Thursday, March 5, 2020

Pre-Conference Workshops: Anti-Racism Practices, Literature Reviews, Mindfulness & Navigating the Mid-Level

This is the final of three previews of our pre-con sessions.  In today’s blog, we’ll look more deeply into sessions about systematic literature reviews, mindfulness techniques, navigating the mid-level advisor role, and integrating antiracist practices in advising.  For more information about how to register for a pre-conference session, visit: https://nacada.ksu.edu/Community/Regions/Region-2/Preconference-Workshops.aspx

Session Title: The Advising Literature Review: Make It Systematic!
Presenter Name: Gregory Mason, Pennsylvania State University

Tell us about yourself:
Greg Mason, Director, Advising and Certification at Penn State University – College of Education
Fun fact: I speak Haitian Creole.

If you could sum up your preconference workshop in one sentence, what would it be?
Come and add an immensely useful tool (systematic literature searches) to your academic advisor toolkit!

What inspired you to present on this topic?
The research process can be an intimidating endeavor for many academic advisors; I wanted to develop a workshop that shows how educative the literature collection process can be. I actually ran this preconference workshop at the NACADA International Conference last summer in Hasselt, Belgium. It was such a wonderful experience to present this material to colleagues from around the globe, and assist them with their own systematic literature reviews. The feedback I received in Belgium was so positive that I wanted to share this pre-con with the fine folks right here in Region 2!

What are you most looking forward to at this conference?
Interacting with colleagues from around Region 2. Also, having the Fudgery across the street from the conference venue…nice job planning committee! Anyone who can simultaneously sing and make fudge is good in my book.

What are some of the valuable lessons attendees will gain from coming to your workshop?
The research process can be fun for academic advisors, and systematic literature searches can be a valuable part of the process. We’ll also discuss how this can fit into the busy day-to-day work that academic advisors are doing with students. Finally, if you want to know more about systematic literature searches…come to this preconference workshop! Thank you.




Session Title: Cultivating Radical Hope: Integrating Mindfulness Techniques into Advising Leadership and Practice
Presenter Name: Timothy Beaucage, Johns Hopkins University
Tell us about yourself:

My name is Timothy Beaucage and I am an Academic Advisor & Success Coach at Johns Hopkins University working specifically with First-Generation and/or Limited-Income students (FLI).  A fun fact about me is that I played in a Brazilian Samba drum group in Germany that was founded to give opportunities for young people in the region to have something to do creatively to combat Neo-Nazism. 

If you could sum up your preconference workshop in one sentence, what would it be?
I am thrilled to be facilitating a pre-conference workshop at this year’s Region 2 event, and would sum it up as an intimate way to experience and feel the impact of contemplative/mindfulness practices in the context of generating successful helping relationships with others. 
What inspired you to present on this topic?
I have been teaching and facilitating courses and workshops on this topic over the past six years, and was inspired by my experience studying eastern philosophy and connecting it with critical theory and pedagogy.  My graduate thesis was an attempt to create a teaching and developmental methodology called Critical Contemplative Pedagogy, using contemplative techniques with critical anti-oppression theory in hopes of providing a means for those working with others in all aspects of education to have the tools to help address divisive socio-political climates and challenges. 

What are you most looking forward to at this conference?
I am most looking forward to connecting with you all and integrating myself into the Region 2 NACADA community as I just relocated here last summer. 

What are some of the valuable lessons attendees will gain from coming to your workshop?
A takeaway from my workshop will be a more nuanced understanding of, and ability to identify, subtle and not so subtle power dynamics that impact our ability to grow together with others in compassion.   Moreover, readily implementable techniques will be put into practice during the session to address the aforementioned challenges.



Session Title: Navigating the Mid-Level Advisors Tide: Developing Skills for a Successful Career
Presenter Name: Carrie Egnosak, Penn State Behrend and Gavin Farber, Temple University
Tell us about yourself:
  • Gavin Farber, Temple University, I did not talk until I was 3.5 years old.
  • Carrie Egnosak, Penn State Behrend, My arm span is wider than my height.


If you could sum up your pre-conference workshop in one sentence, what would it be?
Being a mid-level practitioner is empowering; be the anchor to your own career pathway --- learn from NACADA’s past and present leaders who will share their secrets to success on and off campus.

What inspired you to present on this topic?
  • Gavin - I was discussing at Temple University with other advising colleagues across divisions about the role of the mid-level practitioner in higher education. We were discussing the pros and cons. My former colleague Chuck Foster (Rowan University) and I submitted a proposal for the 2018 Region 2 Conference and were selected to present in Dover, Delaware.
  • Carrie - And that’s where I come in. I attended the session Gavin mentions above and immediately wanted to be involved! He was my inspiration!
  • Gavin - We developed a Mid-Level Advisor Panel for the 2019 Region 2 Conference, which was accepted for the 2019 Annual Conference. Based on feedback from these sessions we wanted to expand on this topic, which is why we moved into a Pre-Conference format. We really wanted to add an extra layer of career development and networking opportunities before the conference starts. We also included an amazing panel of past and current NACADA Leadership at the state, regional and global levels who are from Region 2 who will be able to discuss with participants their professional journeys.


What are you most looking forward to at this conference?
  • Gavin - I look forward to seeing past, present and future #NACADALeaders. For me it’s one of the happiest times of my year. I always have the Region 2 Conference on my calendar immediately following the past one. I found my #AdvisingTribe here and will be my 8th Regional Conference and every year I love how our community is growing and how our programmatic effort have grown (i.e. Awards Program, Mentoring Program).
  • Carrie - I share Gavin’s sentiments. I look forward to seeing my #NACADAfamily and introducing new members/conference attendees to all that NACADA has to offer. Serving as Western PA Liaison to Region 2 the conference provides an excellent opportunity to network with colleagues from across our state, around the region and from other regions as well. Some of the unique additions to this conference, like the Taco-cruiseday, are pretty exciting as well!


What are some of the valuable lessons attendees will gain from coming to your
workshop?
  1. Up is not the only way to develop as a mid-level practitioner.
  2. Developing your own #HorizontalBranding Philosophy to help guide your professional journey.
  3. It’s okay to fail or change course; you can always pick yourself back up and continue on your own path.
  4. Gain valuable insights from past and present NACADA leadership based on their experiences. Some followed the senior administrative track and others designed unique paths to remain on the front lines as life-long professional advisors.



Session Title: #DoBetter: Integrating Antiracist Practice in Advising
Presenter Name: Rachel Brown, Sarah Jones, Esther Philip, and Darien Smith, American University

Tell us about yourself:
  • Rachel Brown (she/her/hers), American University--My lung has collapsed three times. It was breathtaking every time.
  • Sarah Jones (she/her hers), American University--The only thing I love more than cooking is eating.
  • Esther Philip (she/her hers), American University--I have been able to make any crying baby on a plane stop just by
  • smiling at them. I have yet to break this record.
  • Darien Smith (he/him/his), American University--I danced and did a split on stage with Lizzo in NYC

If you could sum up your pre-conference workshop in one sentence, what would it
be?
We want to challenge our participants to understand the difference between racism and antiracism as well as implore that they find ways to be antiracist in their work and everyday lives.

What inspired you to present on this topic?
After seeing different racist incidents happen on campus, we self-reflected on how we could do better for our students and what practicing antiracism would look for each of us in our role as advisors.
What are you most looking forward to at this conference?
We are excited to be able to connect and learn with others who are interested in incorporating antiracist practices into our work within advising. It is reassuring to know that there are others that want to accomplish the same things at other institutions. Self-reflection and community is what helps make antiracism work sustainable.

What are some of the valuable lessons attendees will gain from coming to your
workshop?
We’re going to be discussing the definitions of racism versus antiracism, and how there really is no such thing as being “not racist.” We’ll also discuss what a community of practice is, and how our office formed communities of practice centered on antiracist strategies we can implement as academic advisors. We hope that participants can begin to examine their own lives and whether they are implementing racist or antiracist actions, and how we can all work together to create a more antiracist world, particularly within academic advising spaces.


We hope each of you will take the time to attend one of our pre-conference workshops. You can find out more about our free pre-conference sessions here and find out more about our other highlighted pre-conference sessions here.
#ridethetideVA20

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