Post Weekend Review: Memorial Day

Great weekend! I put away more of my stuff and hung some more signs on Saturday. Then it was all Chicago Blackhawk time!!! My Blackhawks were victorious 6-5 but it was an awfully sloppy game. The top line of Toews, Kane, and Byfuglien barely did anything and Niemi looked horrible. I'm a little nervous about the series.

On Sunday, I spent most of the time with Krista and Kevin, one of the Links. We explored Williamsport, went to the Mall, and went to Iron Man 2. It was all great!

Monday, it was back to Blackhawk time! I worked on some reviews for my Greek Life supervisor at Western but then it was all hockey. The Hawks won 2-1. It was a defensive/goalie standoff. Again, a little nervous but it's great being up 2-0 in the series!!

Summer Hours!

This morning I filled out my paper work for hire. Yes, I've been working a week without officially being hired. This was an unforeseen issue that was out of the hands of Brian and Erin. Stuff happens. However, with the paperwork, this means I will receive an email address soon, which means I will be in the system, which means I can receive packages via mail, which means I can get an ID, which means I can eat and go to the gym, which means I can share a calendar with the staff to help schedule meetings, which means I can get paid. A lot is riding on the paperwork and getting an email address.

After the paperwork, I met with Lee to solidify the schedule for Link training as he will be gone for most of next week It was a quick meeting and the feedback we got from the Coordinators was positive!

I then met with Brian, Erin, and Krista to discuss collaboration. Krista was interested in the Recycling poster/marketing and just learning more about Residence Halls. There were quite a few things Erin had in mind for me, like working on the Greek Life Standards. She definitely has an ambitious list! I figure I can use my knowledge to help student activities while really spending my time to learn more about Residence Life.

It's summer hours!! Everything shuts down at 1pm here. The mass exodus from the parking lot is interesting to see. My guess is Memorial Weekend had something to do with that. Weekend plans: STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS!!!!!!! My team, the Chicago Blackhawks, made it to the Stanley Cup Finals where they will face the Philadelphia Flyers. Game 1 on Saturday, Game 2 on Monday. No other plans but hockey plans!! GO HAWKS!!!!

Bucknell Ropes Course

I went with the Links to the Bucknell Ropes course, which was awesome! We did a few team building exercises, some high ropes activities, climbing wall, and zip line. The highlight for me was making it up the climbing wall and zip lining down. It was also interesting to watch the Links interact. There were some gender role issues being played out, mostly the guys thinking they had to do the heavy lifting work for the women. There were also issues with privilege, mainly the students who had insurance could participate and the few who did not have insurance could not. There were also some great student development situations. One student really challenged their fear of heights by walking across the log 40 ft in the air, climbing the wall, and zip lining. It was really cool to see his confidence build over the course of the day. If I can find some pictures I'll post them but we shall see!

As far as Orientation students go, I think Penn College has a great group of Links. I'm kind of an outsider as I attend various activities with them and I can be a little shy around new groups of people. All the Links have made me feel like I'm part of the group and this day helped solidify that. When the day comes, it will be sad to leave this group.

New Project and Tours

Krista, Erin, and I were supposed to meet with Brian to discuss some collaboration on projects but Brian was stuck at Dauphin Hall so we had to reschedule.

I then met with Tim and Lee to discuss Link training for Residence Halls. This is a great project for me. I can incorporate what I've learned in my classes, use what I've learned from my time at Minnesota, and learn more about Penn College Residence Halls and Link training. My duties are to make a reference card for the Links to carry around in case they need it and work on a Procedure Jeopardy with Tim. I'm also working on the schedule with Lee. This is going to be a fun project!

I then had a tour with the Links of the School of Integrated Studies (ps, I just learned how to attach internet links to the words, no more pasting long links!) . It wasn't so much a tour as it was a question and answer period with the School Administration. This is kind of a "catch-all" school as some of their majors need classes from other departments but the majors don't fit into the other schools.

After lunch, we toured the School of Hospitality and LeJeune Chef! This was an actual tour. LeJeune Chef is a restaurant that one can come to and enjoy the delicacies the chefs prepare. The students work their way up to actually cooking the food served. We got to tour the kitchens and even the classroom where they used to film a TV show! This was a really cool tour!

After that, I went to work on creating and catching up on this blog and then called it a day! Still no email.

Scheduling and Meetings

So, I don't have an email address yet, which makes it tough for me to schedule things or know where I'm supposed to be. It also means I can't use any of the school computers, like the one in my office or the ResLife office. So I thought I had the morning to start working on my projects and this blog at my apartment but turns out I had meetings all day!!! I was totally late for our meeting with Michael Hersh, the main programming director for student activities.

These meetings for Krista and I to get to know the professional staff here at Penn College. In our meeting with Michael, we talked a lot about the programs they offer and he asked us a lot of questions about our homecomings and what we do on our campuses. It reminded me that I simply didn't take full advantage of my time at Minnesota. We went way over our meeting time, even if I was late.

Then we met with Sara Hillis and had discussions on Student Activities, Service, and SGA. Sara’s job is a bunch of Western jobs combined, which means she probably does quite a bit in her position. She also talked about her connections to NACA, which she is writing a article for the NACA magazine. This was another hour long meeting and it could have been longer! Everyone is so full of information and both sides are asking a lot of questions. Maybe meetings could be longer in the future if their schedule allows?

We then met with Brian Johnson, Director of Residence Life. Brian talked about his administrative activities and big picture planning activities. He gave us an overview about what is going on now and how Dauphin Hall is changing things. We saw floor plans for Dauphin Hall as well, which looked really cool! They’re looking to turn that area into a First Year Student area with some specific learning community areas. Like the other meetings, this meeting could have gone on longer but Brian is a very busy guy!

After lunch, it was right back into meetings. We met with all 4 Residence Life Coordinators: Katie Mackey (The Village), Kas Williams (College West), Lee Plenn (Rose Street Commons), and Ashley Smith Nicholas (Campus View). They basically gave us time to ask them questions about Housing. Krista asked a lot of the questions since she doesn't have a lot of ResLife Experience. The Coordinators all have their distinct personalities but they fit well with the Main ResLife Office. They're fun but they carry themselves in a professional manner. They're a fun group!

After that, we met with Erin Datteri, the Assistant Director for Leadership and Greek Life in Student Activities. We had a lot to talk about with Greek Life. Greek Life is relatively new at Penn College. They have 2 Fraternity Chapters, 2 Fraternity Colonies, and 2 Sorority Colonies. Colonization is quite the process. We talked a lot about the students here being focused on their academics and not so much on the experience of college which is why some of the colonies are struggling. Erin gone through Impact Training and Phired Up! before. We spent an hour alone on Greek Life before we covered Leadership. We talked about a lot and it sounds like I might be able to help with some of the Greek Life stuff. We shall see. Definitely a long day!

Leadership Quote

Brian handed me this quote which I think is cool. It also makes a lot of sense:

"Self-assessment is the first action requirement of leadership: the constant resharpening, constant refocusing, never really being satisfied." ~ Peter F. Drucker

Just something to think about....

Why Penn College?

As Krista and I have met various people and professionals on campus, many of them have asked us what attracted us to PCT. Both Krista and I commented on how unique an Penn College is and how that attracted us to our positions. The irony was they said the same thing before they heard our answer. So, here's my reasoning for choosing Penn College for my internship:

1. Their Residence Halls are all apartment style accept for one building, Dauphin Hall.

2. They are building a brand new Residence Hall. I don't believe too many campuses can say that these days.

3. It's a small school of Technology. I've really only been to Liberal Arts schools.

4. It's on the East Coast. I've only been out here one time before, not counting the two Florida trips when I was little. I'm close to a whole host of tourist places, my buddy Tim lives in New York, and I get to live in the mountains, or at least what I consider the mountains.

5. The opportunity to be the first ACUHO-I intern ever at Penn College, hoping I can set the bar high.

6. The schedule for their intern basically fit my summer schedule.

7. The campus is beautiful. (Corny, I know, but I can always picture myself at very scenic campuses).

My First Day - Afternoon

In the afternoon, I first met with Brian Johnson, Director of Residence Life to discuss some project options. Brian had a list of ideas for me to run with and I selected some that interested me, which included fire safety and recycling. Both of these fall under marketing, which I could use some practice or work on. I'll also end up working on whatever else they need me to.

After my meeting with Brian, Krista and I went up to the Administration Floor (3rd Floor Student and Administrative Services Center) for meetings with Chief Student Affairs Officer Ward Caldwell and Special Assistant for Student Affairs and Student Development Elliott Strickland. Their bios are via this link:

http://www.pct.edu/studentaffairs/staff.htm

Ward oversees all things student affairs, which includes Student Affairs and Development, Counseling, Campus Police, and Academic Support. I did not understand how young PCT is as a college! He explained a little more about Penn State Special Mission Affiliation, which is basically sponsorship or funding from Penn State but still PCT is still it's own college. Ward oversees Elliott, who oversees Student Activities, Health Services, Athletics, and Residence Life. Elliott wanted to know more about Krista and I than anything else. Although he did fill us in on his background. Elliot took us on a tour of the "3rd Floor". We met all the administration including President Gilmore! We were shocked to have that type of access right away to the Administration. It was awesome! I checked in with Brian after that and he told me to call it a day!

Dauphin Hall

It's not too often someone gets to work at a campus building a new residence hall! Penn College is building Dauphin Hall offering single and double rooms, which is a new experience for them because all of their halls are apartment style. The singles and doubles are organized around a common area to create what they call "pods". So they still retain some of the apartment feel but still offer a different experience for their students.

http://www.pct.edu/reslife/roseStreetCommons.htm

Another thing with Dauphin Hall and the Rose Street Commons area is it will house primarily first year students. In past years, Penn College had everyone mixed together whether they were a first year or a fourth year. Now, the College can really focus attention on the needs of first year students as they enter college and their upper division students as they transition through college!

Penn College Campus

I keep saying how beautiful the campus is and am not really proving it. I'd take pictures but I'm not much of a photographer. So here is the Virtual tour the campus website offers:

http://www.pct.edu/vtour/

There are a few different ways to take it. One is a guided virtual tour, the other offers a campus map and you can click on the buildings. Everything looks so modern! Right now, there is a bunch of construction and expansion projects and I asked my tour guides about deferred maintenance. They said the College really strives to have zero deferred maintenance. I believe their well maintained facilities help recruit students to campus and academic programs, which are technical fields.

My First Day - Morning

It was a good day but looking back, it seemed like two days. We really didn't discuss a schedule for me so I was at the ResLife office at 7am, which is what I remembered Brian Johnson saying. It started with a meet and greet over at the Student Center, meeting professional staff and the Connections Links. Connections is the summer orientation and the Links are orientation leaders, based on my previous experiences. At the meet and greet, I met Krista Casey, the NODA intern. She is from Michigan, went to Central Michigan University for her Undergraduate degree and is now at Michigan State for their Higher Education Administration program. One of her professors, Kristen Renn, co-wrote the new Student Development Theory book with my professor Dr. Dea Forney!! Small world!

Afterwards, I sat down with the Brian, Tim, and Coordinators of the Halls and discussed my experiences a little bit. I'm a little long winded but I've acquired a lot of different experiences over the years. Ashley Smith Nicholas, Coordinator of Campus View, brought me over to my office space (pictures posted later). After that, I went the the Conference Residence Assistants on a campus tour with Adam, Meghan and Sarah. They gave a great tour and were very knowledgable about campus, answering all my crazy questions. Again, beautiful campus! After the tour, it was off to lunch!

Post Weekend Review: First Weekend

I have unpacked most of my stuff and hung up most of my decorations and sports stuff. Still have a bit to go though before I post some pictures. I have successfully found the Lycoming County Mall area, equipped with a Target and Best Buy!!! I have also found various Subways, where I can eat fresh, and a Starbucks. I also drove around for a while just to get the lay of the land. Solid weekend, ready to start tomorrow!

First Friday of Summer!

I was invited to Kimball's, which is a local restaurant near campus, to celebrate the first Friday of Summer. They have summer hours here where they leave at 1 PM. I met a bunch of student affairs staff and we talked about a whole host of subjects, many not pertaining to work. Good times!

Plan for the weekend: catch up on a lot of sleep. The last few weeks have caught up to me and I am exhausted. When not sleeping, I'll be unpacking my stuff and exploring Williamsport!

My first Impression

First of all, beautiful campus. Everything is really modern, the grounds are well groomed. I can tell just by looking at it they take a lot of pride in their school. Second, everyone is really excited to have myself and my co-intern for the summer. We're the first ACUHO-I and NODA interns they've had. Everyone is willing to answer questions I have and help me find my way around Williamsport. I met the main Residence Life Office staff, Brian, Tim, Marion, and Barbara. They seem relaxed but very professional. I also met Katie, the Coordinator for the Village. Again, very nice, willing to answer questions, and made me feel at home. Time to unpack my stuff!

Moving into Birch Hall!

Birch Hall is part of The Village Residence Complex. All the buildings are named after all the trees found in the state. Later on I'll post some pics of my apartment!



Welcome goodies!!!

On The Road

Trucks denied an Indiana Sign picture. I stopped in Carmel, IN to visit Sigma Chi Brother Zeb and his fiance Andrea. The next day I drove through rainy Ohio, where gas was surprisingly cheap!

It cleared off around the Ohio-Pennsylvania boarder. The scenery was beautiful, very mountainous to this flatlander but lots of construction. Unfortunately, many of the pictures turned out poorly. Should probably think about reading the instruction manual to my new camera.

Bye Macomb :(

Leaving Macomb, IL and Western Illinois University for Williamsport, PA and Pennsylvania College of Technology

I'm not sure if I have brought enough with me?

Greetings!

I’m Jack Hadlich and I am the ACUHO-I Summer Intern at Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, PA! Over the course of the summer, I’ll be blogging my experience at Penn College. I’ll be keeping track of my various projects, commenting on campus culture, and anything else I find interesting while I’m working.