something new...

Today has been a whirlwind of changes, emotion, and coping skills.....

The Dean of Students at IIT resigned effective immediately (around 10:30 this morning), leaving our Office of Student Affairs to restructure and prepare for the summer without him. He left no statement of explanation, and didn't say goodbye to anyone; he simply left. I don't know the story behind his decision, but I'll miss him stopping in to say Hi and catch up with me now and then. He just defended his dissertation and got his PhD, so I wish him all the best in his future endeavors in higher education.

The most interesting events followed his announcement, though. Our Division of Student Affairs had a meeting with the Provost and head of HR, announcing the Assistant Dean (Katie, my supervisor) as the interim Dean of Students- and the entire Division pulled together to support her and join forces for the best interest of the students at IIT. I was really impressed by the positive energy that everyone offered, and by their willingness to do anything Katie will need to help her transition and manage the office without an Assistant Dean to help her.

Since Katie now has many many more things on her plate, she will not have the time to manage Orientation as she would have as the Assistant Dean, so after the Division meeting, she asked me if I would be willing to step in and manage Orientation mostly on my own. I enthusiastically agreed! I'm so happy that she was confident handing over the reigns, that she has faith in my capabilities and (hopefully) has been pleased with my performance so far =)

I showed up at work this morning stressed about money, hours, career, you name it....... I left work today with 40 hours a week, the confidence of my supervisor, congratulations from my coworkers, and finally a chance to really prove that I have what it takes and feel some ownership of the Orientation program at IIT. I know people always say things work out for a reason, and patience can be the best solution..... and today it proved to be true! Now, I can't wait to get to work Monday morning and really get started.....