Full circle

So, it has been about a full year since I began at DGS. I am very thankful for the experience I have had so far, and I look forward to continuing work here.

It's been fun to go through various shifts in my work throughout the year. Summer registration is pretty cut-and-dried and doesn't involve too many in-depth conversations, but it gave me a chance to prepare for the semester portion of the internship. I know I've said this before, but without the knowledge I gained during summer, I would not have been able to engage with students on a deeper level during the semester. My summer experience allowed me to have a base of knowledge so that I didn't have to worry so much about the "nuts and bolts" during the semester.

Fall semester was great for getting my feet wet in developmental advising. I worked about three hours a day and was able to connect more deeply with many of the students I had met during the summer. I also engaged in other activities such as Majors and Minors Fair, Fifth Story Gallery, and facilitating a workshop for student athletes.

My new full-time position has given me the time to work with many more students (my roster went from about 75 to almost 300). I've also gained many additional responsibilities that I did not have during the fall semester, including:

- Facilitating a program for students on academic probation
- Presenting at the campus conference for academic advisors (a coworker and I led a discussion about resources that help new advisors last week)
- Working a calling campaign to reach out to high school seniors who have been admitted to DGS as James Scholars (honors program)
- Co-facilitated a section of GS 101 (university orientation course); I lectured one day, and will be teaching my own section in the fall
- Serving on a petition committee, which means that I read student petitions to withdraw from courses after the deadline and contribute to the committee decision to approve or deny the request
- I have just been appointed co-chair of the Professional Development committee for the campus academic advising association; we'll be planning next year's campus conference (the same one where I presented last week)

I hope this provides a good summary of my transitions between summer full time to semester part time to semester full time! I'm glad I've had the chance to stay here this long because I feel like I've truly gotten a taste of how different our work is depending on the time of year and point in the semester. This whole experience has been a great opportunity, and I look forward to continuing in this career after I graduate this weekend.