social media

[the other day]: i came across an incredible infographic comparing the millenial generation to the ones before us. not surprisingly, one of the defining features of our generation is how much technology is a part of our lifestyle. this is one of those things you just take as common knowledge, but when  i really stop to think about it, technology... more specifically social media... literally somewhat rules my life!

[for example]: at dinner time, my dad was watching the news on tv, they were showing a cute video of how a baby stuck its hand in the president's mouth and my dad had a smile and his face and said "hey, look at that!" my immediate response was "dad, i totally saw that on my tumblr blog like 8 hours ago."

[realization]: as simple and lighthearted as this moment was, i started to think back on all these little instances where i would actually inform my parents of important news-related things because i saw them online on social media sites like tumblr, facebook, or even yahoo news.

[point is]: everyday, i realize more and more just how much social media and the internet in general is so much a part of how i live my life. the concept of constantly having the ability to be connected to the world truly defines how much of an amazing time we are living in.  

[role in student affairs]: a huge takeaway from my acuho-i internship this summer was our focus on recognizing social media was an incredibly valuable form of communication to our residents. pretty much everyone has a facebook so with intentional and consistent updating, it really did wonders for making communication more feasible on both ends. as i enter this field, i see that i do have a strong interest in developing the use of social media to enhance the student experience and connection to university administration. 

"lol"

at first, i was feeling anxious about this last grad school application i am working on right now. part of me feels like this school is my #1 choice at the moment so i think that creates a little added pressure as i sit here and try to type out essay responses that somehow express everything about who i am. 

basically, i was feeling stressed. then i realized that every time i would read over something i just typed, for some reason, the voice in my head was reading with an english accent!!! 

that's the point where i literally laughed out loud. why in the world am i re-reading everything in an english accent?? and not even out loud, but just in my mind! 

i think it's healthy to have ridiculous moments like this once in a while. it reminds me to just relax and enjoy this process. lol :)

thankful

thankful.

for not only great news...
but also an army of supporters to share this exciting time with.

my NUFP mentor: SARAH!

so i haven't posted about my NUFP mentor yet because i think i just don't know where to start! so maybe i'll do like a series of posts about her. haha

every day, i grow more happy to be a part of NUFP.

&& i am so incredibly thankful to have the perfect mentor.

we have a great balance of professional and personal aspects to our talks. most importantly, i feel like i can just be myself around sarah. she is so supportive about my entire process of working towards being a future student affairs professional. from talking about how the residents from tenaya are grown up now (the residence hall she was my supervisor in last year), to reviewing my personal statements for grad school applications... i am so thankful for this NUFP mentor/mentee relationship and i can't wait to see how much it will grow even more!

one example of how awesome she is: before my take it slo a capella singing group holiday show, sarah texted me she was feeling sick and wouldn't be able to go. but only a super supportive mentor would come anyways!

just ask

 

Last year, during a community service event with my sorority Chi Delta Theta, I noticed that one of the attendees was Mr. Cornel Morton, the Cal Poly Vice President of Student Affairs. I quickly ran over to my friends and excitedly whispered, "You guys! He has my future dream job!"

I thought about the value of being proactive that I learned from my mom so I decided to have a seat next to Cornel and just introduce myself to him. He was very friendly and we started to talk about my interest in Student Affairs. 

I ended up following up with him through a simple e-mail. All I did was ask if he would be available to meet sometime to further discuss his experiences. Since then, we have met several times and just having discussions with someone with his kind of experience and wisdom creates space for me to simply think more deeply about the student affairs field and what my role could be in it one day.

Eventually, I had another "just ask" moment and I have been talking to him about the possibility of shadow/informal intern experience with him. My hope is have exposure to what it means to be a high-level student affairs professional. I am excited to see where this goes next quarter.

// So I leave you with this thought, if you have an idea... why not just ask? The worse thing someone would do is say no. But if they say yes... well, that just opens the door to incredible potential. And all it took to get it started was for you to just ask.

dean's list

grades just came out today. 

it made me remember that at 1:47am the monday night of finals week i wrote this as my facebook status:

when did i allow my self worth to be dependent on whether or not i make dean's list? trying to remind myself to reassess and just be in love with education. #finalsweekdeliriousness

but really, when did that happen? despite all my belief that personal development in the higher education setting is about so much more than grades, i still find myself completely dependent on that "dean's list" stamp of approval to make me feel like everything i worked for that quarter really mattered. but it shouldn't be like that at all. i think it's good to work towards ambitious academic goals. but i think i have to be careful not to completely devalue the complete educational experience by just making it about "making dean's list" instead of "genuinely learning." and at the same time, i truly believe that you get out of it what you put into it... and if i honestly put everything i have into my academics, it will pay off in the end... even in the form of the coveted "dean's list" ;)

$$

everyone knows that going to grad school costs money, but i didn't even think about some of the random costs that go into just APPLYING for grad schools:

• application fees
• official transcript request fees
• mailing/postage costs
• airline flights for potential interview weekends
• hotel costs for potential interview weekends
• & the munchies you eat while you work on your applications at coffee shops or something :)

... it's all worth the investment though!

first night of winter break

fall quarter is officially over. i survived finals & all those big projects with a smile on my face! but it's my first night at home for winter break & i'm sitting here at 4 in the morning filling out grad school applications & doing things like making online requests to have my transcripts sent out. i have a feeling my mind won't be at rest until these applications are all done. but it's a good feeling.

calpolysloadvisors guest blogger: acuho-i internship

my mentor asked me to be a guest blogger for the cal poly community/resident advisors blog! with acuho-i internship applications due soon, we wanted to post something to hopefully encourage some of them to look into this great opportunity so that they might have as amazing an experience as i did. check out the blog here: http://calpolysloadvisors.wordpress.com/

-----------------

&& here's the post i wrote about my acuho-i internship experience:

ACUHO-I Internships (Guest Blogger: Isabella Villacampa, DM Sierra Madre)

I always knew that one of my goals before graduating was to have some kind of internship experience. But I had no idea what that internship would be, what it would have to do with, or how I would get it. I always knew that my RA experience was one of the things I have felt most passionate about and then I realized… why not do an internship that has to do with housing… something I already know I love?

 

This past summer, I had the opportunity to be an intern for the ACUHO-I Housing Internship Program with Canadian Campus Communities in Calgary, Canada. What’s ACUHO-I? “The Association of College and University Housing Officers – International is the preeminent professional association that supports and promotes the collegiate residential experience.”

 

I loved everything about my internship. Professionally, I was able to not only apply the skills and knowledge I had from being a Cal Poly RA but also gain a deeper perspective into the field of student affairs and college/university housing. Personally, working in a different environment was an opportunity to challenge my comfort zone and experience something new and exciting.

 

The process is simple:

1. Create a profile on the ACUHO-I Housing Internship Program site 
2. Upload your resume 
3. Look at the list of host colleges and universities from all over the world offering internships 
4. E-mail the host sites you are interested in 
5. Set up a phone interview… show them everything you got! 
6. Accept an offer Have the time of your life!

I can honestly say my ACUHO-I Internship was one of the most significant development experiences in my life both professionally and personally. I can’t encourage you enough to go for it. Applications are due January 6 (so you have winter break to get everything together!) Check it out now! http://www.acuho-i.org/Default.aspx?tabid=620

finals week

[finally realized the most effective way for me to study for exams]: 

• understand what the lectures were about: go back and look at the course outline to identify the key concepts
• know the toolbox i have: this will prevent random "blanking out" during the exam. if i at least know what i have learned, then that will give me a starting point for answering questions
• take notes on small note cards: this will ensure i am reviewing concepts in a basic form i will likely remember & are a convenient way of looking over what i have studied while walking around campus