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September 2021 Blog Post

Home/Uncategorized/September 2021 Blog Post
2021-09-08T16:21:06+00:00 Print Page

September 2021 Blog Post

Transitions

September marks a turning point in the Pacific Northwest. The leaves change color, winds kick up, and temperatures drop. Light drizzles transition to heavy downpours to remind us that the season is changing from summer to fall. This month’s theme is Transitions. Pull up your pumpkin spice hot beverage as parents prepare to physically return to campus. September will hold changes and transitions, some familiar, some new. As I reflect on how I mentally prepared myself for this moment of change, I hope that the tool I used will be of use to readers going through their own transitions.

Transitions: Try Grief on For a Change

When I first heard, “we’re going back to campus” I felt the excitement of homecoming and wonderful anxiety of the first day of school. I also felt dread about the many unknowns. What if this and what if that brought all kinds of hypothetical scenarios, follow-up questions, thoughts, and emotions into my mind and I couldn’t turn it off. This is one of the ways I process change. I try to imagine every scenario and how I would respond. I try to understand how I will decide to transition.

A little background for those of you who are lifetime learners like me, change is “the act or instance of making or becoming different.” (Oxford, 2021). Whereas transition is “the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.” In this instance, the change is returning to campus following over a year of remote work during the most devastating pandemic of my lifetime. The transition is how I would change, the process. I will admit, my Black pragmatic and resilient self immediately went to solutions while my German side found comfort cuddling under the blanket of ‎Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s stages of grief (Holland, Kimberly, 2018). If you are not familiar with these, then I’ll walk you through how I experienced the idea of returning to campus.

Stage 1: Shock and denial. I told myself, that this could change at any moment, it may not happen so, I could just keep doing what I’m doing for now. My pragmatism told me to prepare anyway because ignoring anything will not make it go away.

Stage 2: Pain and guilt. I asked myself, what if I unknowingly get someone sick or I pick something up and bring it to my higher risk loved ones? This is a question that stays with me and haunts me a little still. In the U.S. the CDC reports that 637,385 people transitioned from this life. I’m still processing this stage in the aftermath of so much loss.

Stage 3: Anger and bargaining. I would catch myself being short with friends, family, my beloved students… and that made me understand that I was still recovering. We are all still recovering. I appreciated the grace and patience allowed to me during these moments.

Stage 4: Depression. This came in the form of fatigue and burn out. I am grateful that my pragmatic side told me to bounce back from this stage. My bounce back came in the form of increased self-care. Sometimes this meant taking 5 minutes between drop-in Zoom advising sessions to breath, stretch, or light a candle and incense. Sometimes, it meant taking a mental health day.

Stage 5: The upward turn. This came when I finally went to campus. I missed the freeway exit and the turn into the parking lot on the drive in. It took me a minute to get out of my car. I felt like a mess and I was only going to campus to see what I might need when we return. I sat in my car and went through my personal checklist: cell phone, wallet, keys, inhaler (I have asthma), and mask. The mask is the latest addition to my “before I leave the house checklist.” Check, check… I got out of my car and walked to the front of Building 6. I was surprised by how nervous I felt. My key card worked and that felt like a win. I went inside and it was a ghost town. Then I saw two familiar faces in the CASE Center. One face, I had only known through Zoom. We all looked shorter we laughed. I went to my office and it was still in boxes – I started right before we went remote. Then I started walking through the empty space and I missed it. I didn’t realize that I longed to be in this space and feel it busy with the buzz of people. This was a major emotional turning point for me. I didn’t miss the work – that was still happening – I missed my Highline family.

Stage 6: Reconstruction and working through. I am excited to return and I still run through best case and worst case scenarios in my head. Sometimes the rabbit hole is deep. The most surprising adjustment to returning to campus has been technology and facilities. I have never leaned on IT Helpdesk or facilities so much and I think so highly of these great teams, many of whom came to campus so that we could work from home. The most humorous adjustment is when I’m in the office and the motion sensor lights go off when I’m in the room. It feels spooky when it happens but it’s funny now.

Stage 7: Acceptance and hope. I am excited to welcome students back to campus. I am ready to laugh with my colleagues over water cooler chats. I accept that I may have moments of nervousness in the uncertainty. I am hopeful that students will return and that we will serve them to the best of our abilities.

As I reflect on returning to campus, I think it is funny that I approached it as grieving. It kind of makes sense though; there has been a lot of loss. Now I am on the brink of getting back some of the pieces I’ve lost. I adjusted to my new life and now it is all changing again. The main lesson I’ve learned from trying, failing, regrouping, and leaning on my colleagues is to hope for the best and plan for the worst. This idiom speaks to me because, in the last year, change has been constant and adapting has been a requirement for survival. I have experienced how gracious and patient students can be as I do my best. I appreciate that Highline is committed to our safe transition back to campus. I look forward to greeting students because we made it through a pandemic together and, together, we will transition to a new kind of living. Welcome back! You were missed.

Important Dates for Student Success

  • Student Services Division Zoom Lobby Hours
    • All Student Services departments (unless indicated) have the same Zoom Lobby Hours starting September 7 to December 17
      • M, W 10am –  5:30pm
      • T, TH 9am – 4:30pm
      • F  9am – 12:30pm
    • Complete list of Zoom Lobby links can be found here: https://www.highline.edu/covid19/zoom-lobbies/
  • Student Services In-Person Hours of Operation
    • M, W 10am-6pm
    • T, TH 10am – 3pm
  • Student Services Virtual/Remote Hours
    • Mon, Wed 9am – 6pm
    • T, Th 8am – 5pm
    • F 8am – 1pm

Student Services, Resource, and Activity Highlight

  • COVID-19 Financial Relief Fund Application 
  • Campus View Student Housing – Apply for Housing!
    • Campus View Student Housing would like to welcome any interested students to apply for housing for the upcoming Academic Year beginning in the Fall Quarter 2021. Campus View, in partnership with the Highline College Foundation, is able to offer a Housing Scholarship of up-to $650 per quarter depending on the Housing Agreement type signed.  Please visit our website – www.highline.edu/campusview – to learn more about housing at Campus View and for further details about the Housing Scholarship.
    • If you have any questions or would like to schedule a tour, please contact us at 206-592-3612 or at housing@highline.edu.  Thank you.
  • CLS & CCIE are Hiring Student Leaders
    • Applications for the 2021-2022 Core Services Leadership team within The Center are open on a rolling basis until all positions are filled. We are hiring student employees to fill a variety of positions, from program planning to front desk. All our positions support students’ growth in leadership and social justice. You can submit one application for multiple positions.
  • ThunderWeek Fall 2021 Preview
    • Each fall, the Center for Leadership & Service and the Center for Cultural & Inclusive Excellence welcome all Highline students to campus with a week of programs called ThunderWeek. As our campus continues to move into hybrid operations, most ThunderWeek events will be virtual this fall, with our focus as always on helping students feel welcomed and find belonging at Highline. Mark your calendars for September 27-October 1.
    • Our theme for ThunderWeek this year is “A Map to Community.” We want to help students navigate both the physical campus and virtual environment, while surveying where and how they will connect with others this year. Our intention with ThunderWeek is to cultivate a feeling of welcome and belonging, build community among students, connect students to involvement and leadership opportunities, and encourage pride in being a Highline student. Check out the full schedule on our website and below.
  • CONNECT Program and Thunderbird Thursdays Preview
    • The CONNECT Program is a community of students engaged in leadership opportunities across Highline College. Explore something new while building skills and confidence, and make connections with other students and campus resources. Each month during the academic year, the CONNECT Program will offer Thunderbird Thursdays, leadership workshops offered one Thursday each month. The first Thunderbird Thursday will be part of ThunderWeek on September 30, 2:30–4 p.m. Learn more on the CONNECT Program webpage about the program and upcoming workshops.

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