Today's blog post is a compilations of thoughts and reflections of members of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA) over the last two years. I give so much love to Jessica Pettitt and the other contributors for helping construct this blog as a way to enhance the engagement of AFA members.
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| AFA Graduate Staff 2010 & 2011 pictured at the Annual Meeting. |
At the 2012 AFA Annual Meeting the association’s board
held an open session seeking feedback and ideas from members. There was much
conversation about the organizational structure changes and an eagerness to
witness results from long standing conversations. Members in the room
began asking, “How do I give back? How do I help? What can I do?”
This created a powerful dynamic and we agreed to share that
discussion with the larger membership. Pulling from our collective
memories and what was tweeted out during the session we will bring you the
highlights!
Stop waiting to be “qualified” to contribute to the
organization. Do it now!
It seems that undergraduates wait to be graduate students,
and graduates students wait until they get their first job. National
office staffs aren’t campus-based professionals, but some of them used to
be. New campus professionals haven’t been on the job long enough, or
don’t have enough organizations on their campus to matter — this is all stuff I
hear at every Annual Meeting I have attended. Many seem to struggle with
the self-efficacy to feel “qualified” to be an involved party in the
association. None of it makes
sense. The organization is built by and for the members. If you are
reading this, you are a member. It is the diversity of our perspectives that
make us individually qualified to contribute to the organization. Stop waiting,
you’re officially deemed “qualified.”
Go to the AFA website to see where your skills and talents
can be utilized. This article will explore many opportunities.
Change is not sexy. The small things
like voting are how change happens.
Throughout history, people have had a volatile
relationship with change. Change comes often in very little, very boring,
very often over looked baby steps. Be an active part of these baby steps.
Vote. Read. Contribute. Speak. Listen. Volunteer.
Serve. Present. Write. Repeat.
Take individual responsibility for what experience you
want to have.
Contributions can take many forms. While some people may
have volunteer positions with titles, your contribution could be conducting
research, writing for a publication, presenting a program, or mentoring a young
professional. Program sessions, leadership, mentorships, conversations, and
collaborations are up to each member to happen. Figure out what kind of
experience you want to have and make it happen. Even more important, to
truly contribute to the field and moving it forward, do your own job really
well.
Mentor
a graduate student, new professional, or undergraduate student.
As professionals, we spend much of our careers advising
and educating students, but how often do we have conversations about how to
make the fraternal experience a professional career (or a volunteer one) with
the newest generation of future professionals? To ensure sustainability in our profession, we need to spend
time mentoring the youngest generation of professionals, rather than just role
modeling and hoping the career path works out. This takes starting conversations with students or
colleagues about their professional dreams and helping guide their plans if
they have interest in higher education. Beyond that, encouraging future alumni
involvement with students is crucial, no matter their chosen career path.
Let
your passion drive your involvement.
When you joined the association, you had reasons and
motivation. The common
denominators for most members are professional development, networking and
research based on your own motivations, it is important to seek out opportunities
to enhance your passion and aid in the advancement of the association. Here a just a few ways to find your
passion and get involved:
- Present an educational session. If you gathered new research or created an innovative program, share your information with others and help further the profession. One never knows if the educational session you present on inspires others to want to do more and be more for the profession. Share research with AFA colleagues and beyond at a host of higher education conferences.
- Research a topic within the fraternal movement. Our profession will only advance if members commit to research. Members can further knowledge by assessing progress and researching topics connected to the fraternal movement. If you wonder why you keep seeing the same behaviors, why problems matriculate, how the experience creates impact, and more—find the answers to your questions. After all, research is a core competency of the association.
- On the job, consider what theoretical frameworks and best practices are you implementing and if offerings are rooted in research and assessment. Research should be engrained in the culture and operations of the work you and/or your staff are putting forth.
- Invest
in your own professional development. Whether you attend an AFA Drive-In, the
Annual Meeting or monthly AdvanceU webinars, developing as a professional is an
expectation of membership in the association, as well as a benefit. These
opportunities are also tools for engagement and involvement. Whether you
volunteer for a committee or attend a pre-conference workshop, your involvement aids in your
development and maturity as a professional.
It’s crucial that our members participate and encourage
discussions, dialogue, and eLearning through the year. By create a community
where our members engage in publications, share research, connect through
social media, and offer knowledge in their various areas of expertise, we make
the most of our experience. Look at the association as an educational and
marketing moment that connects you with colleagues and opportunities to grow in
your career and further the fraternal movement.
- Network within the association. Get out there! Networking is tied closely with investing in your own development. Some of our best resources are each other. Be an active participant in the association by meeting new people and find new opportunities through the association. Follow up with people you met at a conference session or even the author of an article that piqued your interest. Ask engaging questions in conference sessions, or follow-up with those who do. Ask questions about how people create and enhance holistic experiences for students; create programmatic initiatives for the profession; or provide feedback for a publishable article or paper. You never know what you will find and the outcome that it can bring.
- Network beyond the Annual Meeting. Take advantage of the universities, professionals, headquarters in your area and make local connections that will grow and be enhanced when you attend association programs. Challenge yourself to seek out people with differing ideas than you. One may ask, “What should I do if I am faced with adversity and resistance when trying to make the work that I do relevant?”
- Volunteer. Whether you
hold an AFA volunteer position or not, find ways to use your talents to
challenge and support our association to make yourself and other professional
better prepared to support the collegiate experience.
Do
a good job.
Focus on your own work and on leading change in your community,
your bubble. The first place we can “lead the movement” is in our own
backyards. We can serve our association by focusing on our work. To keep our
work relevant, we must lead the change in language, practices and conversation
to be about student learning first. When we are ready and daring enough to do
this, that is when our relevance will no longer be of question.
Take
time for you.
Take
time to process, reflect and digest your experiences. From the Annual Meeting
to a powerful article you read online; we often set good ideas aside when the
daily grind gets busy. If you do not take time when you need it, you will feel
overwhelmed and exhausted. Our
organizations and students need you to be the best version of yourself with an
ability to engage self and others.
AFA is in fact changing. For some, these changes seem rapid and for others, they are
painstakingly slow. Both
perspectives can be right at the same time. What cannot happen is that as member-based organization, AFA
ceases to evolve, grow, expand and change. Only through consistent adaptation
can our members’ needs can be met.
This change shouldn’t and must not seem out of reach of any member
regardless of experience or tenure.
The changes are member created, member instituted, member led and member
designed. AFA members at all
levels serve as mentors, volunteers, role models and leaders. We are the members. We are AFA and we should be acting and
contributing as such in any way we can.
Therefore, find balance, get involved and engage in the
conversation. If you can do that,
you will ignite the catalyst for change that will not only align with the
mission of the association but will take it to new heights. Our association is a canvas waiting for
the contributions of colors to paint the direction for the future.
We are waiting for you. You--right now, in your
role, with your experience, with your ideas.
