It's rare to find institutions of
higher education that host their own nationally-renowned conferences; it's even
more rare that these conferences are specific to higher education itself. I
feel very lucky to be getting my master's degree at such an institution,
Florida State, that hosts such a conference, the Jon C. Dalton Institute on College Student Values. I feel even more lucky that the conference's main focus
is as the name implies—finding ways to encourage college students to be ethical
and thoughtful leaders who live by their values. Values permeate our everyday
life, but they aren't often talked about explicitly; yet here at FSU we get the
chance to speak with higher education professionals from around the world who
want to encourage their students to be people of character. Having been
involved with the Dalton Institute for two years, first as a volunteer and then
as a committee chair, I have definitely learned some valuable takeaways that
will benefit me as I move forward into my career as a student affairs
professional.
First,
I have learned that helping to plan and facilitate a conference is an
invaluable experience, and it's something I'd like to continue as a
professional. This year I served as the Technology and Concurrent Sessions
Committee Chair. As such, I managed the Institute's social media presence
before, during, and after the conference; and I coordinated shifts of
volunteers to serve as concurrent session attendants during the Institute
itself (not only to facilitate each presenter's technology needs, but also to
give our volunteers a chance to sit in on individual sessions!). Being a part
of the Dalton Institute was a wonderful experience. Helping
people is one of my passions in life, as corny as that may sound, and being
able to welcome each session presenter, help take care of their needs, and show
them how grateful we were for their presence at the Institute made my three
days with Dalton very positive. Although I wasn't able to sit in on any
concurrent sessions myself, I was glad to afford that opportunity to the
volunteers on my committee, and I am able to look back proudly at the three
days of the Institute and say that my committee worked hard, and they helped
the conference go off with only a very few, very minor hitches. Even more, it
was amazing to live-tweet many of the Dalton Institute's sessions on Twitter,
and to be able to watch professionals around the country who couldn't be at FSU
learn and interact alongside the conference's participants. I hope to have many
more experiences in planning and facilitating conferences in the future;
bringing together higher education professionals to learn and grow together is
too good an opportunity to pass up.
A
second thing I learned during my time with the Dalton Institute is that
encouraging our students in pursuing their goals is one of the most important
things that higher education professionals can and should do. The theme of this
year's Dalton Institute was social entrepreneurship, and we were lucky enough
to have as two of our keynotes Eboo Patel, one of the founders of the
Interfaith Youth Core, and Jessica Jackley, one of the founders of Kiva.
Listening to their stories was inspiring; what was even more inspiring was to
hear them speak on the encouragement they received from their mentors, the
valuable lessons they learned during their time in college, and their message
to the professionals attending Dalton to keep on doing what we're doing. It was
amazing to hear these two leaders speak so positively of their higher education
experiences, and only cemented for me my personal mission of supporting every
student that comes my way. Even if the students I advise don't turn out to be
the next Eboo or Jessica, they have personal visions and purposes of their own,
and it should be my job now and forever to help them realize the potential
within themselves and to pursue their dreams.
Finally, working with the Dalton
Institute has reinforced for me the idea that common values and goals among
higher education professionals are the strongest uniting force we can have. The
Dalton Institute brings together not only student affairs professionals, but
also Deans, Vice Presidents, Professors, and many other professionals from many disciplines
across the higher education setting and beyond (such as our participants from
the Interfaith Youth Core). Even though all participants had varied
backgrounds, they came together to discuss a goal common to them—encouraging
the students with whom they work to be people of integrity and character. In my
future as a student affairs professional, I hope to find common,
student-centered goals and visions with the other professionals at my
institution, be they administrative, faculty, or staff; and I hope that these
common goals can help bring us together to make our institution stronger and
our programs and plans more effective in helping our students learn and grow.
Cooperation
is an integral part of our work as student affairs professionals—working with
our students to help them grow; working with organizations and programs to make
them purposeful; working with fellow faculty and staff at our institutions to
realize and emulate our universities' missions and values. I think the Dalton
Institute is one of the best examples of cooperation in higher education—professionals
working together with common goals and purposes, in order to make a difference.
I'm very thankful for my time with the Institute, and I can't wait to take the
valuable lessons I've learned and apply them to my future work and my future
relationships with students and colleagues.
