Spring 2013. I've made it. The last semester of my master's program and (at least at this point) college. There's always the lure to return for a doctoral program but after six years of college, I'm more than ready to join the real world. Last semester means applying for jobs and that's the task that I've been tackling these past few weeks: researching and searching for positions that look promising and exciting.
It was probably my second semester that I decided an international position is really what I wanted. I had been back from Italy for almost a year and had snagged a position in Qatar for the summer. Since then I have been keeping my eyes peeled for international opportunities and universities. International jobs seem to be few and far between in student affairs, especially when searching via the traditional SA job posting websites. I've scoured lots of international universities websites looking for position vacancies and results have been sparse.
I've sent out two applications to international vacancies and I'm about to finish up my second application for jobs in the states. I am hopeful for an international position, but don't want to put all my fruit in one basket. There are some pretty great opportunities here in the states too, so wherever I end up I know that I'll be happy.
My mantra at this time is "Keep Calm and Apply for Jobs." I am nervous about the job hunt and interviewing process but I know something will work out. In the mean time I get to dream about life and traveling opportunities in the locations that I have applied for jobs in.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Return & "Now What?..."
Figured it was about time to wrap up the Doha chapter of my blog…
The end of my experience in Doha was fabulous. New Student Orientation
went superbly. The events leading up to the main day were fantastic! I had so
much fun and enjoyed working with my student leaders and meeting so many new
faces of the HBKU students.
The “main day” of orientation went well and I greatly appreciate the experience that it gave me both professional development-wise, but also all of the amazing people that I got to work with through the process.
The “main day” of orientation went well and I greatly appreciate the experience that it gave me both professional development-wise, but also all of the amazing people that I got to work with through the process.
The most rewarding part of New Student Orientation was the end of the
day. I was exhausted both mentally and physically. I was leaving the next
morning at the crack of dawn to head back to Texas and start classes. However,
this moment made everything better- When the CDAs (what they call RA’s) and my
OPAs (orientation leaders) reconvened at the end of the day for a wrap-up
session right after the small group stuff concluded I could tell there had been
a big change, a shift in their moods. Then they started sharing their stories
about how amazing their small-group time had been. The students were engaged
and meeting new people and did not want to end group time at the end of the
day. It was that moment that nearly brought tears to my eyes. I was seeing the
trickle-down effect of all the hard work that myself and my colleagues had been
doing. It was then that I shared with the CDAs and OPAs that that is what orientation is all about.
That feeling that the freshmen leave with at the end of the day knowing that
they’re a part of something bigger than then, a part of something that cares
about them and wants to develop them. It was fabulous and I wouldn’t change a
thing!!
The last orientation event that day was the bowling and pizza get together
at the Student Center bowling alley. I’ve never seen so many pizzas eaten in my
life! It was hilarious and thankfully there was a Papa Johns in the Student
Center to keep up with the pizza needs that we faced! The event was also my going
away shindig. It was incredibly nice and I ended up crying in front of all the
freshmen, OPAs, CDAs, and staff members when everyone was speaking about my
contributions and how great the experience was. It was one of those pivotal
moments when you realize that you’ve impacted the lives of others as much as
they’ve impacted yours. That moment that student affairs professionals live
for.
At that party I said goodbye to all the wonderful students that I had
met in Doha. I cried some more saying goodbye to staff members. Katie took me
to pick up the outfit that I’d had tailored to fit me. I’m still looking for
the perfect occasion to wear it since it is on the formal side. Arooj henna’d
my hand, then Basit took me out for my last night on the town. We went to Souq
Waqif for the last time, drank some soda, smoked shisha and I tried CAMEL!! It
didn’t taste all that different from pot roast. I just had to get over the
mental block first. Heading home from the souq I was nodding off in Basit’s car
since I’d been up since 5AM. He dropped
me off; I finished some last minute packing and got a few hours of sleep.
Basit took me to the airport at the crack of dawn and I came back to
the states. On a side note, the fight was the flight from hell. There were crying
babies for all sixteen hours of it which made me want to cry myself about
half-way through. My mom picked me up from the airport and I spent a little
time with my family before I drove back up to College Station to my new
apartment to prep for classes the next day (I’d already missed Monday’s class).
Since I’ve been back I’ve slowly been able to put my experience into
words. I learned so much and my worldview changed a little while I was gone…
that whole return culture shock that no one ever expects. I’ve tried in small
ways to educate people about Muslims, Islam and to correct some misperceptions
that people have. I try to share things with my friends and family that make
them see that people that live in the gulf area are people too and not that
crazy bunch that the news tells us they are. Most of all I share my experience through
sliding in little stories or bits of information here and there.
Three months later and I’m finding myself asking the question… “Now
what?”
As of today (November 15), I have exactly 176 days left until I graduate with my Masters of Science in Higher Education Administration with an emphasis on Student Affairs. I’ve started the job search, which is always daunting to even think about. I’ve somewhat narrowed down what I’m looking for. I’ve started to warn my family that as soon as I graduate I’m going to be moving abroad if I have a job lined up. My dream job would be working internationally doing something with New Student Orientation, I really rediscovered my passion for orientation this summer. If I can’t find an international position then I’m looking at schools in a totally different location. I’d love to work in D.C., Washington state, or Oregon. Definitely looking for a change of pace after being in College Station, Texas for six years (how long I’ll have been here when I graduate).
As of today (November 15), I have exactly 176 days left until I graduate with my Masters of Science in Higher Education Administration with an emphasis on Student Affairs. I’ve started the job search, which is always daunting to even think about. I’ve somewhat narrowed down what I’m looking for. I’ve started to warn my family that as soon as I graduate I’m going to be moving abroad if I have a job lined up. My dream job would be working internationally doing something with New Student Orientation, I really rediscovered my passion for orientation this summer. If I can’t find an international position then I’m looking at schools in a totally different location. I’d love to work in D.C., Washington state, or Oregon. Definitely looking for a change of pace after being in College Station, Texas for six years (how long I’ll have been here when I graduate).
But as for now I’m in the waiting and job searching stage. My next
adventure (hopefully international) will undoubtedly be the biggest one yet!
Wish me luck!
Monday, August 13, 2012
Is this real life...?
The past couple of days I've found myself asking the same question that David asked his dad after that infamous dentist visit... "Is this real life?" I continue to have such amazing experience and have gotten to try new things that continue to educate me and transform my view on the world.
So... what's happened since last Thursday?...
On Friday (the weekend here), I enjoyed sleeping in and catching up on some much needed rest. There isn't really a point to waking up early on Friday morning because everything is closed because Friday is the Islamic holy day (like the Christian Sunday). Stores, restaurants, souqs, etc. typically don't open up until two or four in the afternoon. So, why wake up early? Around one or so, Katie picked me up and we went over to the LuLu Express building that also houses a salon. The salon does hair, nails, waxing,... basically everything. It's interesting (and I think really awesome) that these salons are typically women-only. There are separate ones for men. Why? Because the women who come in to the salon to get their hair done must take off their shayla (head covering) to get their hair done, therefore, no men can be in the salon. I think it's a neat idea, it also makes a girl getaway! :) I got a manicure and afterwards, Katie convinced me to get my eyebrows threaded. Katie is really awesome at convincing me to do things that I should experience, but that I probably wouldn't do without a little bit of prodding (ex: trying sushi). Eyebrow threading was an interesting experience. It hurt like hell and was a strange feeling the first few times she did it, but it wasn't all that bad and as soon as I got used to the feeling it was okay. And now my eyebrows look legit. This is definitely something I am going to try again in the States, but not at a mall which is the only place that I've seen them there.
After a little bit of pampering we headed back to Katie's place and got ready for our night out on the water- dinner on the dhow! When we signed up for the dhow dinner cruise we were told that it was going to be on an air conditioned dhow, I should have known that wasn't going to be quite accurate. The boat was really large- there were probably 40-50 people on it. There was a small air conditioned area that held about 15 people, but from what I heard it wasn't all that cool. As soon as the boat got moving though, the heat wasn't that much of an issue. We got to see the sunset over the Doha skyline and enjoyed seeing the city light up from a distance over the water. It was truly gorgeous! Best view of the Doha skyline that I've seen yet! We had yummy Arabic food on the dhow and after about an hour and a half we headed back to the Doha Port. When we got off, we were pretty much drenched in sweat and speed walking towards the car for some good ole AC. Even though it was hot, it was really fun and totally worth it!
On Saturday I got some souvenir shopping in and checked some people off of the "to buy for" list. Now I've probably just got to run to the souq one or so more times... mostly just because I love that place so much! :) There's so much neat stuff to buy, the people are so sweet, and it's fun to walk around and get lost. It seems that I am such the tourist.
Later Saturday night a large group of us went out to a Ramadan tent at the Four Seasons Hotel for Katie and Wil's birthdays (which were both on the 11th). Once again, there was fabulous Arabic food to be had and a great, beautiful atmosphere. Most of all it was really nice to spend some time with friends in such a fun setting.
Yesterday (Sunday) was the first day of Orientation Peer Advisor (orientation leader) training that I am in charge of. I am supervising eight wonderful students that I am really enjoying working with. Every day is a new challenge and experience. They teach me just as much as I teach them and they teach each other. We've spent a lot of time on team building activities, which I love facilitating. It's awesome to see a team come together and work great together after a fun activity. I got a lot of my activities from my experiences from Fish Camp, so kudos to A&M for preparing me for this adventure!
Today was day two of training and it was even better than day one. I know that it's going to get better and better everyday and I can't wait to see all of my and my colleagues efforts come to fruition on August 26th! :)
And after a long day of training we had volleyball match #2 of the tournament that I'm playing in with Team HBKU. This time it was really intense. The team that we played was ridiculously good, but our team was equally as awesome and we came out on top in the end. We won 2 of the 3 games and the last one was awesome and really close. We got the match point on a serve that was barely out of bounds- a really good call by Wil to not hit it. It was some really awesome energy and I played cheerleader with Arooj and some of the CDA staff. I wasn't nearly good enough to play against this team, but the next game is tomorrow and I think I'll be able to play again since I think the most intense team is now behind us. We'll see though, the other teams could totally surprise us! Here's to being one game closer the the finals and a 5,000QR prize! :)
So what's a girl to do when she's had a week and a half of training and needs a little bit of relaxation time? Get a massage of course! Katie and I both got massages tonight at the Education City Club House, which was awesome because I got an hour-long massage for about 15 US dollars (60 QR) plus a tip!
What I wasn't expecting was the experience in general. Okay, so I've had massages before in the states. It's nice and relaxing and you lay there and get pampered for an hour or so. Then you're done, khalas! Not so much here... I learned afterwards from Katie that Thai massages are a little bit different than the ones that I've ever received before. I knew it was going to be an interesting experience when she climbed on the massage table with me. She really put all of her body weight into and I ended up in some pretty strange positions. She was crawling all over the table and was standing up. Did she really put me in a half-Nelson at some point? Yes, I think she did. It was just one of those things that I wasn't expecting at all so when she did something I thought was funny I started giggling, which caused here to start giggling, so it was kind of a laughing fest. In the beginning I was thinking to myself, "how can this be relaxing, I'm freaking out over this right now." But as soon as I got used to the different-ness of it, it was really nice and relaxing, but still really different! :-P I was really relaxed afterwards and now my muscles feel fabulous. Ready for the rest of the week of training, BRING IT ON!!
One of the biggest lessons I've been learning over the past few weeks is to remember the big picture. Sometimes I get caught up in the small things that go wrong in life and I lose track of what the important things are. Why are we doing what we're doing? What is the goal? I try and remember this when I get to a point in training and I know we're running about 15 minutes behind, but I just remember that the session that we're doing right now is important to wrap up and we can catch up on time someplace else in the schedule. I'm also learning to not stress about the little things. Sometimes I think that there are bad things happening or life is getting a little hectic, but when it really comes down to it I've learned that I need to put things in perspective. I may be frustrated over something small but there are bigger things going on in the world. There was a shooting in College Station today, over 300 people died yesterday in an earthquake in Iran, and there's uprisings all over the world. Does it really matter that I didn't choose the perfect activity for training? No. Things will get done and things will work out. I'm learning to focus on the big picture and the important things and to not stress out about the relatively little things because there's always something worse/more stressful happening in the world. What I'm doing is really important for the students and families that it's going to impact, but in the big scale of things I don't need to be stressing about it 24/7. I definitely thank Katie for teaching me a lot of these lessons throughout the past weeks. As always, my colleagues have been amazing teachers and friends.
Okay... so three days of training left! I can't believe it's going by so quickly! And I seriously can't believe that I only have 13 days left here in Qatar. Where the hell has all of the time gone?!!
To continued good times and hard work... until next time! :)
So... what's happened since last Thursday?...
On Friday (the weekend here), I enjoyed sleeping in and catching up on some much needed rest. There isn't really a point to waking up early on Friday morning because everything is closed because Friday is the Islamic holy day (like the Christian Sunday). Stores, restaurants, souqs, etc. typically don't open up until two or four in the afternoon. So, why wake up early? Around one or so, Katie picked me up and we went over to the LuLu Express building that also houses a salon. The salon does hair, nails, waxing,... basically everything. It's interesting (and I think really awesome) that these salons are typically women-only. There are separate ones for men. Why? Because the women who come in to the salon to get their hair done must take off their shayla (head covering) to get their hair done, therefore, no men can be in the salon. I think it's a neat idea, it also makes a girl getaway! :) I got a manicure and afterwards, Katie convinced me to get my eyebrows threaded. Katie is really awesome at convincing me to do things that I should experience, but that I probably wouldn't do without a little bit of prodding (ex: trying sushi). Eyebrow threading was an interesting experience. It hurt like hell and was a strange feeling the first few times she did it, but it wasn't all that bad and as soon as I got used to the feeling it was okay. And now my eyebrows look legit. This is definitely something I am going to try again in the States, but not at a mall which is the only place that I've seen them there.
 |
| Me next to the dhow boat! |
 |
| Sunset from the dhow cruise. View of the Doha skyline. |
On Saturday I got some souvenir shopping in and checked some people off of the "to buy for" list. Now I've probably just got to run to the souq one or so more times... mostly just because I love that place so much! :) There's so much neat stuff to buy, the people are so sweet, and it's fun to walk around and get lost. It seems that I am such the tourist.
 |
| View of the skyline at night from the dhow cruise. Absolutely beautiful on a clear night! |
Yesterday (Sunday) was the first day of Orientation Peer Advisor (orientation leader) training that I am in charge of. I am supervising eight wonderful students that I am really enjoying working with. Every day is a new challenge and experience. They teach me just as much as I teach them and they teach each other. We've spent a lot of time on team building activities, which I love facilitating. It's awesome to see a team come together and work great together after a fun activity. I got a lot of my activities from my experiences from Fish Camp, so kudos to A&M for preparing me for this adventure!
Today was day two of training and it was even better than day one. I know that it's going to get better and better everyday and I can't wait to see all of my and my colleagues efforts come to fruition on August 26th! :)
And after a long day of training we had volleyball match #2 of the tournament that I'm playing in with Team HBKU. This time it was really intense. The team that we played was ridiculously good, but our team was equally as awesome and we came out on top in the end. We won 2 of the 3 games and the last one was awesome and really close. We got the match point on a serve that was barely out of bounds- a really good call by Wil to not hit it. It was some really awesome energy and I played cheerleader with Arooj and some of the CDA staff. I wasn't nearly good enough to play against this team, but the next game is tomorrow and I think I'll be able to play again since I think the most intense team is now behind us. We'll see though, the other teams could totally surprise us! Here's to being one game closer the the finals and a 5,000QR prize! :)
 |
| Some of the team and the fabulous mascot celebrating the win after a long game! Note the score of the final game, it was a close one!! |
So what's a girl to do when she's had a week and a half of training and needs a little bit of relaxation time? Get a massage of course! Katie and I both got massages tonight at the Education City Club House, which was awesome because I got an hour-long massage for about 15 US dollars (60 QR) plus a tip!
What I wasn't expecting was the experience in general. Okay, so I've had massages before in the states. It's nice and relaxing and you lay there and get pampered for an hour or so. Then you're done, khalas! Not so much here... I learned afterwards from Katie that Thai massages are a little bit different than the ones that I've ever received before. I knew it was going to be an interesting experience when she climbed on the massage table with me. She really put all of her body weight into and I ended up in some pretty strange positions. She was crawling all over the table and was standing up. Did she really put me in a half-Nelson at some point? Yes, I think she did. It was just one of those things that I wasn't expecting at all so when she did something I thought was funny I started giggling, which caused here to start giggling, so it was kind of a laughing fest. In the beginning I was thinking to myself, "how can this be relaxing, I'm freaking out over this right now." But as soon as I got used to the different-ness of it, it was really nice and relaxing, but still really different! :-P I was really relaxed afterwards and now my muscles feel fabulous. Ready for the rest of the week of training, BRING IT ON!!
One of the biggest lessons I've been learning over the past few weeks is to remember the big picture. Sometimes I get caught up in the small things that go wrong in life and I lose track of what the important things are. Why are we doing what we're doing? What is the goal? I try and remember this when I get to a point in training and I know we're running about 15 minutes behind, but I just remember that the session that we're doing right now is important to wrap up and we can catch up on time someplace else in the schedule. I'm also learning to not stress about the little things. Sometimes I think that there are bad things happening or life is getting a little hectic, but when it really comes down to it I've learned that I need to put things in perspective. I may be frustrated over something small but there are bigger things going on in the world. There was a shooting in College Station today, over 300 people died yesterday in an earthquake in Iran, and there's uprisings all over the world. Does it really matter that I didn't choose the perfect activity for training? No. Things will get done and things will work out. I'm learning to focus on the big picture and the important things and to not stress out about the relatively little things because there's always something worse/more stressful happening in the world. What I'm doing is really important for the students and families that it's going to impact, but in the big scale of things I don't need to be stressing about it 24/7. I definitely thank Katie for teaching me a lot of these lessons throughout the past weeks. As always, my colleagues have been amazing teachers and friends.
Okay... so three days of training left! I can't believe it's going by so quickly! And I seriously can't believe that I only have 13 days left here in Qatar. Where the hell has all of the time gone?!!
To continued good times and hard work... until next time! :)
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Calm Before the Storm...
 |
| Leading a team building exercise with the CDAs. |
The "storm" that is coming is: orientation leader training next week, orientation August 23-26, leaving Qatar on August 27, starting classes on August 27, starting my graduate assistantship again on August 28, and surviving another semester of grad school. I'm also trying to fit everything in that I want to do before I head back to the other side of the world. So what do you think... "calm before the storm" is relatively fitting, yes?
Last Saturday we had macaroni night at Katie's. We were supposed to watch a movie about two religions coming and functioning together, but we got sidetracked in conversation instead. Macaroni was delicious, Katie did an excellent job! Over dinner conversation they planned possible trips to nearby countries that they wanted to visit before the end of the year. This is one thing that I am totally envious of my colleagues that work here year round- they travel everywhere because it's so close! The passports that I've seen here are jam-packed with stamps, the way that I hope mine will be someday. The location of Qatar is perfect for long weekends to nearby countries like Oman, the UAE, Jordan, etc. I would absolutely love to come back and work here and be able to experience the frequent traveling (one of the many perks of working here!).
On Sunday, CDA training started and it was a great day. This whole week of training has been good insight for what to expect from my orientation leader staff during training next week. I'm excited and prepared (mostly) for an amazing five days of orientation leader training, which I haven't had the opportunity to do in a few years! Sunday night at had dinner with Kevin, a former SAAHE student, which was really great. We talked a lot about how great this experience is going to be and how good it is going to be as a marketing tool during job interviews and what I should do before I leave Qatar. He's a really cool guy and I'm glad I got to see a SAAHE alum while I was over here.
On Tuesday I went out to dinner with some of my HRL colleagues to Neo Sushi. It was really great food and while I ordered pasta as my main dish, I tried my first piece of sushi ever... and it wasn't that bad! Of course, the piece I tried didn't have any kind of fish in it, but it's a step!! Another first experienced in Qatar...
 |
| My first piece of sushi! Grateful that Katie encouraged me to try it! |
 |
| Volleyball- Team HBKU! |
Tomorrow night we are going on a Dhow dinner cruise out on the water, which should be amazing and really fun! It's the first night of the birthday celebration for Katie and Wil, who's birthdays are both on August 11th. There are going to be lots of fun events throughout the week and hopefully I can get more things knocked off of my to-do list!
So what is left on my to-do list, you ask?...
- go dune bashing with a professional driver
- ride a camel
- buy something at the gold souq
- visit the Villagio Mall (if it opens back up while I'm here)
- Take a picture with the giant pearl on the Corniche
- Visit shops on the Pearl, maybe have dinner there
- Go to the Grand Mosque
- Go to a service at a mosque in English
- Get a henna tattoo
- Buy local clothing, maybe have something made
- Get a massage at the Club House (not really cultural, but relaxing none the less!)
- Go on a dhow boat (tomorrow night!!)
- Do more shopping at Souq Waqif for souvenirs
- See the Falcon Souq- where they sell falcons
- Eat dinner at Aspire Tower
- Go to Heritage Village
There are probably other things that I am forgetting... but this is the main list.
I'll have lots of exciting things to share next time I post, so until then...
Feel free to leave me comments if you'd like to :)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)