Bridging the Gap Campus Wide

Two weeks ago on the Student Affairs Collective's weekly #SAChat, there was discussion about training student leaders. There were many topics discussed such as bringing alumni, faculty, staff and even outside guests into student leadership training. As a former Resident Assistant and a former member of my undergraduate institution's Student Government, I remember my first RA training, we had a lot of in house sessions (in house in this case meaning with in the department) from the RDs and even second and third year RAs.

But the most important part that was discussed during this #SAChat was on bringing faculty into student leadership training. Faculty play the academic part on all college campuses. Some may even play as an advisor of a student organization. Introducing faculty into student leadership training helps bridge the gap between academics and student affairs.

I would assume that a lot of professors care about educating the students. Just by bringing them into leadership training would help bring in their concerns for their students and what they would like to see in the advancement of the institution.

Another important part of leadership training is bringing in other individuals from different departments in Student Affairs. Collaboration is a keyword in this. It is important to use what you have around you to create efficient, fun and educational environment for your target audience.

I remember asking my Health Educator in my institution for help and inspiration for my program "What Makes You Beautiful?", a program about body image in both young men and women. She pointed me in the right direction by bringing the idea to out Active Minds chapter. (For those who do not know about Active Minds, it is a national organization made to change the conversation about mental health.) Together we created a space for students to discuss their concerns as well as state their opinions about body image.

In closing, remember this quote one of my favorite RDs would say "teamwork makes the dream work." Without team work, would there be institutions of higher education? We need to utilize our nearby resources.