I’m officially finished my first semester as an #SAPro and will begin semester two. I still haven’t figured out if it was everything I expected it to be. But, I learned a few things and I’d love to share them with you.
I did a darn good job this past Fall!
I passed my semester evaluation with flying colors. Sure there are some things I need to work on and improve, but nothing was a surprise in that aspect. I was surprised by all the positive remarks from multiple groups of people. Definitely uplifting to hear.
Nothing phases me anymore.
And by nothing, I truly mean nothing. When I say I’ve had some rough duty weeks, I truly have been involved in a variety of crazy situations with students. And as a result I feel so confident when dealing with my residents and their foolishness.
Making friends outside of work is a must!
One of my goals this year was to get a group of friends outside of my department and even university. Luckily I’ve had the opportunity to do that. While it’s only a small group of people, it always feels great to get some time off campus and not have to talk about work!
Friends come and go.
This semester has been particularly rough on my personal life. It’s been great to see who’s been in my corner! Granted, not everyone I know back home knows my life story, but to still keep in touch with people from home and constantly be uplifted, it’s been really great.
I love my job, university, and my department.
Hands down. I’ve been extremely blessed throughout my job search when I found ECU. I’m so thankful to be working with people that have truly welcomed me. I always thought moving cross country would be difficult, but it’s honestly been one of the smoothest transitions I’ve ever had.
On another note, I’ve really used this past semester to settle in. I am officially a North Carolinian! I haven’t decided how I feel about it yet, but I finally registered my car here. Talk about a big (expensive) step! Dash Dog is also starting to really love the south I think. He has calmed down so much from the excited puppy he has been since I brought him home. Semester Two, here I come!
This post is part of the Emerging SA Pro series following 4 awesome people: Aracelis, Emalie, Felicia, and Patrick, as they blog monthly about 1 year of their journey as either a new SA Pro or SA grad student. We are proud to help them share their stories as they break into our field.
> BONUS <
Podcast With Valerie Heruska on SA Professionals Role in Development Efforts
