Withdrawal.

So it has been a couple of weeks since our last session, and I miss it dearly.
I have been keeping in touch with the staffers online as much as possible to keep them in my life but it is not the same. Good thing that my students are messaging and emailing me like crazy to help them with their schedules.
And another good thing, we have a session (the real last session) in about a week and a half. I can't wait!

Summer's over, it couldn't last.

After 21 sessions: 21 6:55 briefings, 21 Classic fare breakfast muffins, 21 check-ins, 21 G-O-O-D MORNING!, 21 rotations, 21 Reitz lunches, 21 finding big Orange letters, 21 advisor meetings, 21 greetings to students/families and loved ones, 21 dinner rotations, 21 sayings of "UF's the one that I want", 21 late nights at Broward, 21 7:29 am running to debriefs, 21 looooong Day 2 campus tours at noon, 21 waiting in lines at Quiznos and having 10 minutes to eat, 21 teachings of "We are the boys" in the auditorium and 21 crazy unwinding de-briefs until at 5 pm -- WE ARE DONE! (until hidden session in the fall)

6,400 incoming students, 21 sessions, 38 staffers, 1 summer, 1 family.

PLUV is forever! <3

Catch of the day!

All summer long, I watched the staffers before me get selected to be catch of the day. I finally got chosen on the very last session!

I was so shocked to hear my name called on briefing that morning. Dalila said that I was chosen for the previous session. Whitney and I shared it for the last session, I got it on Day 1 and Whitney on Day 2.

I was so happy that I was chosen not only by Dalila, but from the rest of my staffers through the catch of the day notes. Our philosophy the whole summer has been to play, make their day, be present and choose your attitude. Based on what the staffers said about me, and the quality of my notes that I got, I got to wear the hat. The oh so famous fishy hat. I was so honored. I'm so glad I got to experience that.

Flashing back 3 years...

I feel like a Freshman again. From my first night in Gainesville-->to now, three years later, it has been a trip indeed.

In many ways, I am the same person. But in so many other ways, I have grown into someone that I could not even imagine becoming before. I remember being an incoming Freshman and scared as hell my first semester, but I was also excited. I was excited to start off with something new, something with so many possibilities.

My preview experience sort of prepared me for life at UF. Honestly, the only thing I really remember about my session is the skits, they seemed the most real. But I remember them to this day. It is so great to be able to have that impact on others just like I was so deeply impacted 3 years ago. I don't think that I can expect my students to remember me forever, but maybe for the rest of their career at UF. I hope they can see me as someone that helped their transition a little bit smoother, easier and meaningful.

2 more weeks.

^Michael a.k.a. Ilovechemistry@ufl.edu :)

Where has the time gone? We only have 4 sessions left. We have completed 18 sessions. That is 18 check-ins, 18 times of getting up at 6am (two days in a row) and 18 opportunities to change the lives of incoming freshmen and their families. I can't believe that it is almost over.

I can honestly say that I have given every day my all, even when I felt like I couldn't. I wanted to challenge myself to make every day count. It is so easy to get comfortable and say "oh I got this" and not think that students need you. But that't not the attitude we want, or have been stressed to have this whole summer. Because if you don't make yourself available or willing to grow, then you never will. These past few sessions have been really great and I feel like I have connected to my students.

I want to make these last 4 to be the best yet, small group or not. The people I am surrounded with, is my family during the summer, and I want to have only great memories.

3 doors down.

Living on the same floor that I did freshman year brings back a lot of memories. I was excited to know that I would be living at Broward again but I did not know that I would be on the same floor as my first year, let alone a couple doors down.

Seeing a freshman enter my room on their preview experience, brings back memories, smells, thoughts and feelings. We, as a staff, are so fortunate to have a living arrangement for the whole summer and it is somewhere in which I am familiar. It is so funny to hear the girls on my hall talking about the community bathrooms and how they can't stand it. I embraced the fact that it was a social residence hall. I wanted to meet fellow first years and new people in general. Now it's my chance to meet them all over again. =)

Feedback, feedback.

This past week was the last session in June and then the first session in July. We only have 6 sessions left, and everyone is feeling it. I can see the exhaustion mentally, physically and for me, emotionally as well. For the sake of finishing the sessions on a high note, I would have loved to meet with the Pro-staff for some individual feedback about how I am doing thus far in the summer.

I would like to know what my students are saying in their surveys, how I am looking with the families, and just my overall performance. I feel like I am giving it my 100% every time because if I did not, then I would feel bad for the rest of the staff to pick up my slack. And if I am not aware of the things that I am doing wrong, or the areas I need to improve on, then I cannot grow as a staffer and leader.

Hopefully, when Jaime comes back (she is very missed by the by) she will implement these policies. I want every person's preview experience to be the same from me, no matter what I am going through that day.

Whoa we're halfway there!

Halfway done! I can't believe that I am seeing my Summer B students already on campus, they are starting their college careers that I helped start. It is a good sign that when I do see my students, they feel like they can approach me. And they are also excited to see me! I want to be someone that they can remember, or at least a resource for them if they need me.

The Summer A staffers are gone as well and it is very sad. I am going to miss all of them and I don't think that our staff will be the same without the 38 strong. Grace, Marissa, Sam, Mark, Alfonso and Ebony will be here with is in spirit! We have to hold up 32 strong now. PLUV <3 forever you guys!

Dr. Barfield

The famous Dr. Barfield. Everyone remembers him from their preview session because he has been doing this for 30+ years. I remember when he spoke to me in my preview session 3 years ago, and I never forgot him.
He says, "I'm here to tell you what the faculty expect of you here at UF..."
I remember being really scared of him, and wondering if all of his stories were true. They ended up being true, he was telling us from his experience and observing students for so many years.

Need less to say, I always wanted to tell him how right he was in the end. Now that I am completely sure about my major, and am more sure of what I want to do as my further education or after I graduate, I can appreciate his honesty.
I am so happy too that I got to be a Preview Staffer in his last year as a faculty member. He will retire this year and I believe this is his last season. I also have the privilege of getting to know him more now that I am working along side of him. I always wanted to tell him personally how much he influenced me and made me think about what I want to do in my college career. I was able to do that at the beginning of the season. I was very proud to have that opportunity.
Now it's my turn to pass on the legacy of the famous bug man. =)

An update on research.

So here's a small recap about what happened with the research and University Scholars...

I did apply for University Scholars, when I found out that CFA did not have to enroll in a research course over the summer. However, I did not receive the grant.

Instead, Kelly helped me with a more than perfect project for someone like me. It is essentially the same as USP but it is funded by HHMI and Science for Life. I will hook up with a science faculty from the start and join their research team. Then the work from this project will be presented at CASE in the Spring. This will also serve as supplemental research for my senior thesis in the fall!

I found a perfect match for my science faculty, I just have to make it happen!

I believe in magic!

I felt like a kid again when the staff and I went to Disney this past weekend. The ideal of our staff is to have the magic that Disney possesses. We strive to be that detail oriented, and make it seem like no one is behind the scenes making everything run smoothly.

While I was there, I noticed more about those behind the scenes people that make everything happen. They had very tedious tasks, but if they were not done, then the rest of the park would ultimately run out of sync. Something as trivial as taking out the trash, can seem small but be very important.

Our operation is not as huge as Disney, but we have a lot of similar qualities like customer service. We have the same goals in mind as well; we want to make our guests happy while providing a service to them.

I think we are doing an OK job so far because Jaime got an email from a former employee at a Disney resort and said that she was so impressed with the staff and how professional we were, etc. So now we just strive to keep that magic alive for all of our sessions! :)

After 5 sessions...

It's the 4 day weekend after our 2nd double header and I am pooped.
The road from training, where I thought I wasn't gonna remember anything, to our first session -- it has been quite a journey! I thought I was gonna mess up saying something to a student or a parent from all we've been trained to do. But I've had 4 small groups and was on errands for the first time this last session. I have had much more ease talking to my students than what I thought and I have had so much fun with my small groups. I felt like a pro now and it happened even after my first check in name...

After my first small group, I got a little teary eyed when I said goodbye to them on day two. I was thinking that I was sending them into the world after their first experience as a Gator. This was special to me. I need to not loose this feeling for the next 17 sessions.
Here we go into the flow of things, I plan on resting a lot this weekend, fitting in some fun, but also being productive with my time because the time we have to ourselves is very limited. I can't wait to keep the magic going! YESSS!
☮ and PLUV!

A Metaphor

Tonight, instead of writing my proposal for University Scholars, I ended up writing this blog. I want to record this time as my beginning of official research for the summer. Upon looking at the USP website, I found a red flag warning about applying. It stated that I was required to take a one credit research class over the summer in order to be a candidate for University Scholars. As being a member of Preview Staff 2010, I cannot be enrolled as a student at UF the entire time I am on staff. So this disheartened me at first, very much, but then I saw it as just a shift in my outlook and approach to this research. So I called my faculty advisor, Kristin, and told her about it. We chatted about my other options and she made me realize that this is a beautiful opportunity. I am just having a shifting of purpose and priority. I just think the irony of it is funny, because the reason why I can't apply for this program is the same resource that I was going to use over the summer to obtain my research.

It's just an extremely personal moment and significant in my college career, because this is something that I have been wanting to do since my Freshman year. The way things work out and don't work out is extremely interesting. I just have to surrender to this change and accept it as an opportunity to start research now and continue through the whole summer.

The metaphor lies in the same lines as my research. I am most concerned with how people take and deal with opportunities that are presented to them. They are filtered through expectations of themselves and of others (particularly parents) and that effects their decisions as well. I need to take this as a sign that I was selected to welcome 6,000 freshman for a reason, and even though I can't put their name on it, I will still conduct research of my own and carry out this vision.

My goal for this project is to reach a broad spectrum of people with my work. I can take many avenues with this concept and will hopefully get a specific view and vision for my piece. I will want to share it with many.