This quarter I began my final internship. I moved over to Seattle U and began working in Student-Athlete Academic Support. I spend most of my time tutoring, monitoring study halls, and editing papers. I also have the task of creating a program that targets reading and writing comprehension for incoming at-risk student-athletes. These could be incoming freshman or transfer students, but still have the same under-preparedness for the academic rigors of SU.
It was a perfect quarter to be studying leadership ethics with Pat Dobel as that topic comes up when dealing with student-athletes that are struggling academically. As an English major in college, I can see so many fundamental mistakes in the student's writing, but cannot (according to my personal ethics code as well as that of SU and the NCAA) change the content of their writing. I can, however, address the problems before they begin writing the papers, and ask questions while they complete the paper to steer them in the right direction. After the papers are written I can only help correct spelling and grammatical errors. This has been a difficult task, but one that teaches me to be on my toes.
Also in this quarter I have done my best to network with people in places that I would like to work. I have done some networking at the University of Utah, as well as the University of Colorado. I am currently in search of a place to live and hopefully work my way into the system from there. My mentor at SU has great contacts at Utah, and I hope to prove myself a strong enough candidate for future references from her.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Leedurchip Etheks Reeflekshun
Pat Dobel taught our final class on Leadership Ethics in the spring of 2011. The class topics were very interesting and some of the material truly had my mind engaged. However, I did not care for the emphasis on one book by Joe Badaracco, called Leading Quietly. Pat was a great teacher and had a lot of great things to say, and I saw no need o rely so much on another academia's book. In addition to the reliance on this particular text, I thought the book was difficult to decipher and unnecessarily cloudy.
One lesson we had that I thought was interesting was given in a lesson by Ed Taylor. He spoke to the class during our executive weekend in Seattle, and I believe moved the class in a very positive way. He asked, and answered, the question "is this endeavor worth the trouble?". His resounding answer was yes, and for so many reasons I cannot state them all. However, I will say that his reasoning fit well with most of the people in class, and gave us all something to think about going forward. For me personally, I think the success of one student-athlete, in an honest and ethical way, is enough to justify working in this field. I think Mr. Taylor may have come to the same answer.
One lesson we had that I thought was interesting was given in a lesson by Ed Taylor. He spoke to the class during our executive weekend in Seattle, and I believe moved the class in a very positive way. He asked, and answered, the question "is this endeavor worth the trouble?". His resounding answer was yes, and for so many reasons I cannot state them all. However, I will say that his reasoning fit well with most of the people in class, and gave us all something to think about going forward. For me personally, I think the success of one student-athlete, in an honest and ethical way, is enough to justify working in this field. I think Mr. Taylor may have come to the same answer.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Wintur Kwartur Reeflekshun
The winter quarter of the IAL program seemed, to me, like a long one. Maybe it was the rainy and cloudy Seattle, or maybe it was the fact that we had two classes and my internship was not what I had anticipated, but none of that helped the equation.
The content of the class schedule was not necessarily my cup of tea, but I managed to be engaged, and do the work in a timely and reasonable fashion. Where I really struggled was with my internship. I contacted the track and field coaches at UW to see if I could be involved somehow with the track and field operations. Obviously they could use help, as most organizations can, especially when it's free. My task was to help game-day operations at the indoor track meets throughout the winter quarter. The only problem is that the experience I gained while there, isn't the kind of experience that will help me with further progress in my career. I want to make it clear that this has nothing to do with the track and field program in itself, it has more to do with my late start on setting myself up with an internship that would be more beneficial.
For the weeks leading up to each meet I was on the computer, verifying marks that athletes and coaches had entered into the meet database. With that, I was making a determination whether that particular athlete had earned his/her way into the fastest heats. This aids in speeding the heat up, and allowing the best athletes to compete against the other quality athletes. In addition, on meet day I was working the information table, selling merchandise, replacing lost or mistaken bib numbers, and generally organizing the volunteer student-athletes.
I am about to begin a new internship, which I'm positive will give me great experience and a host of connections in the world of college athletics. I am looking forward to both the spring quarter class and the internship.
The content of the class schedule was not necessarily my cup of tea, but I managed to be engaged, and do the work in a timely and reasonable fashion. Where I really struggled was with my internship. I contacted the track and field coaches at UW to see if I could be involved somehow with the track and field operations. Obviously they could use help, as most organizations can, especially when it's free. My task was to help game-day operations at the indoor track meets throughout the winter quarter. The only problem is that the experience I gained while there, isn't the kind of experience that will help me with further progress in my career. I want to make it clear that this has nothing to do with the track and field program in itself, it has more to do with my late start on setting myself up with an internship that would be more beneficial.
For the weeks leading up to each meet I was on the computer, verifying marks that athletes and coaches had entered into the meet database. With that, I was making a determination whether that particular athlete had earned his/her way into the fastest heats. This aids in speeding the heat up, and allowing the best athletes to compete against the other quality athletes. In addition, on meet day I was working the information table, selling merchandise, replacing lost or mistaken bib numbers, and generally organizing the volunteer student-athletes.
I am about to begin a new internship, which I'm positive will give me great experience and a host of connections in the world of college athletics. I am looking forward to both the spring quarter class and the internship.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Wintur Klas Reeflekshun
The two classes we had this quarter were challenging in content, as they dealt with subjects I am not terribly familiar with. The classes were Decision Making with Data and Information Technology. The work load was significant, however, seemed relevant to the desired outcome of the class.
For Decision Making with Data we learned how to research data required to make a decision in ICA and, with that information, come to a conclusion on some changes that could be made to improve the department. In my final project I attempted to show how special admission student-athletes perform as well, if not better, than some of the regular admit students. The decision to focus on this topic was in response to some recent conclusions by The Knight Commission and the Drake Group that contradicts my findings.
This project taught me that, although there is a lot of information in ICA, it may not all be easy to come by. I had to talk to several people in confidentiality, as well as create some "dummy" data to conclude my project. Had I chosen a topic with lots of data available, it may not have been as challenging (or as fun for that matter).
The second class we took was Information Technologies in ICA. We looked for beyond collegiate sports, but tried to always bring it back to how modern technologies are affecting collegiate sports, both positively and negatively. There were facebook discussion boards with a randomized grouping of classmates that would discuss each of the topics during a give week. These discussions often started with something from one of the lectures or required readings, but would move to experiences from our internships, or even further back. I enjoyed hearing my classmates discussion points, and outlook on certain experiences with technologies.
The final project for IMT525 was an individual project researching and analyzing three technologies in our current Dept. of ICA. I chose to target video technology, student-athlete academic monitoring, and mass communication of the marketing department. It gave me an opportunity to be in touch with several people on campus and get their take on these technologies. I learned that there are many ways to improve current technologies in an ICA. It also reminded me how important reaching out to fellow department members is.
I have to admit that I am proud of myself for making it through these two classes with my sanity intact. All of the most difficult classes, as described by the IAL leadership, have been the best ones for me in regards to working hard and learning. For this I have to give myself a small pat on the back and get excited for one more class!
For Decision Making with Data we learned how to research data required to make a decision in ICA and, with that information, come to a conclusion on some changes that could be made to improve the department. In my final project I attempted to show how special admission student-athletes perform as well, if not better, than some of the regular admit students. The decision to focus on this topic was in response to some recent conclusions by The Knight Commission and the Drake Group that contradicts my findings.
This project taught me that, although there is a lot of information in ICA, it may not all be easy to come by. I had to talk to several people in confidentiality, as well as create some "dummy" data to conclude my project. Had I chosen a topic with lots of data available, it may not have been as challenging (or as fun for that matter).
The second class we took was Information Technologies in ICA. We looked for beyond collegiate sports, but tried to always bring it back to how modern technologies are affecting collegiate sports, both positively and negatively. There were facebook discussion boards with a randomized grouping of classmates that would discuss each of the topics during a give week. These discussions often started with something from one of the lectures or required readings, but would move to experiences from our internships, or even further back. I enjoyed hearing my classmates discussion points, and outlook on certain experiences with technologies.
The final project for IMT525 was an individual project researching and analyzing three technologies in our current Dept. of ICA. I chose to target video technology, student-athlete academic monitoring, and mass communication of the marketing department. It gave me an opportunity to be in touch with several people on campus and get their take on these technologies. I learned that there are many ways to improve current technologies in an ICA. It also reminded me how important reaching out to fellow department members is.
I have to admit that I am proud of myself for making it through these two classes with my sanity intact. All of the most difficult classes, as described by the IAL leadership, have been the best ones for me in regards to working hard and learning. For this I have to give myself a small pat on the back and get excited for one more class!
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