{"id":512,"date":"2013-05-04T18:10:10","date_gmt":"2013-05-04T18:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blessedinthemess.com\/blog\/?p=512"},"modified":"2013-05-04T18:10:28","modified_gmt":"2013-05-04T18:10:28","slug":"why-i-love-my-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.blessedinthemess.com\/blog\/why-i-love-my-job\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I love my job."},"content":{"rendered":"

Man guys, I am POOPED!\u00a0 This has been the craziest month and week ever!!\u00a0 All awesome things, but exhausting none the less.\u00a0 I was in Nashville last weekend for a much needed girls trip and of course to do a little running in the country music half marathon.\u00a0 I actually wrote a whole blog on my trip already, but I shall post that later this week.\u00a0 Oh!\u00a0 I ALSO received my Paleo Challenge pictures and results back, so I will be posting about that too!<\/p>\n

More importantly though, I want to talk to you about one of my favorite events of the year that just happened this week, the annual Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling Conference<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is a conference where all the high school college counselors, guidance counselors and admission counselors come together and collaborate on how to better service our students.\u00a0 I always come out of this conference on a high with different ideas and energy to bring back to my office.\u00a0 This is also a great chance for people to let off some steam after a very stressful month.\u00a0 My staff and I at AU have been busting our butts and are on track to bring in yet another record breaking class, so it was great to take time and celebrate with them.\u00a0 I pretty much love my staff times a million, they are some of the most hardworking, dedicated and fun people ever and I am so incredibly blessed to be able to work with them.<\/p>\n

\"Picture<\/a><\/p>\n

Keep in mind that at this conference are many ‘competitors’ of AU, other schools also trying to bring in their class, just like we are.\u00a0 But you see, it’s not really like that.\u00a0 I cannot tell you how many times I have had a conversation with a student who is not a good fit for AU… do I still try and recruit them?\u00a0 Absolutely not.\u00a0 If we do not have a program for them,\u00a0 or we are just not the right fit I will get on that phone right away and call a friend who is at Depaul, Augustana, NIU…etc.\u00a0\u00a0 And I will give that student their contact information.\u00a0 Sure, sometimes my director gives me the look when I do this but here is the thing, it’s not about me<\/strong>.\u00a0 It’s about the student, always.\u00a0 No exception<\/strong>.\u00a0 I would not be able to lay my head down at night if I did it any other way.\u00a0 I am not a salesperson, I am not a recruiter, I am an Admission Counselor.\u00a0 My job is to present AU in the best way possible to the students that are meant to be here and counsel them through the process.\u00a0 Sure, I get sad when I lose a deposit or a student who I have been working with since they were a sophomore tells me they are going elsewhere, but I feel more excited for them, than sad for me.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have come to realize why I love my job so much, why I just am so enamored by high school students.\u00a0 Even they have so much opportunity ahead of them, these students are also hopeless and lost in a sea of choices.\u00a0 When they step into my office, that is unfortunately sometimes the first time anybody has ever taken the time to listen to them for 30 minutes, as opposed to telling them what they should<\/strong><\/em> be doing.\u00a0 They just want to be heard.\u00a0 I love that I get to listen to them because I remember feeling like that as if it were yesterday.\u00a0 It does not matter if you have the perfect home life, perfect grades, perfect friends etc.\u00a0 Being that age is overwhelming.\u00a0 Many of these students are so overwhelmed with the choices ahead of them that they shut down and stay in their safe zone, which many times results in missed opportunities.<\/strong>\u00a0 I get to spend time with them, get to know them and help them to that next step of the unknown, which can be very scary.\u00a0 Sometimes I am the gatekeeper to the other side of amazing possibility, even if that other side is not Aurora University.<\/p>\n

\"Picture<\/a><\/p>\n

My whole life I have always wondered what my one god given talent is and if I am following the right path.\u00a0 I am “good” at many things, but struggled with what I am “great” at.\u00a0 Am I using the abilities I have to truly make a difference?\u00a0 The amazing people within IACAC\u00a0 make me more sure every day, that I am indeed in the right place.<\/strong>\u00a0 IACAC has this wonderful tradition of lifting people up, showing them their worth and recognizing hard work.\u00a0 Without this organization I would not be where I am in my career today, no question about it. \u00a0 Because of the wonderful friends and mentors I have encountered at IACAC who have told me to sign up for a committee when I had no idea what that entailed, who have encouraged me, offered me constructive criticism, and pushed me to be better at my job and move up within my institution- I have realized what my “great” talent is.\u00a0 I can connect.<\/p>\n

What does that mean? I have had the ability since I can remember to make friends anywhere.\u00a0 To get a complete stranger to open up about their life story.\u00a0 To turn someone who I was pretty sure hated me, into a best friend.\u00a0 To make somebody in a horrible mood, laugh.\u00a0 I don’t do this on purpose, it just kind of… happens.\u00a0 I have realized I am good at my job because students feel comfortable with me, which as a result allows me to help them be their best self.<\/p>\n

I am on the right path, I am in the right profession, I am making a difference.\u00a0 I would not have realized the magnificence of that without IACAC.<\/p>\n

\"quote2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Man guys, I am POOPED!\u00a0 This has been the craziest month and week ever!!\u00a0 All awesome things, but exhausting none the less.\u00a0 I was in Nashville last weekend for a much needed girls trip and of course to do a little running in the country music half marathon.\u00a0 I actually wrote a whole blog on my trip already, but I shall post that later this week.\u00a0 Oh!\u00a0 I ALSO received my Paleo Challenge pictures and results back, so I will be posting about that too! More importantly though, I want to talk to you about one of my favorite events of the year that just happened this week, the annual Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling Conference.\u00a0 This is a conference where all the high school college counselors, guidance counselors and admission counselors come together and collaborate on how to better service our students.\u00a0 I always come out of this conference on a high with different ideas and energy to bring back to my office.\u00a0 This is also a great chance for people to let off some steam after a very stressful month.\u00a0 My staff and I at AU have been busting our butts and are on track to bring in yet another record breaking class, so it was great to take time and celebrate with them.\u00a0 I pretty much love my staff times a million, they are some of the most hardworking, dedicated and fun people ever and I am so incredibly blessed to be able to work with them. Keep in mind that at this conference are many ‘competitors’ of AU, other schools also trying to bring in their class, just like we are.\u00a0 But you see, it’s not really like that.\u00a0 I cannot tell you how many times I have had a conversation with a student who is not a good fit for AU… do I still try and recruit them?\u00a0 Absolutely not.\u00a0 If we do not have a program for them,\u00a0 or we are just not the right fit I will get on that phone right away and call a friend who is at Depaul, Augustana, NIU…etc.\u00a0\u00a0 And I will give that student their contact information.\u00a0 Sure, sometimes my director gives me the look when I do this but here is the thing, it’s not about me.\u00a0 It’s about the student, always.\u00a0 No exception.\u00a0 I would not be able to lay my head down at night if I did it any other way.\u00a0 I am not a salesperson, I am not a recruiter, I am an Admission Counselor.\u00a0 My job is to present AU in the best way possible to the students that are meant to be here and counsel them through the process.\u00a0 Sure, I get sad when I lose a deposit or a student who I have been working with since they were a sophomore tells me they are going elsewhere, but I feel more excited for them, than sad for me. I have come to realize why I love my job so much, why I just am so enamored by high school students.\u00a0 Even they have so much opportunity ahead of them, these students are also hopeless and lost in a sea of choices.\u00a0 When they step into my office, that is unfortunately sometimes the first time anybody has ever taken the time to listen to them for 30 minutes, as opposed to telling them what they should be doing.\u00a0 They just want to be heard.\u00a0 I love that I get to listen to them because I remember feeling like that as if it were yesterday.\u00a0 It does not matter if you have the perfect home life, perfect grades, perfect friends etc.\u00a0 Being that age is overwhelming.\u00a0 Many of these students are so overwhelmed with the choices ahead of them that they shut down and stay in their safe zone, which many times results in missed opportunities.\u00a0 I get to spend time with them, get to know them and help them to that next step of the unknown, which can be very scary.\u00a0 Sometimes I am the gatekeeper to the other side of amazing possibility, even if that other side is not Aurora University. My whole life I have always wondered what my one god given talent is and if I am following the right path.\u00a0 I am “good” at many things, but struggled with what I am “great” at.\u00a0 Am I using the abilities I have to truly make a difference?\u00a0 The amazing people within IACAC\u00a0 make me more sure every day, that I am indeed in the right place.\u00a0 IACAC has this wonderful tradition of lifting people up, showing them their worth and recognizing hard work.\u00a0 Without this organization I would not be where I am in my career today, no question about it. \u00a0 Because of the wonderful friends and mentors I have encountered at IACAC who have told me to sign up for a committee when I had no idea what that entailed, who have encouraged me, offered me constructive criticism, and pushed me to be better at my job and move up within my institution- I have realized what my “great” talent is.\u00a0 I can connect. What does that mean? I have had the ability since I can remember to make friends anywhere.\u00a0 To get a complete stranger to open up about their life story.\u00a0 To turn someone who I was pretty sure hated me, into a best friend.\u00a0 To make somebody in a horrible mood, laugh.\u00a0 I don’t do this on purpose, it just kind of… happens.\u00a0 I have realized I am good at my job because students feel comfortable with me, which as a result allows me to help them be their best self. I am on the right path, I am in the right profession, I am making a difference.\u00a0 I would not have realized the magnificence of that without IACAC.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t