Today was move-in day for our new freshmen — my second favorite work day of the year (first is graduation). It is like being at a wedding — so much hope and optimism on the part of the main player — so many tears by everyone; downright weeping by moms, and dads unsuccessfully trying to be stoic on this momentous occasion. Cameras abounded, as this truly is a significant event in everyone’s lives.
I have never left higher ed since the day I moved in to college more than three decades ago. I love the cycle of the year and how annual events such as move-in generate an automatic boost of energy and infusion of renewal into the culture. I started out working on the student affairs side of the enterprise before I switched to the enrollment side of the house. Instead of move-in being the beginning of the year, in my world, it signifies the ending of another recruiting cycle. My official job with these students is finished; they have moved in and now I need to move on — we already started months ago to recruit the next crop of smiling faces that will grace our campus.
Except for the few occasions where I long to be a more central player surrounded by the spirit and enthusiasm of students, I am so comfortable with my switch to the enrollment arena. Admissions to me is like my bamboo plant — it grows in a glass vase and you know when it needs water and when it is full. It is tangible, measurable and outcomes are clear. Student Life reminds me of my other plants — you need a lot more intuition and time to know if you are successful. You guess on when a plant needs water and you estimate how much — but you don’t know. While usually you are right and the plants grow and don’t die, your impact is much less certain.
I think every job has elements of certainty and intuition. Every organization moves in cycles with its own rhythm (eg: CPAs in April or retailers in December). The trick is to find a fit with an organization that is in sync with your temperament and talents and then to bask in those moments when all are in alignment — like for me today.
— beth triplett
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