Do any of you have habits that just stay with you, no matter how hard you try to work on them?  I certainly do.  For as long as I can remember,  I have struggled with my relationship with balance, so I tend to take on more than I might be able to handle.  As a result, certain things just don’t get done- like this blog.  I am so sad that that last time I posted to this blog was in DECEMBER!!!  While I can make excuses, there is no excuse good enough for you… only a promise to do better to honor you.

Some amazing things I have to share:

Black History Month was absolutely amazing.  Kudos to the students and staff in Intercultural Student Services, and the Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center, for gifting our campus an ENTIRE month of activities!  I have never experienced such depth of amazing events for an entire month.  I learned about the Black Greek system, as well as Black LGBT leaders, and so much more.

I finally went to my first OSU Women’s Basketball game!  I have a daughter, and supporting  women’s athletics is really important to me.  I was lucky enough to be invited by Beth Rietveld as her guest during one game, and then as a guest of Kirsten Tilleman, one of the members of the team.  I haven’t had so much fun in a long time.  I truly love the competitive spirit of our team, and I particularly was inspired by the interdependent and optimistic approach of our women athletes during the game.  To me, our women showed up with a champion spirit that I hope I can instill in my own daughter.

I also had a chance to attend a leadership conference put on by the Memorial Union Program Council and The Center for Leadership Development, called “Life After College.”  I was so impressed with the attendance, and with the high quality of presentations from the Career Services office, Greek Life, and the Women’s Center.  It was a truly rich day.

The winter term is also a time when my own professional organizations have their national conferences, so I had a chance to spend some time in Chicago, for the NASPA conference, and also in Boston for the ACPA conference.  These organizations are ways for me to network with colleagues and mentors across my profession, so that we can learn better ways to serve students the way they deserve to be served.  I was also in Washington, DC for Gates Millennium Scholarship read, where I had the chance to read scholarship applications for  in partnership with the Asian/Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund.  I am truly humbled by the the persistence of our students with modest/low incomes to attain a university education.

Oregon State University is such a special place, because our students are priceless.  Over the past year, I have really enjoyed serving, and learning from our Associated Students of Oregon State University (ASOSU).  While our student government works tirelessly to improve the lives of students here at OSU, I want to highlight something that ASOSU has done for you recently.  As of Sunday April 4th, the Valley Library will be open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week because of a proposal by ASOSU.

Which brings us to today.  Friday.  Last day of Spring Break.  I come to you with a promise- a promise of better communication, more stories, more moments of hmmm.  I come to you recharged and ready for the upcoming Spring term.

m 🙂