And before I knew it – it was August. I’ve been in my new job for 6 weeks. Each day feels oddly like my first, and at the same time like I’ve been here forever. I have been very lucky that my transition has been made easier by the fact that my predecessor is literally right next door (she transitioned into a new role in the division) and the Director of Residence Life, whom I supervise, has been at the institution for 3 years and is an immeasurable asset. They, along with my supervisor, have been so kind as to ease my transition in so many ways. But in that transition – I’ve picked up a few things that I’d recommend to anyone transitioning into a new role.
-The first thing I did was set up a TON of meetings. People were very willing to share 30 minutes with me, so I capitalized on that and met with offices that we work with – and offices that I think I would like to work with. These meetings did a few things – gave me an overview of what they do on this campus, gave me insight as to how they’ve worked with our office in the past – but most importantly it gave me a chance to actually meet the people I’m working with before having to “meet” over an email or a phone call.
-I wasn’t afraid to ask questions. But I did feel guilty. But prefacing each question with an “I’m sorry but, [where, what, how…etc]” wasn’t helping anyone. I finally just embraced it – but made sure I tried to ask “where can I find the answer to [where, what, how…etc]”. I have found that people are willing to answer questions when you are active in the question asking process, and not just passively awaiting responses.
-Don’t wish this time away. More often than not – I found myself repeating “just make it through this first semester” then everything will be “fine”. Two things – first, when is everything “fine”?! This was an illusion I was allowing myself to labor under. When things become “fine” is when you need to start asking yourself some tough questions. Secondly – I’m learning so much, meeting so many people and having so many “firsts” that it would be a real shame if I missed all of that.
-Spend time getting to know colleagues. Just. Chat. At this time of year – this can feel like a huge impossibility. And I will admit, I was doing this a lot more in July than I am now, but it was worthwhile. I wanted to get to know my colleagues – where had they come from, what are they interested in, what makes them click as a group. But I was also finding that I was gaining valuable information on institutional culture through these conversations.
So – while my transitions are far from over – I sure have learned a lot about this process in the past 4 months. And I’m confident that I will continue to learn more as the year goes on. But for now, my higher ed friends, a very happy August to you!
Some days we educate. Some days we are educated. 