Our Crowded Mantel: Rounding A Bend

At work I've been experiencing "chicken dinner month". That's what one of my supervisors has named the multitude of banquets we are required to attend that provide recognition and closure for students at the end of the academic year. All jest aside, they are nice events and overall it's good to spend time with students. However, instead of chicken, I've been exploring various special vegan meal preparations. They have been pretty good, so at one of my most recent banquets I made sure to pull the Dining Manager aside and thank him for the special accomodation.

Last night was our Office of Residece Life yearly banquet, where all RAs, other student employees and professionals gather to celebrate the end of the year. Of all of the banquets and brunches, this one is my favorite because it is for the hall staff that I work with on a daily basis. We share an hor d'oeuvre reception up in the President's private suite and then work our way down to the main ballroom in our Union. We share a lovely meal with about two hundred and fifty of our closest friends, there are several awards given away and recognition is given for those who are leaving their positions.

After having gone the two previous years, I knew this would mean a bit of recognition for my term of service and that I would have to come up on stage. Usually there are several Hall Directors who are leaving, but this year it's just me. Which is a nice book end to the fact that I was the only one who came in during my first year, '07-'08. This part of the banquet seemed to come much earlier than I expected and when I heard my supervisor start saying the words that I knew would call me up there, I got teary. It's very emotional to leave a position that has been good to me and has helped define my identity, especially without knowing where I'm going next. Mary looked down to my table and saw that I was teary. She said, "oh no, she's already crying". By the time I got up on stage I'd stopped and Mary turned back to the table to ask Ryan if he had a hankie. He held up a napkin from the table and all the guests in close proximity to him laughed. Mary thanked me for my service and presented me with a plaque commemorating my time in the Marquette Office of Residence Life.

She shared reflections about my character and work with students. She also talked about how I have deep insight, an uncanny way of expressing myself and a sense of humor that I often showcase in our work group. She started sharing some examples of things that sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite remember whether I'd shared them with her directly. Then she shared a few more, which elicited big laughs from the entire room and I quickly realized they were anecdotes from my blog, which I was fairly sure she'd never read. I was, of course, extremely nervous being in front of so many people but this pushed me over the edge. I was a little embarassed and a little shocked, but of course it was all in good fun. The tone was loving and I appreciated the kind sentiment of her words. She presented me with a wooden flower box with lovely blue and gold perennials and I made my way off the stage. It was over as quickly as it started, which is sort of how I feel about all of it. I cannot believe how fast this entire year has flown, though at times it felt like molasses.

Before we left, I took pictures with my staff and we took pictures with our Hall Director group. After the banquet some of our co-workers decided to get cocktails at Blu, the bar at the top of the Pfister. It was a nice evening full of laughs and some reflection. I made sure to send my old boss from graduate school a little text letting him know that my time in Residence Life was coming to an end. I thanked him for the ways that he helped shape me into a professional though I'd never worked in this field before. And of course, I reflected on just how far I've come since that time. I have built strong skills and made some amazing connections with people over the past five years in Student Affairs. I'm trying to think of it as rounding a bend, rathering than coming to the end of something. I'm hopeful that the next job will come. I'm trying to be patient and open myself up to whatever comes.

Lastly, I learned two important lessons last night:
1. I am a near-thirty year old woman who does not know how to use a curling iron. So, I'll need to work on that but an hour prior to a celebration banquet is not the time to try.

2. If you write something on the Internet, people will read it and use it in ways you do not intend. I'm thankful that I've generally tried to remain positive and appropriate here, so something does not happen that I regret. However, it was, in this instance, the perfect way for my co-workers to find and share some Megan's original gems.

My Res Life Photo History: