My work space is a mix of functionality and personality. The desk’s expansive surface space is great for my preferred organizational method – piles. I have a dry erase board! My housing operations dream of having my own classroom-size dry erase board came true; it is everything I imagined and more. There’s space for my ever-growing collection of customer service books and space for three years worth of Move-In planning binders.

One of my favorite things about my work space is the ways my personality peeks through. I love color and pattern. From my office supply bowls to binders to my file folders, I use color and pattern to bring visual fun & interest to the space. I have reminders of important experiences and values throughout my office as well. The small frame under the desk hutch is of an ahupua’a, which is a Hawaiian term for a traditional socioeconomic, geologic, and climatic subdivision of land that stretched from the mountain to the sea. When I left the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, my supervisor gave me this artwork from her own office as a reminder of the interdependence of our work. On top of the hutch, I have a mug from my time in CASCHA, a Mississippi State cowbell gifted to me by a staff member, a photo of my graduate cohort, and other reminders of experiences past. A Vince Lombardi (legendary Green Bay Packers coach) quote stays on the dry erase board in my line of sight, a constant reminder that “The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.”

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This post is part of our #DeskDiaries series, which aims to take a fun look at the diverse sets of work spaces that student affairs professionals have at the end of the year. Whether you can’t even see your computer, or your desk finally organized, we want to discover the nature of our field one desk at a time. For more information, please see Sabina’s intro post. Be sure to check out other posts in this series.