Graduate Internship: 2 Month Update

The SLP Staff (aka the Clark delegation) at NACA Northeast last weekend!

I am currently on week 11 of my 15 week practicum for the fall semester and time is FLYING. I know that I mentioned that only being here 10 hours a week really makes it seem like time is just slipping away, and it still rings true. I'm usually only at Clark two days a week which also contributes to the illusion of the semester going by unusually fast. (By the time I finally catch up on everything I've missed while I was off campus, it's time for me to leave again!) I'm still really enjoying my time here, though, and am finally starting to feel a bit more acclimated to the Clark culture.

Students

I'm getting significantly more student interaction on a day-to-day basis now, which I've been loving. I've been working 1-on-1 with my blog contributors on a semi-regular basis, and have even gotten the chance to sit in on a few Undergraduate Student Council meetings, which has been a pretty cool experience as I haven't yet worked with a student government organization.

I would definitely stick to my first observation that Clark students are very passionate and aren't afraid challenge ideas and face difficult situations. They aren't afraid to really ask questions of the staff, express their opinions on ideas, and make their voices heard. It's a refreshing change of pace from other campuses that I have been involved with, whose students may be a bit more reserved with it comes to difficult topics.

Moving forward, I'm hoping I will get to continue my interactions with Student Council, and I'm going to get to start interacting with the Orientation staff as well, which we all know that I LOVE! Next semester will definitely be much more hands on when it comes to working with students, which I am really looking forward to.

Projects

The SLP blog is officially off the ground! So far we've had 3 posts on very different topics, and I'm excited to continue working with the contributors to bring out their creativity when it comes to approaching leadership topics. If you'd like to take a peak at what we've been writing about, check it out here. (We actually just posted a really awesome infographic that one of the students I work with made today!)

I'm also still researching how other institutions approach leadership programs and how those programs could be implemented here. I'm meeting with a committee of faculty and staff members at Clark next Friday to discuss this topic (which will be really awesome!) and see what its place is here. I'm very interested to see what type of leadership issues are brought up at this meeting.

As I mentioned above, I'll be working more with the Orientation staff, particularly running leadership development sessions with them as they prepare for the summer. I'm going to meet with the Orientation Coordinators (sort of like the "head" Orientation Leaders) tomorrow and I can't wait to get a feel for their personalities and what it will be like to work with them throughout the rest of the academic year!

Tomorrow night I'll be attending my first Clark event - Jay Pharoah - put on by the Major Events Committee! I haven't yet been able to make a major event work in my schedule, so I am very excited to see what a large event looks like on this campus. I know that I'll be present at a few very large events in the spring that are beloved Clark traditions, but I'm glad I'll get the chance to see an event in action this semester as well!

I can't believe I only really have a month left of my first semester here. I'm very thankful that I'll get to continue my internship through the spring as well - one semester is definitely not enough! I'll be posting next month with my next update, so stay tuned!