This is a story of how I came to be in my current position in student affairs. It’s a story of how a “failed” plan towards a career in student affairs via graduate school led me to an alternate path to a career I truly enjoy and one even better than I could have ever imagined. I share my story with the message that sometimes, life has an interesting way of getting you to a place where you should be. How you get to where you should be may not always be the route you intend to take.
Author Archive
Reasons I Value Diversity and Inclusion In The Workplace
I was interviewed for a course on ethical leadership a couple of months ago. One of the questions was what drives my value system and priorities at work. I suppose I had not thought of this before, but it was during that interview that I realized providing equal access to opportunities, inclusion, and appreciating diversity are very important values of mine. As I was asked additional questions about why these were so important to me, I realized it was my experiences feeling marginalized while growing up, in college, and and even at work when I did not fit in the norms that really drive me to ensure those around me have the opportunities to be included and differences are valued.
Common Learning Portfolio Markup Language (CLPML) – A Proposal
With MOOCs, professional learning networks, student swirls and other ways students and life-long learners gain knowledge nowadays, how can individuals own and maintain their own learning portfolios, including their accomplishments and competencies? How can we make it easier for educational institutions, vendors and even individuals themselves to exchange learning portfolios so their data do not belong in islands such as educational institutions’ and vendor databases? What if there is a common language for vendors and educational institutions and their systems to interface seamlessly, something like Common Learning Portfolio Markup Language (CLPML)?
One Small Step At a Time – Career Advice
It is quite daunting sometimes to think about how to accomplish our major personal and professional goals. I’ve fallen into the trap of thinking I could and should be able to reach goals that take time and effort all at once and as soon as possible. However, this type of thinking has led me to abandon my goals and/or made me anxious. Losing 30 pounds is not an easy task and in the past, I wanted to see the results right away. When I did not see immediate results, I gave up. However, when I shifted my goal to losing a pound a week, I became more patient, my expectation became more realistic and I started to enjoy the process. I still have a long way to go, but I am now seeing some results.
Importance of Finishing What You Start
Starting something is important. After all, to finish something, you have to start somewhere. However, as important is to commit and actually finishing them. This year, like many of you out there, I listed my resolutions. One of them was to be healthier which includes losing weight. I have made this promise so many times in the past but somehow I never stuck to it. This year is a little different. I’m now seeing the results. In the last two months, I have lost 12 pounds through exercise and healthier eating. This may not sound much but for me it is. I finally started keeping track of what I ate and dedicated some time to start walking, even for 30 minutes stretches and going to the gym.
The inspiration for this blog post actually came from looking at the draft blog posts I see on my list, ones that I’ve started but did not quite finished. Even if these ideas are good, readers of my blog will never see them if I left them incomplete. So, here I am again committing to finally completing the posts “in progress.”
What ideas/projects have you started you should start working on again?