For Student Affairs professionals, time is limited and we are crazy busy. I think that we give new meaning to Multitasking. (Actually, I believe that they are gonna put a photo of a SA professional next to the word in the dictionary :))
Early this evening I came to realize that perhaps I don't really appreciate the time I spend with students as much as I should, and don't realize their impact on ME until they are graduated or gone.
Like other times when life hits ya like a lightening bolt and your perspective is jarred back to where it truly needs to be, I was totally unprepared. Earlier this evening, I received news that a student leader I worked with at my previous job passed away due to illness. I had worked with him for about 3 years in numerous capacities from student to student leader to co-worker. The year he served as President of the Student Body I found him in my office weekly for an hour or so. Ten minutes would be normally business and whatnot, but then random conversations from techno music to a trip he took to Chicago or whats going on with him and his life took over for the remainder of the time.
I enjoyed our talks and gab sessions, but perhaps not as much as I should have since my busy schedule was always nagging me in the back of my head. However, not only were there good conversations and great times working together, but it was watching him work with his fellow students. Even I learned from him as he worked with his fellow students. It was working with students like him and seeing the best of what a student can become, which is why I decided to enter the Student Affairs field.
Potentially, as I reflect, ruminate, and learn more about Student Affairs, there will be more and more philosophies and mantras I will want to follow. However, I think this one for me, and perhaps everyone one of us SA professionals should stick. We should appreciate the time we spend with students while working with them and for what they learn from us and what they teach us. I think too often we get so busy that we don't "stop and smell the roses" or in this case, "stop and appreciate the students". Granted sometimes it can be difficult with those students who like to challenge us with rules and policies or practices, however even those students should be appreciated.
Each and every student, I've spent time with has helped move me along my SA path. And student leaders, such as the young man who just passed, are the reason for my career and are responsible for the fire and passion I have for it. As the years roll on, and as I practice the development theories and best practices, I'm also going to be making a conscious effort to appreciate the time I have with the students no matter how much time I spend with them or how busy I get, I'm going to Stop and Appreciate the Students.
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