Final Compilation

Hey Everyone!

I've been reflecting on my experience all day and want to write down a final reflection of my experience.

One aspect of the NODA conference that I have yet to blog about would be the Roli program, more specifically, the mentor groups. I was in Shannon Green's group and I had 4 other student leaders with me. We initially talked about why we attended the program and I found that all of the students except me were seeking a career in Student Affairs. Instead of making something up I told the truth, I was there because I wanted to help develop my leadership abilities and even though I wasn't seeking a career in Student Affairs I knew I could apply the knowledge I acquire through this experience to my own career goal, to have my own acupuncture practice. Teamwork, communication, and facilitation skills are universal throughout all work environments and developing my skills can only prepare me to be better-suited for what's to come.

I have drawn many similarities between our orientation program and the orientation program at Roger Williams University. I can't really remember the name of the girl in my group from there but I know she looked like a "Mary" so I'll call her that (even though if I said any form of Caitlin or Megan I would probably be right due to the sheer number of them in the program).

It was a great feeling to be able to open up to my group members and ask any questions I had. We were able to help each other out by giving advice on how we approached a situation if they asked questions starting with "Do you guys ever have trouble with.....?" or "Have you ever evperienced.......?" It was an amazingly supportive environment and even when the ROLI program was over we still found familiar faces in the following sessions and it felt like we were members of a secret club, kinda dorky sounding, I know.

As the conference went on I remember being able say "hey.. we do that!" Which was awesome because it meant that we were on the right track. I don't think I ever got completely used to everyone actually understanding 'Orientaton Speak' and being able to have indepth conversations about different aspects of their programs. I definitely feel like we are on the right track and Meg and I found some new activities and sessions to integrate into the program to help address topics in a new ways.

I am still singing the camp chants that we learned during the icebreaker forum, to the dismay of my suitemates, haha. Perhaps I'll even regale people in OSIL with a stunning rendition of "Boom chica boom" :-) tomorrow during my office hours. Only time will tell!