Brycen Waters Residence Hall Administration NACURH Reflection June 24, 2012 NACURH 2012- CU Bolder A few weeks

ago I attended the NACURH (National Association of College and University Residence Halls) conference at the University of Colorado-Bolder in Bolder Colorado. This was a rare opportunity for me and the four other MCLA students to experience because we were able to network, make connections, and learn from students, schools, and programs from across the country. At this conference I was able to attend various workshops that were designed at enhancing my skills in many of my various leadership positions here on campus, along with discussing career opportunities in this field. This truly memorable experience has surely impacted me in a number of ways. We arrived in Colorado on Thursday May 31st and for the first day we were able to explore the town and the campus. Gaining an understanding and appreciation for the surrounding area, we were all very eager to start the conference. Friday, June 1st marked the beginning of the conference. After having dinner with other members of our region (NEACURH-Northeast Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls), we all gathered for the opening ceremony. Words cannot describe the feeling of over 2,000 students squeezing into a sports arena, all screaming with excitement and chanting their various regional chants. After the opening ceremony, we all had the opportunity to attend either a casino night, bowling, or other socials. These opportunities were established in order for us to start making connections with other students and to begin exchanging clothes pins (each school uniquely designs clothes pins so that

they can be exchanged with students from other schools as to remember which schools you made connections with.) The next two days we began attending the various workshops and sessions that the conference had to offer. These workshops were all lead by students from other schools and designed to help other students, like themselves, to make a difference on their campus with their various leadership positions. The first session that I attended was titled Harry Potter and the Award Winning OTMs and was all about teaching students about how to write a better quality OTM or Of the Month award. The second session that I attended was titled Gotta Recognize Em All! And it informed students about how to increase recognition efforts on college campuses in a fun Pokmon themed way. The next session I attended was titled Who Did Good? You Did Good! And it was also a recognition themed event. The final session I attended on Saturday was titled Beyond OTMs and it was designed to teach students about ways to recognize beyond just writing a simple OTM. Sunday morning I attended the session titled Become the Ultimate Pokmon Master in which I learned how to conduct a campus-wide Pokmon themed event. This was by far the most exciting and influential session I attended. Besides attending the various sessions and programs, I also attended an NRHH (National Residence Hall Honorary) social where I met with other members of NRHH chapters across the country. We were able to bounce ideas off of each other on what works best for their chapters and ways that we can improve our own chapters. This was extremely worthwhile because in the following school year I will be the Vice President of Recognition for our NRHH chapter. I was able to learn things about my position that I had not taken into consideration before. Something very interesting I learned at this social is how many chapters across the country dont even have

a position similar to mine. After explaining what I do, many people informed me of how the realized the importance of my position and how they wish they had one of their own. The final day I attended a Career in Housing luncheon that was designed for schools to send one or two students to too discuss the many opportunities there are in Residence Life and the Housing profession. This proved to a bit of a disappointment because it turned into more of a tell all experience for professionals to discuss their jobs and how they got to obtain these positions. Nothing was really told to us about how we are supposed to get into this field or how to stand out in the job market. It was interesting to hear the stories of the professionals however. The final day ended with the closing ceremonies and the beginning of the goodbyes for the NACURH delegates. This was a very exciting and engaging experience where I learned more about the field, my positions, and the various differences between different schools and departments than I ever intended to learn. I have every intention of implementing what I have learned at this conference back here at MCLA. This experience has once again excited me about the future that I have in Residence Life and the various opportunities I have to take part in.