What’s Your Plan?

Welcome to the start of the year! How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions? For those of you who select one word for their year – do you remember your word? A few years ago, I shifted from resolutions and one word to making quarterly goals. I was doing really well on my goals last year…

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Re-Telling Stories

Well, this week has already gotten away from me and it’s only Tuesday. Luckily, I can find past versions to re-share. This is a favorite from a while back about something I think we all need to remember – not only are stories important in their own right, the ones we choose to retellt help…

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Social Media Matters

As many of you know I had to be convinced to join social media many years ago. It’s not too surprising that it was a group of new professionals who got me to join Facebook. I was either a faculty member (for four years) or director (for two years) of the SACSA/NASPA Region III New…

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Feeling Giddy

This week it’s chilly in Oklahoma. For this person who has spent most of her life in Texas, it’s just plain cold. I know, I know, it’s not Wisconsin cold, let alone Quebec cold, but lows of 28 and 25 and 23, well, I think they are legitimately cold. And I have central Texas warm…

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Systems Matter

Several years ago, I wrote an essay for the UTSA Student Affairs Staff Newsletter. I told two stories of amazing customer service. There was a small independent pharmacy near our home. At the time I was taking a medicine I had to refill regularly and I went in on a Friday to find that the…

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(Not So) Guilty Pleasures

And suddenly it’s November. The days are definitely shorter and after this weekend, the nights will be darker much earlier. For those who work on campus, it’s a stressful part of the semester as deadlines loom as we count down the days to finals. For all of us the complexities of the holiday season are…

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Educational Sessions

Monday night I attended the opening banquet for TACUSPA (Texas Association for College and University Student Personnel Administrators). As always I saw friends, former students who are now professional colleagues, and a few people I’ve known many, in some cases, many, many years. TACUSPA was my first professional home and therefore the place I have…

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Oh, The Challenges and Fun of Competition

Before last week’s technical difficulties, I was writing about some of my experiences with sports. First and foremost, is that my experiences with sports are almost entirely of the spectator variety. As I once put it in response to an interview question about the value of Recreational Sports programs, “I don’t really know why anyone…

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I Did That

The first professional conference I ever attended was held by the Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators – there’s a reason we shorten it to TACUSPA (ta-coo-spa). It started on a Sunday night in a rustic resort outside of Wimberley, Texas. The location meant I didn’t have any meal options. There was…

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In Praise of Meetings

As you can imagine I had to look for a while to find a positive quote about meetings. Quote, after snarky quote from, “The longer the meeting, the less accomplished.” to “People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.” Leadership consultant and educator, Peter Drucker believes “Meetings are a symptom of bad organizations.” And of…

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