A snowy run...

Happy weekend to you!  Today I was able to run for the first time all week.  Believe it or not, I finally found something that prevented me from running:  Ice Storm.  Amazingly, the ice coated everything and it would have done more harm than good to run.  Couple the conditions with my responsibility in my position for emergency response and it was just impossible to run.  Today, however, I was able to get out there for about 4.25 miles.  It was snowing and probably snowed about an inch during my run, but I loved it.  Running when it's snowing is actually quite fun.  So happy to be out there running again.

Yesterday, we conducted our undergraduate student staff interviews and I was just blown away (positively).  Our focus this year for our student staff (RA's, LYFE Leaders, Social Justice Advocates) has been about connecting to their residents.  We focus heavily on knowing who lives in our communities and making sure that the students who live on the IUPUI Campus know that we care, that we are there for them, and that they are valued.  Heck, we even track it through our weekly reporting system.  Our 40 student staff members reported having over 2600 Resident Interactions (significant conversations with residents) last semester alone and that's not counting just the times they said hello to someone.  It's really paying off.  In six out of eight interviews I heard, "I am applying for this position because of my RA" and a couple went on to comment on how they wanted to be in a student staff role so they could help new students next year just like their RA helped them this year.  And...they also mentioned our LYFE Leaders and SJA's and could articulate that there was a difference between those two positions and the RA position.  I was astounded.  And...it was just not in my interviews.  We interviewed 75 candidates yesterday and the supervisory team reported they heard these sorts of comments all day long.  I'm so proud of our staff.  There are very few things more important in the Res Life business than making sure your undergraduate staff connects with residents and I'm so proud that our staff is out there implementing one of our major goals.  Our HRL staff had a great week when you think about dealing with the ice storm that put us in emergency operation for about three days and then conducting student staff interviews.   I'm just blown away by the effort and so appreciative.  Kudos to Kat Dennehy and Allison Loyal--selection committee co-chairs. 

Sarah, Myles, and I are enjoying a nice weekend together.  Myles and I posed for a new picture together, as you can see.  I want to send a big GOOD LUCK out to my cousin Tracy who will be running in her first half-marathon tomorrow.  I was able to talk to her on the phone last week and it was awesome to hear about her training and preparation for the race.  Running a half-marathon takes a ton of time and it requires dedication for several months.  Tracy is new to running and I'm so impressed by how quickly she has decided to tackle the half-marathon.  She's going to rock it out.  No doubt about it! 

Have an outstanding day.  Happy running to you...