Another Year at NAU

Another year has passed at Northern Arizona University, this year is coming to a end and it is very bittersweet.  The very first group of student mentors I helped trained 3 years ago will be graduating this year.  What an outstanding group of students.....I have watched them grow, laugh, lead, cry and learn so much about themselves.  Peer Jacks has become such a family and I have definitely learned as much from my mentors as they have learned from me.

To all the graduates, I will miss you, but I also know that you will confidently go onto bigger and better things.  Serena Sauceda, Michael Ebersold, Jessica Uithoven, Jazmine Mincey, Kylie Suter, Kaitlin Fitzgerald, Kimberly Munson, Sydney Wilson, Dylan Mills, Jessica Hardi, Josh Meyers, Shauna Walker, Kelsey Lytle, Megan Saba, Paige Zagar, Christina Tymchak, ......you will be missed....safe travels and much love!!!!

So the summer awaits, to recruit freshman students to the program, prepare for the training in the fall and also preparing for my new class in the 2nd 8 weeks of the semester!!!!  I cannot wait and will be focusing this year on helping my staff feel appreciated and safe at Peer Jacks....safe to be who they are, be heard and grow in a supportive environment.!!!

Make it Matter

Just went to a great conference through On Course....so good to see one of my favorite mentors, Bill Johnson from UNC-Greensboro.....what a great facilitator and leader.  I also got to sit in on some really good workshops on using the journey of the Hero with our students....modeling successful behaviors to develop leadership....and a really great session on utilizing interactive technology....thank you Kelly Falcone from Palomar College.  So nice to have a tangible result of a workshop with this blog and some really good tools to use in the classroom setting with students.  

Getting ready to finish up a really great year with the Peer Jacks mentoring program at Northern Arizona University.  I continue to be amazed by the quality of our mentors and how I continue to learn from them everyday.  I've never had a job that I love so much....what a joy to go to work everyday and to watch these students grow.  As I mentioned earlier, Bill Johnson is my mentor.  He put me on this path three years ago when I attended my 1st ever On Course Conference.  I had just watched Simon Sinek's Ted Talk and read his book "Start with Why".  The serendipitous convergence of these two leaders in my life at that time was the best thing that happened to me.  I had just been at my job a year and felt that I was just seeing the potential of the program and how it important it was to focus on the mentors themselves.  What I learned from both these leaders was the importance of finding your why....your purpose.  At the workshop I developed my mission statement and came up with my tag line.  I am a helper, I have always been a helper, always in the helping profession.  I've worked in camps, taught school, worked for and led non-profits....heck, I even was a carpenter for 3 years, building houses.  But, I had never articulated a mission statement.....here it is:  Clear a path of others so they can confidently go on to bigger and better things.  My tagline?  Joy.Live in Laughter.Be for Others.  

One of my goals from that 1st workshop with Bill was to teach a class at the college level (beyond what I already do while training my mentors),  My 1st class, Making College Matter, will begin fall 2015!  I am very excited about this class and helping students make the most of their college experience....

Let the Blog Begin!!!!

At On Course in Anaheim, CA. 1st presentation at a National Conference on our mentoring program.  Now creating 1st blog.....thank you Bill Johnson and Simon Sinek.  Who are your mentors?