Happy new school year! The Fall can be such a wonderful and busy time that in our excitement to be back in the swing of things, we forget what self care and personal wellness looks like. I am always looking for ways to practice self care, so I thought it might be best to put my own wellness tips in a “Top Five” list. If your spirit is in- spired, I encourage you to try out these 5 tips for a month, and see how you feel.
1.    Get a plant for your living space or office space. Funny story, for almost the entirety of my life, I have never kept a plant alive, un- til I came to OSU. Making time to water the plant, and talk to the plant is not only healthy for you; it is healthy for the plant, too. On the flip side, I can always tell when I am not doing so well, because my plant tells me, by dropping her leaves. When I care for the plant, I am automatically caring for me..

2. Give and/or receive a big, hearty hug. Nothing is as healing as a snuggly hug. Some studies show that hugs can be therapeu- tic, and at least they allow us to remind ourselves of the people with whom we share meaningful connections.

3. Laugh out loud. There is truth behind the cliché that laughter is the best medicine. You relieve stress, you increase oxygen flow to your body, and you get yourself into a positive thinking mindset. Go ahead, make it a belly-shaking jolly laugh, for best results.

4. Eat breakfast. Like beyond ce- real breakfast. Honor your spe- cific dietary needs, and reconsider what you think of as breakfast food. I recently started eating boiled mung beans and rice with spices to my taste, for breakfast, and I find myself fulfilled in a way I never knew was possible.

5. Breathe. Deeply. Fully. And then, fill your lungs some more. We have gotten complacent with the idea that our deep breaths are really deep… and often we have only breathed in about 2/3 of our lung capacity. If you feel inspired, try inhaling (and internally) count to a number that is comfortable to you, and then on the exhale, regulate your air flow to exhale for the same count as your inhale. Try this while closing your eyes. Don’t think about the laundry, or the next email. Just focus on your breath. Now do this for about 10 minutes.
So there you have it- 5 tips to fol- low daily, for the next month. Let me know how it turns out, and I wish you a glorious term!

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 🙂

Can you feel it in the air? That’s right… what you smell is the anticipation of final exams! When I was a student, the one thing that I wish that I had done differently was pace out how I studied/managed my time during the last week of class and finals week. It was not uncommon to find myself exhausted, and scattered due to excessive studying to make up for procrastination during the term. If ever a time to practice self care, NOW IS IT! If you find yourself stressed- take a moment, and take in a really deep breath, the kind that fills up your entire lung capacity, and then exhale while making a loud sighing sound. Do this 5-10 times. I guarantee, you will feel better. Also, I know you will be tempted to drink a lot of caffeine right now- try water instead! If you love your body, your body will love you, too…

I had the most wonderful day yesterday.  As a new person to Oregon, I am still getting accustomed to the continual rain, and the upcoming continual rainy season.  What I cherish most, is that this rain has transformed my sense of analogies… like the phrase, “when it rains, it pours.”  True statement… both in frustrating times, and in great ones.  Yesterday, literally, while it was raining, and pouring, I had the most amazing day full of amazing connections with our outstanding students on campus.  I had the chance to speak to a DPD class taught by Dr. Juan Trujillo, Linguistics, about my language background and how that background shaped my identity.  What an outstanding class, and outstanding students!  It is inspiring to see students make the meaningful connections, and develop inquiry around the things that make us who we are in our lives, and how we can cherish those elements in each other in a way that is authentic.

Later on in the day, I had the chance to connect with first-year students in a Fireside Chat (shoutout to the U-Engage students- woot!woot!).  While we did talk about Oregon State University, and how OSU serves our students, I think I cherished having this time to talk about wellness, managing a full job-full life in a healthy way, and the replication of botulism (you had to be there…).   From that event, I went to the grand opening of the International Resource Center, located in the MU.  If you haven’t visited the IRC, I highly recommend it.  Kudos to all of our campus community members that come together to create such a wonderful environment for our international and internationally-minded students.  So many students connecting with each other in such powerful ways.

As I walked home, in the pouring rain, I thought to myself, it can rain and pour like this every day if it means connecting with our amazing students.

Welcome to a new academic year, and a new adventure! For some of us, we are are embarking on the adventure of a university education for the first time. For others, we are back for another year. Yet for others, we are excited to welcome our OSU family back to campus. For me, it truly is a new adventure. As the new Dean of Student Life, I am excited about the adventure ahead. I am gifted with the opportunity to serve our outstanding campus, and our truly amazing students, with passion, humility, and POWERED BY ORANGE! I hope to use this blog to share this adventure with all of you, too. Be well, and Go Beavs!