Hello, my name is Katelyn Nolan. I am a first-year graduate student in the College Student Personnel Program and an Assistant Hall Director (AHD) in Neely Hall, here at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIUC). I currently co-supervise 28 Resident Assistants and I am a co-advisor for University Park Area Council (UPAC) consisting of 9 dedicated residence hall leaders from 4 different buildings. I am from Colorado, born and raised, and I traveled only 1 hour away from my hometown to complete my undergrad at the University of Colorado at Boulder where I was a Resident Assistant (RA) for two years. Obviously, I am extremely far from home, so I definitely have a lot to say about transitioning to a new place and a new job.
I entered my transition when I went to the Oshkosh Placement Exchange in March of 2010. This is where I met SIUC, my soon to be second family. It is easy for me to positively describe my transition from not only moving to another state but also in taking on another job, because it was so easy to do. Even before I was hired, I felt enormous support from everyone at SIUC. I received email after email from various Hall Directors providing encouragement, support and answers to all of my questions. That type of support, care, and encouragement continues to this day, as everyone around me continues to challenge me professionally and to help me achieve my personal goals.
The transition between being a RA and moving to an AHD position has also been relatively easy. Obviously, there are many more job responsibilities, but it is never overwhelming because I have such a close team surrounding me at all times. I have had numerous opportunities to be a supervisor and advisor with my staff and students. I have had a wide array of responsibilities including monitoring programming, maintaining a budget, running one on ones, conducting discipline conferences, and facilitating a staff meeting. The transition has taught me the importance of constantly challenging myself and reaching out of my comfort zone so that I can continue to learn and grow.
Not only have I had opportunities in my job, but also in my academics as well. Everything I learn in my program I am able to apply to my day to day interactions with students. Most of my AHD colleagues are also in my program, so I am constantly surrounded by people going through exactly the same thing. Through this, I have been able to develop some extremely strong relationships that will be there throughout my personal and professional life.
Along with my numerous opportunities, I did experience some challenges within the transition. The largest challenge I had when entering the AHD position was learning to find a balance between school, the job, and a personal life. I had to learn that prioritizing was the key and that asking for help is okay. This job has only furthered my belief in the emphasis of team to create success. This is a job that allows me to not only be a team with my colleagues, but with my classmates as well as with those I supervise.
I would describe my transition from Colorado to Carbondale and from an RA to an AHD as a transition taken with strides, some stutter steps mixed in with some extremely long, energetic jumps. Transitioning is not always a breeze, and I don’t want to sit here and pretend that I didn’t have my moments of thinking “what am I doing,” but then I look around at my staff, my students, my colleagues, and my classmates and realize the transition is the constant mixture of challenge and success that helps me grow.
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