South Dakota... well, there's the Corn Palace!
I suppose I should give an update with some content. I probably owe that to you. You bastards.
The drive wasn't as long as I thought it would be. It was only 3 hours. But goddamn, driving through western Iowa is a bitch on my ears. Nothing but Christian music and country. Though, I was fortunate to stumble across 102.3 BOB-FM. "Bob plays anything." And really, Bob plays anything. It was probably the most enjoyable station I've ever listened to.
I made two detours. On the way to Vermillion, I stopped in Arthur to see if I could find Trisha, my old supervisor to let her know what's up in my life. But, she wasn't around. On my way back, I almost stopped in Storm Lake to see easymac07, but I realized that if I had seen her, it would've only been for about a half-hour, and it would've been really lame, because I wouldn't have been in the mood to have any fun for that time.
I'm not saying my time in Vermillion was bad. In fact, I really enjoyed the people and the campus. I've also been given the thumbs up for graduate study (more or less). The coordinator of graduate recruitment said there was a 99% chance that I'd be accepted into the Interdisciplinary Studies program. Woo. But, all that is moot if I'm not hired as a hall director there. Fortunately, I could know by the end of next week if they've decided to hire me. But, I was told not to freak out if I didn't hear back from them. I could still be on their list, but they could just be waiting for the other candidates to interview.
Sunday: I met up with 4 of the hall directors and we went out to eat on the USD account. It was a lot of fun to just talk with these people in a very relaxed setting. Of course, I think it was designed to see my personality, and how well I would get along with the staff members there, but I tried to put that out of my mind. I ordered a taco salad, and about halfway through, I noticed something was a little different. Normally, this is where my gag reflex kicks in and I spew all over the place. Thank goodness that wasn't the case. I finally was able to separate the food from the non-food in my mouth, and I pulled out a bread tie. Not one of those twist ties, but the big square one that they use on bags of buns. Everyone else freaked out and started apologizing, but I didn't really think it was that big of a deal. I kept the tie and gave it to my folks yesterday.
I got a tour of Vermillion, for those of you who don't know, it's Webster City with all the aspects of a college town. So, that took about five to ten minutes. But, I got a tour of the residence halls and the HD apartments. They are huge! Yet again, another reason why I want this job (well, that and it doesn't look like I'll get hired anywhere else).
I had five interviews yesterday.
1. Assistant Directors of Housing: It went alright; it seemed a little informal considering their positions, but it was nice to be in such a relaxed setting
2. Central Office Staff: This was the toughest. I had to interview with one of the accountants and one of the secretaries, and I just felt that I was talking in circles, not really making any sense.
3. Hall Directors: Everyone said that this was going to be the hardest, but I thought it was one of the easiest. I was a lot more relaxed because I had met everyone the night before.
4. Student Staff: This was a lot of fun, but kind of challenging. Because I was trying to prove to them that I could be an effective supervisor, I would imagine that their input would be just as valuable. Overall, though it was pretty laid-back, and there was a lot more laughing. It was weird though, because one of the 9 interviewers there was a kid who went to WCHS and I actually coached him in speech his junior year.
5. Director of Housing: This is where I had a pretty good inkling that I might get a job. She asked me a lot of questions about my personal life, which would normally be construed as a big no-no, but it was in relation to my bipolar disorder, and to make sure that I wouldn't fall into the same traps that I did as an undergrad, and to see how easily I could transition back into housing (since I haven't worked in housing for over a year). She also told me that my included biography "answered a lot of questions that [housing departments] aren't allowed to ask," and that I might've given schools an opportunity to be prejudiced against me. This probably explains why almost every other school has turned me down, but at the same time it doesn't. She said that only the OPE interview team had seen it, so that it wouldn't affect my interviews today. Still, I was really frustrated with that. I mean, all the information I provided would've been either easily inferred (age, gender, race), or discussed (I know I would've brought up my sexual orientation in the interview when it came to questions about diversity). Besides, housing is one of those professions that is very inclusive and promoting of diversity. Grrr.
I think I finally understand it, though. Sexual orientation is not included in a lot of schools' non-discrimination statutes.
Well, I don't know. What do you think?
Oh, and before I left, I was effectively grounded by mom and dad. I'm not allowed to hang out with people until I got both of my classes done for UNI.
The drive wasn't as long as I thought it would be. It was only 3 hours. But goddamn, driving through western Iowa is a bitch on my ears. Nothing but Christian music and country. Though, I was fortunate to stumble across 102.3 BOB-FM. "Bob plays anything." And really, Bob plays anything. It was probably the most enjoyable station I've ever listened to.
I made two detours. On the way to Vermillion, I stopped in Arthur to see if I could find Trisha, my old supervisor to let her know what's up in my life. But, she wasn't around. On my way back, I almost stopped in Storm Lake to see easymac07, but I realized that if I had seen her, it would've only been for about a half-hour, and it would've been really lame, because I wouldn't have been in the mood to have any fun for that time.
I'm not saying my time in Vermillion was bad. In fact, I really enjoyed the people and the campus. I've also been given the thumbs up for graduate study (more or less). The coordinator of graduate recruitment said there was a 99% chance that I'd be accepted into the Interdisciplinary Studies program. Woo. But, all that is moot if I'm not hired as a hall director there. Fortunately, I could know by the end of next week if they've decided to hire me. But, I was told not to freak out if I didn't hear back from them. I could still be on their list, but they could just be waiting for the other candidates to interview.
Sunday: I met up with 4 of the hall directors and we went out to eat on the USD account. It was a lot of fun to just talk with these people in a very relaxed setting. Of course, I think it was designed to see my personality, and how well I would get along with the staff members there, but I tried to put that out of my mind. I ordered a taco salad, and about halfway through, I noticed something was a little different. Normally, this is where my gag reflex kicks in and I spew all over the place. Thank goodness that wasn't the case. I finally was able to separate the food from the non-food in my mouth, and I pulled out a bread tie. Not one of those twist ties, but the big square one that they use on bags of buns. Everyone else freaked out and started apologizing, but I didn't really think it was that big of a deal. I kept the tie and gave it to my folks yesterday.
I got a tour of Vermillion, for those of you who don't know, it's Webster City with all the aspects of a college town. So, that took about five to ten minutes. But, I got a tour of the residence halls and the HD apartments. They are huge! Yet again, another reason why I want this job (well, that and it doesn't look like I'll get hired anywhere else).
I had five interviews yesterday.
1. Assistant Directors of Housing: It went alright; it seemed a little informal considering their positions, but it was nice to be in such a relaxed setting
2. Central Office Staff: This was the toughest. I had to interview with one of the accountants and one of the secretaries, and I just felt that I was talking in circles, not really making any sense.
3. Hall Directors: Everyone said that this was going to be the hardest, but I thought it was one of the easiest. I was a lot more relaxed because I had met everyone the night before.
4. Student Staff: This was a lot of fun, but kind of challenging. Because I was trying to prove to them that I could be an effective supervisor, I would imagine that their input would be just as valuable. Overall, though it was pretty laid-back, and there was a lot more laughing. It was weird though, because one of the 9 interviewers there was a kid who went to WCHS and I actually coached him in speech his junior year.
5. Director of Housing: This is where I had a pretty good inkling that I might get a job. She asked me a lot of questions about my personal life, which would normally be construed as a big no-no, but it was in relation to my bipolar disorder, and to make sure that I wouldn't fall into the same traps that I did as an undergrad, and to see how easily I could transition back into housing (since I haven't worked in housing for over a year). She also told me that my included biography "answered a lot of questions that [housing departments] aren't allowed to ask," and that I might've given schools an opportunity to be prejudiced against me. This probably explains why almost every other school has turned me down, but at the same time it doesn't. She said that only the OPE interview team had seen it, so that it wouldn't affect my interviews today. Still, I was really frustrated with that. I mean, all the information I provided would've been either easily inferred (age, gender, race), or discussed (I know I would've brought up my sexual orientation in the interview when it came to questions about diversity). Besides, housing is one of those professions that is very inclusive and promoting of diversity. Grrr.
I think I finally understand it, though. Sexual orientation is not included in a lot of schools' non-discrimination statutes.
Well, I don't know. What do you think?
Oh, and before I left, I was effectively grounded by mom and dad. I'm not allowed to hang out with people until I got both of my classes done for UNI.