowa State the next week. Let me put this in perspective...imagine spending an entire year planning one of the biggest mass-gatherings of the year for a pretty large university, an event involving 4500+ new students, Team Leaders, Cyclone Aides, and staff members....only to find out the week before that ALL of Thursdays activities have to be changed due to flooding. Obviously the New Student Programs staff was very frustrated and LOTS of things had to be changed last minute. We finished training, began the process of checking new students in, and then it was time to take time away from being a Community Advisor to my other CA position...Cyclone Aide to help with Destination Iowa State. Luckily things did end up working out for the most part....the Picnic and Kickoff were moved to Central Campus, and things slightly altered, but it still ended up being a really great event. Luckily the rest of Destination Iowa State went off without any flaws, and sitting in front row in Stephens Auditorium for Comedian Jeff Dye, and all the Cyclone Aides dancing to "I Like It" in front of an auditorium with thousands of people in it was definitely a very memorable experience.
With new student Move-In over with and Destination Iowa State coming to a close with the Comedian and Target Sweep, it was now time for classes to start. Admittedly, my classes this semester weren't exactly the best, although I did have some good ones. I enjoyed my Youth and Crime class and Social Cognition...everything else I could honestly have cared less for, but they were all basically graduation requirements...I am definitely looking forward to next semester though...Abnormal Psychology, Sensation and Perception, Motivation, Psychology and the Legal System, and unfortunately a Statistics class..but with the exception of that, I'm looking forward to everything else, and all of the professors I have are great according to reviews, so it should definitely be a good semester and hopefully I can make the Dean's List again.
Being a Community Advisor this past semester has definitely been an eye-opening experience. I have the best Hall Director ever...I got to be involved with the Hall Director interview process last semester, and was ecstatic when I found out that I'd have the opportunity to work with the person who was my favorite candidate. My residents are great as well...a lot of them remembered me from Orientation, and many of them are really open with me, and I love having the opportunity to have a positive impact on their lives and help guide them in the right direction. They made it to the Intramural Flag Football championships even, but unfortunately ended up playing a team that had been playing together for 3 years, and should have been in A-class instead of B-class...oh well, they're still winners in my eyes (despite how cheesy that sounds.) Some of them even like to come back drunk and hug me and/or try to pick me up...only two of whom have been successful with that though.
My least favorite part of being a CA, however, is my horrible custodian. If there is a noodle in the sink or drinking fountain he will take a picture of it, then walk around all day trying to find me so he can show me a picture of it. He sorts through the trash to see if anything is in there that shouldn't be in there...and he complains about EVERYTHING. I've given up on saying "Good morning" to him since he'll just give me ten reasons why it's not, and normally throw in some uneducated sexist or racist joke. One day at the desk he decided to tell me the story of how he lost his virginity and his experience with condoms...definitely NOT a story I needed to hear from a 50 year old man. Luckily I'm not around too much during the day so I don't have to deal with him too much...unfortunately, my residents do and I absolutely hate the way he treats them...oh well...in the end he's the most miserable person, so it all works out in the end!
I've also had quite a few interesting incidents this semester as a CA, a lot of which I can't go into too much detail on. One day my residents decided to barricade my door with recycling bins, and then later on made a shrine to me with them. I got to call the cops when my HD and I found potential drug paraphernelia and fireworks in a room while doing a room check, and there was one day where I may or may not have had to confront a prostitute...we can't say for sure whether or not she was, but all signs point to it.
This past semester I was also obviously a Peer Mentor for the Hixson program, the reason we had to start online blogging. It was great finally getting to apply what we had learned in class to working with our new students. I think Amber and I were lucky enough to have a really great class to teach this semester...our trip with them to the Omaha Zoo was a great time and they did a great parody of Twilight for their class project. I think Amber and I had an interesting dynamic...she did all of the organization and planning, and I for the most part did Icebreakers and Games...if I were to be a Peer Mentor again, I would try to so a bit more planning, since all of my practice with Lesson Plans this past Spring semester I didn't really get to utilize.
Dance Marathon is coming up in about a month...this past semester, my partner Katie and I had been going to several different sites recruiting people and helping with fundraising, and luckily we've gotten a fairly big group this year! I also enjoyed going to Iowa City one weekend to choreograph our 2011 Morale Dance and getting a tour of the Children's Hospital, as well as bonding with the rest of the Recruitment and Morale committee. I look forward to all of the costumes and dancing on January 22, 2011! It should be another unforgettable day!
Another great thing that happened this semester was I got the opportunity to go to the MACURH conference again, this time at Missouri State University. I did a program titled "IceBreakers and You: Breaking the Ice Without Scaring People...Too Much", about working with different personality types, specifically introverts/extroverts. It ended up being a great program because we had a lot of discussion and I even had a professional Hall Director and Student Counselor come up afterwards and compliment me on it, and I got overall great reviews on it. The best part about MACURH, however, was the rest of our delegation. Our delegation team bonded a lot better than the one from last year, and we've gone out to eat several times since the conference, and I've gotten closer to a lot of them than I have with people I've known for years. 6+ hour van rides can do that for you. One of my favorite parts of the conference trip was Ashley and Julia kidnapping Heidi, our stuffed dog mascot, and forcing me to go to their hotel room and getting on my hands and knees while they took compromising pictures so I could get her back. Another great memory was all going to Fuji Steakhouse together and the hillarity tat ensued there. I also found out on the trip that one of my residents, whom also went with us, thought of me as more of a brother figure than a CA. That really did touch me and I MAY have almost gotten teary-eyed...almost.
Now, I think it's time to conclude as this is getting very long, and it did manage to entertain me for a bit at least. Like I said, this past semester was a very memorable one. I'e had all new experiences, met a ton of amazing people, had the opportunity to impact the lives of hundreds of people through Orientation, Destination Iowa State, being a CA, and being a Hixson Peer Mentor, and have lots of things to look forward to in the future. One of my best friends will be student-teaching this next semester, and after that he'll be going to grad school here in Higher Education, which is what I plan on doing. My work and experiences working with prospective and new students this past year has pushed me in that direction, and now I'm sure it's what I want to do for the rest of my life...so I'm already in the process of preparing to apply for graduate school, even though I still have a year...it's something I want to get done early. Next month will be more CA training, my final Orientation/Destination Iowa State, and Dance Marathon 2011! Then in February will be the No Frills Conference, and that will be fun working with the RBD and hosting the other universities in the region for regional business. Sadly, after February my schedule dies down significantly, so I won't be quite as busy next semester as I was this past semester...which will give me more time to focus on being a CA I guess, and maybe time to develop my grad school application more. Now I think it's really time to end this....bye!

Hixson Peer Mentors Blog Post-So You're Here Now...Now What?

Congratulations! You’ve officially made it (mostly) through your first week of college. You’ve survived Orientation, Destination Iowa State, your first Hixson lecture with Debra (scary, I know), your first recitation with us amazing Peer Mentors, and soon your first week of classes. So now you may be thinking “What else is there to do in college besides this whole class thing?”.

Luckily for you, there are lots of other things to do here besides just going to class and studying. We have over 800+ clubs and organizations here. We have clubs for majors (Biology Club, Psychology Club, Criminal Justice Club), pre-professional clubs (Pre-Health, Pre-Vet, Pre-Optometry, etc.), and clubs just for fun (Medieval Fighting Society, Jugging and Unicycling Club). You can find information about all of the clubs offered on campus on the Student Organization Database, which can be found at this link: http://sodb.stuorg.iastate.edu/

Many of you live in the residence halls and/or the Greek Community. These are both great ways to get involved as well! Run to become your house president, vice-president, intramural chair, whatever you want! You may even be able to run for a hall council position, and get to represent your entire residence hall on IRHA (Inter-Residence Hall Association), our residence-hall wide governing body that plans activities and provides updates to all of the residence halls. I started out as secretary of my floor my freshmen year, became Vice-President of my residence hall my sophomore year, and even got the opportunity to go to some regional leadership conferences and present information about Iowa State, so it’s definitely a great way to get started out on campus.

Not interested in residence hall or Greek government, but still want to be involved on campus? No problem! Join a VEISHEA committee, become involved with Homecoming, sign-up to raise money for Dance Marathon, our largest student-ran philanthropy on campus, whatever you choose! No matter what you’re interested in, you’ll be able to find it here at Iowa State!

Any questions on how to get involved on campus? Please feel free to contact me at ahenshaw@iastate.edu, or ask any of the other Peer Mentors. We’ll be ecstatic to help you! Congratulations on surviving your first week!

-Austin

Orientation Time: Hixson Peer Mentors Post

Here's my Orientation Time post for the actual Hixson Peer Mentors blogpost, which you can find here:

http://hixsonpeermentors.blogspot.com/2010/06/orientation-time.html

Hello Hixson Scholars of 2014! Classes have ended, summer is here, and that means Orientation is here! What is Orientation you ask? Orientation is your transition from high school to college. I know some of you have already gone through Orientation, while others of you have yet to come still. Here’s some information about what you should have gotten out of Orientation, and what you should expect if you will be coming to Orientation at a later date.

Your Orientation starts with actually checking in at the Hixson Headquarters for Registration. After that you will be getting your ISU Card (be prepared to have your picture taken…otherwise you might be stuck with a picture like mine), registering for your Iowa State e-mail address if you need to, and taking any necessary placement assessments. You will have the option of participating in a campus tour, a tour of the Parks Library, residence hall tour, or attending a program about Fraternities and Sororities. After that you will be heading over to your University Welcome Site to meet some very important people, find out all about your college and major, learn how to register for classes, and meet some wonderful Cyclone Aides. Cyclone Aides are students just like you who will be there to help you with the transition process and answer any questions you might have. I have the pleasure of being one of the Cyclone Aides you’ll be seeing this summer. I’m Austin Henshaw, a junior in Psychology from Sioux City, Iowa.

After the afternoon is over with, you have the opportunity to eat at Union Drive Marketplace, one of our three main dining centers that will be open to you in the fall. You’ll have the chance to eat with some Cyclone Aides and just make a personal connection, plus enjoy amazing food. After that you can head to a What You Need to Know presentation, where there will be two separate break-out sessions where you will get the opportunity to ask Cyclone Aides anything you want to know about Iowa State and student life, plus meet some other incoming students. Afterwards you have the opportunity to have snacks at Munch and Mingle at Clyde’s Sport Club and get any other questions answered. Additionally, there will be evening recreation available as well at the Lied Recreation Center, where you can play board games, basketball, volleyball, ultimate Frisbee, ping pong, racquetball, and meet more students.

On Day 2 of Orientation you will meet with your academic advisor to make your fall course selections (make sure to add U. ST 111!!!!!) and create your first semester schedule. You will also have the opportunity to attend a Resource Fair at the Memorial Union, where several university organizations will be represented, free candy handed out, and where you can learn all about the different resources Iowa State has to offer!
After you have completed your Orientation, your adventure will continue at Destination Iowa State. Destination Iowa State is our welcome program held Aug. 19-21 for new students where you will get to learn the Iowa State fight song, see the Marching Band perform, see a comedian, participate in fun recreational activities at Late Night at the Memorial Union, plus get lots of free stuff! Many of you registered at Orientation or will get the opportunity to at Orientation. If for whatever reason you didn’t get to register, you can register at https://www.admissions.iastate.edu/destination/registration.php . I speak from personal experience when I say that Destination Iowa State is definitely one of my favorite traditions at Iowa State and I really want all of you to participate!

Working as a Cyclone Aide this summer has been one of the funnest things I’ve done in my life. Having the opportunity to meet all of the incoming students and their families, and helping them throughout their transition process, is a very rewarding experience. I hope all of you have (or will have) found Orientation beneficial. If you will be attending Orientation later and if you see me around, please feel free to stop and say hi. If you have any questions about Orientation, Destination Iowa State, or anything in general, please feel free to contact me at ahenshaw@iastate.edu. See you all soon!

Summer Thus Far

Wow! It's been nearly two months since I last did an update. Seems like it's time for one then. Let me just say...the whole month of June working Orientation with the Cyclone Aide's....AMAZING. I even got to meet some of my residents for next year and some of the new Hixson Scholars. It was great finally getting to put the knowledge we'd gain over the past semester to use, and welcoming all of the new students and families to campus. Working with the other Cyclone Aide's was amazing as well and I can't wait until Destination Iowa State when we have all of the new students all together at once.
Outside of Orientation happening in June, June was sort of a bitter-suite month. I found out Stephanie, my Hall Direcor as well as our No Frills Conference Co-Advisor had been hired for the previous position she wanted and accepted it. I am extremely happy for her though, and from what she told me I know it was a difficult decision for her to make. I felt honored when she told me why she had chosen me for the house she put me in, knowing that there would be fall-out and even another returning CA quit because of where she placed me. I am also happy with the person replacing her...somebody whom I actually helped interview last semester and whom I had originally wanted to get the position. Working with her will be fun.
In short, I'm having probably the busiest, but best summer of my life, and I can't wait until next fall to welcome all the new students to campus during Destination Iowa State, to start developing community on my house next year, and to start teaching our recitation sections. It's going to be an absolutely amazing experience and I can't wait to work with all of the wonderful Peer Mentors again! I'll be seeing some of you next week at the Retreat Planning meeting hopefully. Everybody have a good rest of your summer!

Diversity Experience

During VEISHEA I went to the Race Machine in the Memorial Union and was able to watch RACE-Power of an Illusion. It's interesting how there are very very very very minute genetic differences (far less than 1 percent) between different races, so little that it really doesn't make any difference at all. Amongst animals, we really aren't that genetically diverse at all, since we really haven't been around for that long. The whole idea of race really is a recent invention in the history of man..it wasn't even considered in ancient times, and has been exploited recently for the purpose of slavery. The Race Machine was kind of fun to play with to see how you would look as different races...although I was really sunburnt when I tried it so some of the images were really distorted unfortunately. :(

One Week More...

It's sad to think that we only have one more week left of class. This class is actually one of my favorite, although I am happy knowing that we will have class together again for U ST. 312. It's been a really amazing experience...getting to know people I already knew a bit better, and getting to know people I had never really talked to before this class. I'm glad I got Amber as a partner instead of Jenna (J/K Jenna! Love you!). Looking at the pairings, it seems like the Hixson peeps did a good job at pairing us all up together, especially with scheduling conflicts involved. I'm glad we finally know our partners and can get prepared for next fall.
It's hard to believe another week has gone by. The week after VEISHEA was a good week for me. After our final IRHA meeting Tyler, Mandy, and I stayed out on Central Campus and went to Jeff's pizza and just stayed up talking until 3 a.m. It was kind of nice just to hang out with them in a non-formal context and just get to know each other a bit more, although I did say some pretty embarassing things about campaniling without really thinking about what I was saying before I said it. That's still something I'll have to work on. Then Friday night Tyler and I went all around Friley trying to convince people to go to the dance party downstairs (I was very dissapointed you didn't come Taylor....grrr.). Last night I went to the Dub H show at Ames High to watch Bia and Jordan perform...they did absolutely amazing! I'm kind of sad that I won't get to see all of my wonderful fellow peer mentors and a lot of my friends over the summer, but I look forward to reuniting with everybody back in the fall. It's going to be an amazing fall semester!
I hope everybody has a good last weekend before dead week. (Dead Week sound so morbid doesn't it?) I look forward to one last class together on Wednesday, so I'll see you all then!

Wrapping Up

So we're approaching the end of the semester (I think I've started most of my entry's with "So") and I am SO excited for next fall. We filled out the Mentoring Confidence sheets and I was pretty confident in everything. Our small group didn't like the way some of the questions were asked though, like "I feel confident in ending a mentoring relationship successfully." We were thinking "Why end it? Just because the class is over with doesn't mean we completely abandon them or cease contact with them. I think it's important for us to still maintain contact with our students even after the class is over with. We should be a resource to them throughout their time at Iowa State. I look forward to the panel this upcoming Wednesday and hearing about the experience of past Peer Mentors.
This past week has been pretty much amazing! Last year during VEISHEA I got the opportunity to see a lot of the entertainment options, but I didn't really get to be a part of highlighting the campus to visitors. This year was much different though. I gave tours during VEISHEA week which excited lots of people visiting campus during the day, I got to perform twice with Dance Marathon on the Central Campus stage, and got to represent IRHA in the VEISHEA parade. I thought the parade was really fun because I got to talk with the Geoffreys beforehand and met Coach Paul Rhoads. Throwing candy at people (sorry...I mean "to" people) was a lot of fun and the little kids were really excited during the parade. It was definitely a really memorable experience. The only downside to our balloon in the parade was after we got done and had to deflate it, Amanda convinced some of us to suck helium out of it. That's kind of a bad idea to do after running around/dancing for about half an hour straight. Just so you know...
Anyway, hope all of you had a fun and safe VEISHEA! I'll see you all on Wednesday!