Work, projects and more!

In case anyone is interested, I thought I'd give a little update on my job. In a nutshell, things have been going very well, but several side projects and events have kept me extremely busy.

The things taking up most of my time are the three search committees that I'm on. Due to various reasons, we currently have five openings in our department that need filling ASAP. Two committees I'm on are for new Study Abroad Advisors (one being Selmah's previous position [sniffle, sniffle] and the other a new position). I don't think I'm allowed to say how many applicants we had, but it was over 100! And the fun part was that we HAD to read every application, cover letter and resume. Talk about time consuming! I was looking at files every moment I had (during lunch, at home, in my dreams!) The good thing is that we have some GREAT candidates, although it's going to be a tough decision. I'm looking at it as not only someone qualified for the positions, but potential new friends. So far so good.

The other position is for a part-time office assistant which doesn't require as much scrutiny (and there are less than 30 applicants). Phew! That begins next week, around the numerous phone interviews for the other positions.

The 24th and 25th I spent on the "west side" (aka, Seattle area). The first day I left E-burg around 7 a.m. and spent the day visiting my international students who are attending our satellite centers. I only met with one in Des Moines, but in Lynnwood they were literally lined up outside my door. It made for a busy afternoon, but I made some really good connections with the students up there. They were all so grateful that I came so far to meet and help them with their issues/questions.

Then Friday I attended another day conference with a group called AWISA (Assoc. of Washington International Student Advisors). The conference was great, but the cool part was that it was at the University of Washington, which is not only GORGEOUS but has a student population of 30,000+ and the potential of being an independent city (it even has its own zip code). Apparently they are turning students down by the hundreds, which is good for CWU, but just goes to show how incredible their reputation is here.

Thursday night I stayed with the Jefferson's again (my mom's cousin's family) and since my "Uncle" works at UW, I carpooled with him, and he was able to show me around campus before going to work. To get him there by 7 a.m. and beat traffic, we had to leave their house at 5:30 which meant I had to get up at 4:45 a.m.! Oi! But I did it.

Needless to say, the next day, I was pooped...and still had about 50 SAA files to read over the weekend. :)

The other thing that's been keeping me busy is the revival of the International Club. Long story short, I was starting to gather a group of students who would help me get it going again when two guys walked in my office who had the exact same plan! So we joined forces and it's taken off full force! As great as it was, we were meeting two nights a week, once for the officers meetings and once for the actual club events.

It got to be a little much, and Graham and the kids were starting to call me "stranger," so we've changed the officers meetings to mornings (during work hours) and I'll probably only go to the events every other week. This week I took Graham and the kids with me so I didn't feel like I was abandoning either party. Just for the record, I've been given permission to pass off the "International House" Advisor position to one of the new Study Abroad Advisors...once we hire them, that is. :)

This wasn't work related, but another project I did was a "Happy Birthday from Ellensburg" video for my Grandpa's 90th birthday. A few months ago I helped one of my students from Japan with a mini-documentary on culture shock, so in return, she helped me make this video to send him since we couldn't attend the birthday bash. We had so much fun! We started it with a tour of our new house, then went around town interviewing people Granddaddy knew when he was a kid, as well as strangers who were willing to sing "Happy Birthday." Fortunately we were able to connect with three of his friends from High School. I had a blast listening to their stories and memories of him as a teenager. It was a true insight into my Grandfather's life long before I was around. We also interviewed two of the DJ's from the local radio station which Granddaddy started back in 1946. Needless to say, Tomomi did an AWESOME job editing the video and Granddaddy loved it! Happy 90th, Cracker!