When I got to college at the age of 25 I hadn’t been involved in my community much and wasn’t very interested in joining the clubs around campus. Getting acclimated to the notes, homework and test thing after a 5 year break was about all I could handle. A work study job at our info. desk finally got me involved and gave me a genuine interest in my campus. Showing up and doing the best job I could impressed a few key people, who eventually offered me the opportunity to serve as the Club Coordinator at Front Range Community College. I went from minimal involvement to a leadership role in two semesters.
About three weeks after getting this job - in a system I was fairly unfamiliar with mind you - my boss left...he was there on Wednesday and was gone on Thursday...AHHHHH! I was greener than baby poo and still wondering exactly what my job was about. The director of student life, my former bosses boss, was put into survival mode (her words) after losing another full-time faculty member, putting more responsibility on me and another student worker while interviews were conducted and student life went on…for a full semester.
I've finally been able to slow down and do a bit of retrospection and have realized the power of keeping a service-minded attitude. It’s been the most effective tool I’ve used to stay focused, learn in a high stress environment, and keep myself sane! My purpose as club coordinator is to help students learn outside of the class room, help take some of the stress off of my superiors, co-workers and fellow students, and have fun, an attitude which allows me to take things less personally and consider issues with a clearer head. Remaining pointed in this direction has sometimes pulled me in different directions. Armed with the intention of finding a level ground (not necessarily that which I’d prefer to stand on), an “us versus them” mentality hasn’t existed much, which could easily have been the case considering the stress and confusion of last semester. It has been hard finding the balance between wanting people to like me and doing what my superiors expect of me, and it would be easy to pat myself on the back, but I feel I’d be taking ownership for the accomplishments of others. I have gotten a lot of help during the last 7 months, and I've learned a ton. My superiors, co-workers and fellow students teach me and enrich my life. Without their help, and having a higher purpose than just getting paid, I couldn’t be where I am today.
Great to hear that you've gotten more involved! I'm a college student too and it took me a while, but I found that getting involved in something "selfless", as you appropriately called it, is really worthwhile for so many reasons.
There's an organization that's started really helping too, by funding students/student projects and leadership initiatives. Depending on what you're doing at your school, you might want to check it out: The Jenzabar Foundation. (http://www.jenzabar.net/about_jbar/Foundation.html) Could be useful, but even if not, this was a good post, and good luck with your future endeavors!
Posted by: Cat | February 20, 2009 at 01:25 PM
Thanks Cat, it's nice to get some good feedback, this being my first post and all. I am working on submitting something to Jenzabar, hope something comes of it!
Posted by: Brandon Devlin | March 08, 2009 at 10:43 PM