As a resident living in a first-year community, I enjoyed making friends and getting together for activities. There was one night where we had put together a dance in one of the wings of our residence hall: music, lights, and all the frills. One of the RAs in the building heard the music and came up to me as the leader of the effort. I thought for sure I was in trouble, but instead of noting how disruptive the dance likely was to the community members who chose not to participate, she handed me an application for the hall council and told me that I would be a strong leader who should consider running for a board position. While I never ended up applying for that opportunity, I applied to be an RA, orientation leader, etc. That one moment turned into what I now know as a career!
There have been several moments to affirm my choice to follow a path of residential life. As I’ve progressed in my career, my interactions with students have become fewer, but I always enjoy meeting with a student to listen to and learn more about them. Offering a space for students to process whatever might be salient for them is something that is so small but can have a tremendous impact.
I believe the biggest challenge I face as an area director is knowing when to say yes or no to requests to do more. I'm responsible for knowing my own capabilities and bandwidth along with that of my team, and in moments, that of the unit. While we will always lean in to serving students in a more informed and intentional way, ensuring that decisions about next steps will be made and how we'll invest our effort is critical.
While I resisted the urge to use a second monitor for the first four months of working from home, I must admit that having one has made my work so much easier. Using my laptop screen for Zoom meetings and my second monitor for keeping email pulled up, looking up student info, taking notes, etc. has allowed me to work more effectively.
To be honest, I don’t know that I would want to be. What I’ve come to learn throughout my journey is to understand what I enjoy, where I hold skill, what I value, and to pursue my own path. I’m not sure I’m informed enough to even begin to guess what I would do in that role.
The University of Washington Seattle campus is the largest institution I've worked at. The work and innovation being done by so many really makes this campus a place where ideas come to life.
While I was working at Central Washington University, they were implementing a Traditions Keeper program that aimed to bring formality and recognition to so many wonderful traditions that students and alumni had been participating in for years. The program was rolled out right as I was transitioning, but I've appreciated following what it has become via social media. Proud to be a Wildcat!
Change and innovation come more quickly when we pull together. I’ve always heard a narrative that higher ed is slow to change, which has generally been true of what I’ve witnessed through my experience; however, when adjustments were needed at several points throughout the pandemic and there wasn’t much choice but to adapt, we made tremendous growth and change for the better in a very short time span.
Moments of connection, joy, and impact keep me motivated. While they don't happen every day, I find myself holding onto opportunities to catch up with colleagues in the field, see residents succeed and enjoy their experience, and be a part of the journey of full-time staff as they discover more about their own trajectory!
I would love to be able to freeze time. It can be hard to find a moment to slow down, and balance is something that I think many people in the field struggle to achieve and maintain. Having the ability to hold time to help people focus on what they need at any given point would be a wonderful power.
Melinda Gilliam is an area coordinator and career coach at the University of Washington.Have a colleague you think others should get to know? Please share with us at talkingstick@acuho-i.org and you may see them in a future issue of the magazine.
