Back from the state of corn - Iowa! I consider myself fortunate enough to be chosen as one of the seven delegates representing St. Cloud State for the 21st University of Northern Iowa (UNI) RA Conference. It is a conference designated for resident/community advisors as well as professional staff. The conference ran from Friday to Sunday.So, since I knew I will be away for the weekend, I planned to complete all my due-soon assignments before Thursday. Let me be frank, I went hair-wired! It was not easy at all trying to write 3 chronicle stories, 1 opinion-editorial, 1 scholarship essay, 1 research proposal, and several short essay homework all in 2 days. On top of that were the preparation for my web development position interview and the presentation slides for the case study competition in UNI conference.
I went from boom to BOOOM. Yet I really want to thank God for He made everything possible and things fall right into place for me. The persons that I am supposed to interview for the stories happened to set up information booth and the student union, and the film that I am supposed to watch for a class was available at the library. The idea for opinion came right when I was using the computer while eating at Garvey...things just happen at the right time and I had enough time to prepare myself for the conference.
It was the first time I am attending a large scale conference like this. UNI is a great place. The campus is larger than ours and the food - no, not Sodexo - was definitely whole lot better. This conference opened my eyes to other RA/CAs from the Midwest region of United States (Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, South and North Dakota). Through the workshops I have learned new skills and knowledge about leadership at residence hall that I can apply in the semester. I really enjoyed the sessions and fellowships with the delegates.
Besides, Anil, Cora, Mariana and myself participated at the Case Study Competition. The judges must have love international students. Anil and I emerged as the top 3 award winners for our presentation and I consider that a recognition for our problem solving skills! At least I had something to bring home and also upheld the school name amongst all 89 participants in the competition. Go Husky!
I daresay this was a good experience, and we had also fostered better bonds between the delegates from St. Cloud State. A trip like this helped us to understand one another better. If I am around next year, I will definitely sign up for this conference again.
And so this was the madly weekend I had. I really needed more rest for the coming week...but things don't seem to stop overwhelming me! I foresee another busy/killer week. See you folks at next entry!
Cheerios.
