Ending ISU Career

Greetings!

I am indeed the owner of this poorly maintained blog. :( To be fair, a LOT has gone on since my last real post, but still... I deserve a slap on the hand for this! Let's see... since April, there were a few fun events that happened down at ISU. I'll throw a few pictures in here with the events!

Passing of the Gavel
I've written about ARH's Passing of the Gavels before. This year I was invited as an alumni! Talk about funny feeling, but it was great to catch up and see some people I haven't seen in awhile. Shannon came down and we went together... and caught up with Glenn and John! We had a blast sitting at a table together reminiscing. Of course it was a little awkward at some moments, but let's not talk about that anymore. I'm over it!

Roommates at their fourth Passing of the Gavel!


Last year's President and Vice President


Part of the 2009-2010 ARH Executive Board. So sweet!

Another really special moment was being inducted into the AAFN. That stands for Association of Alumni and Friends of NACURH. What does that mean? Well, the current ARH executive board decided to induct someone into the AAFN to represent ISU. The AAFN are a group of people recognized for their support and activity within NACURH. I was very honored to be nominated, let alone chosen to be inducted from ISU. (Because let's face it... 1/2 of this year's board doesn't care for me.) At Passing of the Gavel, they announced I was selected!

Maureen (director of UHS and the last person ISU inducted) presented me with the selection


She had some very sweet things to say and it was very cool!

Finally, I got to see a good friend of mine, Angel, become the new President of ARH. I am very proud of him and look forward to what he can do! I remember when he was just a small freshman, running for president of West Campus... :) Regardless, I am excited for him and Kayla, the new Vice President. I'm always here for you two!

Angel giving his presidential remarks!

It was awesome to catch up with Kim and Shannon and Glenn. We had so much fun remembering good times and making plans to return to ARH's Passing's for many years to come!

End of Contract
Well, I did other things between Passing of the Gavel and my contract ending, but it fits into this blog post better than any other ones. Plus, I don't really want to write its own post. Honestly, I very excited to finish and start another opportunity. I was counting down the days... but right at the end, I got very sad. Looking at my empty office and empty apartment was very rough. Some employees and coworkers came forward to tell me how much they were going to miss me. That meant a LOT because a lot of the time, I didn't feel appreciated at all. My last service area meeting (with all 55 of my employees) was very touching. Some came forward to hug me, while others verbally told me how much it meant for them to have me around.

I'm getting teary thinking about it...

Even though I didn't really come out and tell any of them, they were probably the number one reason I stayed, next to my loyalty to my boss. Some of my coworkers, higher administration, and the extreme demands of my position pushed me farther and farther away. Some days that I wanted to throw the towel in... an employee would say something, do something, or show that I was needed for that moment. Now, having 55 people to supervise is a lot, and keeping track of them all was tough... but in most of them, I saw some sort of improvement. Whether it was in organization, reliability, respect, or job pride, they all took small strides. I couldn't leave that or them for me. I started the job and wanted to finish it. Some days I wonder if I stayed another year, what difference that would continue to make in their lives.

I'll never know, but I can thank them for a nice "goodbye" experience at the end. VERY few coworkers said goodbye or made an effort at all. It was very tough to put in the extra hours I did at the end, do summer training that was not required of me, and empty my office without anyone really caring. However, the outpour of facebook friend requests, letters, and emails that came in were really amazing. And once again, those crazy kids kept me going. :)

My office the night before I moved out. All empty.
No more of my color or spunk. :( Good times in there!

And with that.... that is all I have to report from my ISU experiences. On Wednesday, May 11th, my parents came to pick me up, and I turned my keys in for the last time. As I drove away from Atkin Colby, I did tear up and I knew this was an experience I'll never have again, and I did learn A LOT. But here is to new beginnings! :)