Links' Residence Hall Training

Today was the big presentation of Residence Hall training for the Links. I was up bright and early to get to Student Activities so I could laminate and cut out the Reference Cards for the Links. It took forever and we started our morning a little late. Once we got started, we went around the room and talked about our best on-campus or residence hall experience. People shared some great stories. I was a little worried about going around due to last week's events but it seemed to get people energized. Joe Worth gave a good talk about facilities, although I think he made the Links a little nervous about overflowing toilets. He is right though, water can be very damaging! We then had a little break, which I ran over to the ResLife office and turned my time sheet in. I keep forgetting that thing. I'm so used to being under contract with Western.

Tim talked a little more about Housing policies, using my reference card for the Links to refer to. Ashley then came over to talk linens for a bit, check in and check out procedure, and when to call the RAs or Conference Assistants. We tried to provide some time for them to ask some questions and talk about fire drill procedure but maybe when they got the reference card, their questions were answered. Not sure.

There were a lot of questions about Dauphin Hall and what that looks like. I think some learning style issues were being played out. They had a hard time visualizing the way Dauphin Hall is going to be set up. "Who was going to use what bathroom, are there people cleaning those bathrooms, what about guests, is there a door that locks people out of the common area in the pods?" It was endless. Tim did a great job answering their questions and I, personally, think they could have figured it out. However, what they were really after was a tour of the new building. They weren't going to be satisfied until they got a tour and continued to ask crazy questions in their pursuit. Granted, some of the questions were very valid, we didn't provide visual substitutes to accommodate different learning styles, and I'm close to this training. However, they're all smart students and it's been the only point where I wanted to raise an eyebrow at them and ask "Really?" It's good to see they're thinking about it though.

We broke for lunch a bit and then came back for the Quiz Show, where I got to utilize my game show host voice. However, the remote to the screen was dead and the computer tower had no screen. It was one giant technical malfunction, so we had to abandon the game show aspect of it and simply go through each question. It was disappointing but at least they did a good job of answering the questions and raising good questions for Tim and I. After that, the new Links went to tour Delaware Hall at College West and the returning Links and I prepared for our behind closed doors session. I liked each of the scenarios. It gave them a good taste of what they might experience. It was a little hard to change around the script I had but it was still fun to participate. Each Link group had a different approach to the issues they faced. After the Dauphin Hall stuff in the morning, they really stepped up and used their talents. Again, a very impressive group. We wrapped up a bit and then called it a day.

Overall, great training. I think the reference cards will help them. I think we broke up the day with enough stuff to keep them active and we covered the things we needed to. Maybe for next year incorporate some more visual aids and double check technology before using it. But, still great training!