Hello again ASPSA Intern Blog followers,

It has been a while since our last blog post.  Our intern class just wrapped up hosting the Drive-In Conference on Friday, April 26^th.  The event drew more than 125 attendees – the largest crowd in the twelve-year history of the conference.  We had academic advisors from area high schools, community colleges, and four-year institutions as well as representatives from EIGHT ACC institutions (Clemson, Duke, Maryland, NC State, Wake Forest, UNC, Virginia, and Virginia Tech)!  Finally, we had tremendous support from our campus community, as more than 40 advisors from NC State participated in the event.

While the conference was challenging to plan (and about 7 months in the making) it turned out to be a success.  Shannon’s idea for the theme –“Lights, Camera, Action: The Spotlight is on Academic Support” – was spot on.  Her program design was awesome and her organization of RSVPs was incredible.  AJ secured enough food donations and low-cost items to feed a small army.  He executed the pick-up, transportation, and set-up of the food perfectly.  This left me with the simple job of enlisting and communicating with presenters.  As it turned out, our presenters were so exceptional and so willing to participate that my job was by far the easiest.  Special thanks to all of our presenters, moderators, and panelists:

Shamaree Brown, Atlantic Coast Conference

Carrie Leger and Katie Sheridan, NC State University

Joe Rehder, University of Virginia

Sam Plonk and Matt Lombardi, Clemson University

Anthony Bennett, North Carolina Central University

Cayce Crenshaw, Elon University

Lisa Hibbs, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Bruce Matthews, University of Richmond

Ted White, University of Georgia

Katie Ethridge, University of South Carolina

Angel Bowers, NC State University

I would also like to acknowledge the former ASPSA Interns who were in attendance: Carrie Drake, Tory Casas, Katie Ethridge, Grey Beatty, Seth Youngblood, Lolly Hemphill, Joe Rehder, Audrey Piotrowski and Rachel Roney. Amazingly, we had one member from every intern class except one since the inception of the program.  The picture below includes current and former ASPSA Interns (we are holding up the number of our intern class).

I hope everyone is closing out a great semester!

Until next time,

Jack

We are off to great start for the Spring 2013 Semester! I seriously cannot believe it is 2013, it seemed like yesterday, Muriel was giving us our temporary parking permits. The past seven months has flown by! A lot has happened since our last post, Final Exams, mid-year evaluations, two coaching changes, two eligibility reviews, New Student-Athlete Orientation and the execution of the planning process for the 12^th Annual ASPSA Drive-In Conference! We are about 8 weeks into the semester ((ASPSA is in the groove)) giving the intern class, time to really focus on Conference logistics.

We want this Conference to be the best! This is our opportunity to shine and this conference is a direct reflection of our work here at ASPSA. It is also a great opportunity to network for future jobs. In efforts to make this event the best, we sought advice from Audrey Piotrowski, a former Intern. She advised us to pick a theme, set a weekly meeting maker, and designate roles:

Set a Theme: It sounds easy peezy, lemon squeezy. Not so much. Good thing we work for a staff with lots of creativity! The theme for the 2013 ASPSA Drive-In Conference is…….”Lights, Camera, Action! The Spotlight is On Academic Support,” in reference to the myriad of academic scandals appearing in the media.  Our vision for the conference is to include presentations that outline best practices from a different array of Institutions.  Sneak Preview: members of the UVA, UGA, USC, Elon, U of R, NCSU, UNCC Academic Support Staff are confirmed presenting guests.

Here is the Game Plan-

Weekly Meeting: Every Thursday from 3:00-4:00. 1 hour a week, set aside, just to brainstorm and communicate the planning process.

Designated Roles:

-AJ is in charge of Conference logistics. Tasks like reserving the location, attainment of donations for breakfast, lunch and the social, programs, etc.

-Jack is in charge of communication with prospective and confirmed panel members and presenters.

- I am in charge of invitations. This task entails gathering contact information from institutions in driving distance/or otherwise interested in the Conference, then sending out an informative email, save-the-date, invitation, and a reminder.

**The purpose of the designated roles is to hold each of us accountable, stay organized, and get us out of our comfort zone. AJ has never been in charge of logistics, Jack works with basketball, only a 2-man academic operating squad, and one of my biggest areas of improvement is paying attention to detail. These roles give all the opportunity to grow as a professional.

Although planning this big event is exciting, we need to remember our primary role here at ASPSA: Assistant Academic Coordinator. Getting grades from students, participating in staffings and meetings, accumulating reports from study hall, registration, etc…But like always, us interns like to stay busy!  

So, save the date for April 26, 2013: Lights, Camera, Action! The Spotlight is on Academic Support.  ASPSA’s 12^th Annual Drive in Conference.

Rainbows and Butterflies,

Shannon

Happy New Year ASPSA Intern Blog followers!

We took a short hiatus in January, but we are back to give you our insights through the home stretch of our experience here at NC State.  I can’t believe we only have four and a half months left.  The time is really flying by.  The spring semester certainly feels like a significant amount of weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.  The ability to handle the day-to-day responsibilities has moved from unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence.  If you’re unfamiliar with the four stages of competence and are interested in this position, get familiar, they will become your best friends when you reflect on your development throughout the experience.   Another significant difference this spring is the relationships and trust levels with the guys on a daily basis.  It feels good to know that they feel comfortable enough to share important information and even have a good laugh or two.  I’m big on the ability to foster positive relationships with the people you work/interact with, so words can’t really express how happy I am to see the progress in this area.

While the ability to move quickly through old task has been an easy transition, new responsibilities have arisen to continue to challenge us as a whole.  For me personally, this has taken shape in the official recruiting process for football.  In the fall, Shannon and I were mostly responsible for the meet and greet portion of unofficial visits on Saturdays.  Now that we are in the midst of the heavy official visits period, we play a much larger role in making sure future Wolfpack Student-Athletes have a great understanding about the academic services we offer at ASPSA and NC State as a whole from our perspective.  The opportunity to assist with the logistics, lead presentations to the potential student-athletes and their parents, as well as being the primary for one-on-one conversations has been amazing.  My confidence has definitely grown in this area.  These past few weeks have certainly prepared me to understand the importance of planning throughout the week.  This includes, but isn’t limited to, knowing the student who is coming on the visit based off of any information you make have (this includes academic strengths and weakness), know the academic program(s) they are interested in, and EXPECT the UNEXPECTED!  The experience gained in this area has been amazing and it has prepared me for whatever role I am in at my next destination!

I am looking forward to experiencing the future challenges that will come in the month of February, and the spring as a whole. Stay Tuned!

—AJ

Hello again ASPSA Intern Blog followers,

As the fall semester comes to a close, I begin to reflect on the successes and challenges of my first “real” semester working in academic support for student-athletes.  While most of my experiences have been positive – and the memories, fond – I share the sentiment with those in higher education who are ready for a break!

So what did I learn during my first semester as an ASPSA intern?  The answer is a whole heckuva lot.  For the sake of brevity, here are three keys to making it through your first semester as an ASPSA Intern:

First, flexibility is not just for yoga.  No day is going to go exactly as you plan.  With roughly 500 student-athletes, 50 tutors, and a support staff of nearly 20, things are going to change.  Students will miss appointments.  Tutors will call-in sick.  Staff members will ask you to assist with projects during a time you set aside to complete other assignments.  Stay calm; assume your best lotus position, it will be okay.

Second, “give a man a fish (and he’ll probably ask for chips), teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” While I’m only trying to be funny with my own insertion, the lesson here is no joke – and is one that I learned best from my secondary supervisor, Maria Crockett.  While Maria is as willing as anyone in the office to help her students, she also has a great ability to challenge her students to develop their own skills and knowledge.  This is one of the most important traits for an advisor to possess in order to allow students to “grow” on their own.

Third, “keep sawin’ wood.”  This is the favorite phrase of 73 year-old Bill Snyder, the head football coach of the fifth-ranked Kansas State Wildcats. Translation: get up every day, be on time to work, do your job, complete it to the best of your ability, and wake up the next day and do it again.  Most days as an ASPSA Intern will not be glamorous.  Most days will not be spent working to end world hunger.  However, your job is still incredibly important and you can have a significant impact on the young adults with whom you work.

With all of the lessons learned during the fall, I feel positioned to make an even greater impact in the spring!

Please notice the attached holiday card from our ASPSA football family.  Whether you’re celebrating a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, or a joyful Kwanzaa, have a wonderful holiday season! 

Until the spring semester…

-Jack

Hey good people!  I can’t believe it is already November.  It’s business as usual here at ASPSA.  Our registration period just ended not too long ago, and we are now able to get re-focused on the home stretch of the fall semester.  I wanted to take the time to reflect on the registration process as a whole, in terms of my thoughts/feelings, and how I think I did the first time around.  Hopefully this will give you a better insight of our responsibilities as interns during registration.

Background info—

In football, I was responsible for meeting with all the defensive walk-on student-athletes (who signed up for an appointment), as well as 4 scholarship student-athletes.  I also met with the nine student-athletes that I advise on a weekly basis for my secondary supervisor.  Collectively, I met with 19 student-athletes from three sports (football, baseball, and wrestling). 

Thoughts/Feelings before advising—

Prior to advising, the only thing that really made me nervous in terms of assisting student-athletes was if they would they trust me during the process.  While I have begun to build solid relationships with several of the guys I meet on a weekly basis, the trust they have in me could easily be broken if I didn’t appear to be competent in the area of advising.  Obviously, we are by no means the final call on whether or not the students schedule is complete; however, I wanted the students to feel confident in my abilities to advise appropriately.

Thoughts/Feelings during advising—

In an effort to combat the trust issues I was concerned with, I determined it would be best to review the degree audits of the student-athletes with whom I would be meeting.  This process helped to alleviate some of my anxiety because I was able to see what courses some students definitely had to take if they were already in a major, as well as make a cheat sheet of courses they could take which would fulfill a General Education Program requirement (i.e. humanities, natural science).  I definitely felt more confident going into my meetings and the students had positive attitudes since they knew I wasn’t steering them in the wrong direction.  Ultimately, the student has to own their schedule and decide what they want to take (within reason), but being able to guide them through that process is an essential part of the job.

I would be lying if I told you that every advising appointment I had went smoothly.  There were a few meetings that left me stumped and that I had to ask for assistance from my supervisors for.  These meeting were ones that dealt with the foreclosure student.  If you’re unfamiliar with that term, the foreclosure student is an individual who has predetermined what they what to pursue academically, for one reason or another, without really considering their strengths or weaknesses and if that pursuit is a good fit.  There’s a good amount of research done on this type of student.  I would highly recommend seeking out this material and gaining some perspective of how to handle these types of situations.  It can be an uncomfortable conversation to tell a student that wants to pursue a particular field that it is unrealistic.  I decided it would be best to hear my supervisors have conversations with the students, in an effort to understand what the dialogue should sound like.  While there is no right way to have these conversations, I learned that it is important to address areas like previous experiences with courses that may be a requirement for a major, why the student is interested in a particular major, and what they would want to do in that field after graduation.  By covering topics like this, it can make it easier for the student to really determine if they are on the right path academically or if they need to find a different course.

Thoughts/Feeling after advising-

Advising student-athletes in different sports, especially in-season vs. out of season, is not something I considered to be overwhelming initially.  However, after the process, I realized that helping a baseball player build their schedule for the spring is much more difficult than a football player who is going to be in the off-season.  You have to consider practice/lift times and competition, which means traveling.  Understanding the importance of making sure the students schedule is balanced and doesn’t cause conflicts with athletics is crucial!

ASPSA really gives us an opportunity to gain valuable experience with advising.  The responsibility is great and allows for a significant amount of interaction with students from several different sports.  Now that we have moved past spring registration, I am looking forward to fall and summer advising.  I am definitely more confident and feel like I can be a greater asset to the student-athletes in the near future and at my next destination. 

—AJ

I have had a lot of anxiety about writing this blog, to the point where I am setting a USC 103 “SMART” goal and creating a to-do list in order to complete my post this month. Ok, I am obviously exaggerating….

All 3 interns do so much and wear many hats around Case Academic Center. I seriously could write a book about what I have experienced in the 3 months I have worked for ASPSA, but the focus of my blog post is—-COMMUNICATION, specifically, communicating with ASEP on a daily, nightly, minutely, basis.

<SIDENOTE #1> To efficiently communicate at North Carolina State University’s Athletic Academic Support Program, between football and ASEP, we abbreviate with acronyms. For the remainder of this blog, I will be referring to elements of the department by using acronyms:

ASPSA- Academic Support Program for Student Athletes

ASEP- Academic Skills Enhancement Program (Tutorial Program: Kristen Crawford & Jody Moylon)

GF-Grades First

FBSH-Football Study Hall

As mentioned in a prior post, I primarily work with football and I am the liaison between football and ASEP. I have an extreme advantage to this role; I am what Carrie Leger calls “in the trenches.”  AJ and I manage structured study hall for football, so we have eyes and ears all over Case. There are 4 Academic Coordinators who work for the sport of football, myself and AJ, Katie, who works with defense, and Jenny, who works with offense and special teams. Amongst the 4 individuals who are trying to better the Wolfpack one student-athlete at a time, communication is critical. For example, if AJ needs to communicate with ASEP, he tells me, and I communicate the concern.  All tutor appointment cancellations come through me. Any comments, concerns, session reports, all come through me to ASEP. With 112 student-athletes on a team having one liaison helps to eliminate confusion and streamline the communication process.

<SIDENOTE #2> It is important to mention that all of this is done while getting grade updates from football student-athletes, as well as having one-on-one meetings with the student-athletes from my other sports, and any other assigned tasks I may have.  Yes, we’re busy…all the time, a very positive occurrence for internships.

If you were a fly on the wall, my daily “routine” and I use the term “routine” lightly would look like—

8:00-8:30- Run GF tutor session reports from the day before

8:30- Send email to ASEP with any concerns from  FBSH the day before with an attachment of missing tutor reports that still need to be submitted  *Which, I copy Katie on to provide her with the documentation

8:40- Make copies of all tutor reports and give them to Jenny and Katie

12:00- Analyze and evaluate tutor session reports from the previous day’s FBSH prior while I’m monitoring the front desk

12:30-1:00- Analyze and evaluate tutor session reports from the FBSH prior with Katie, Jenny, Jody (Assistant Director of ASEP), and Carrie (Director of ASPSA)

3:00- Follow up via email (documentation purposes) with ASEP regarding any questions for further investigation based on discussion during the 12:30 meeting

~5:00- send ASEP an email update regarding cancellations, swaps, concerns, etc. I try to only send 1 email a day. Football can provide many details, so having one email a day helps ASEP and Football stay organized. Unfortunately, one email a day does not happen very often, I have to email as soon as I get word if it is a pressing matter.

<SIDENOTE #3> The meeting of the minds at 12:30 is bolded because of its importance. Yes, that is a lot of eyes on tutor session reports, but it is necessary. There is not a better way to keep each other on the same page, than to meet daily!

On screen, paper, whatever, ASEP and FB’s communication might not look “cute.com” but it is efficient and works phenomenally. I work with the BEST communicators in this profession and my experience is second to none. I’m sure I answered all of the inquiring minds’ questions about effective communication with the tutorial program, but if there are any more, please contact ASPSA’s intern coordinator, Maria Tyson Crockett @ mstyson@ncsu.edu and we can be sure to reach out to you in another blog!

-Shannon

Hello ASPSA Intern Blog followers,

I was asked to contribute to our blog this month.  Here we are at September 23^rd, and my fingers are just now typing the words that will appear in this entry.  What does this mean?  It means that the life of an ASPSA Intern is busy!  This is an important consideration for anyone interested in pursuing the field of academic support for student-athletes.  Over the last month, my schedule has been filled with long days, late nights, and short weekends.  And while sometimes working eight to eight (8:00am-8:00pm) does little to foster a work-life balance, it creates an opportunity to develop close relationships with the students, interns, and supervisors with whom I work.  I have already learned so much from my direct supervisor, Alison Ruff.  Students are drawn to her, coworkers respect her, and I appreciate her.  Ali possesses a unique blend of interpersonal skills and machine-like precision.  This allows her to build relationships with the students she advises while completing the numerous tasks of an academic coordinator.  For example, I have never met anyone who responds so quickly to emails.  In my first week of work I remember sending emails to Ali to which I would receive a reply almost instantly. “Maybe she forgot to turn off an ‘out of the office’ response,” I wondered.  After opening the emails, I realized that they were not an automated response – Ali is just that attentive to timely correspondence.

So what do I do as an intern?  My primary responsibility is to work with the men’s basketball and men’s swimming & diving teams.  On a daily basis I conduct study hall check-in, hold individual student meetings, run tutor reports, and engage in a host of other activities.  But beyond the details of the daily grind, I view my role very simply as someone who assists young people as they develop into mature, college-educated, civic-conscious individuals.  For example, I may help a student formulate a professional email to an instructor; or provide tips for how to approach faculty in an appropriate manner.  I might ask students what classes they enjoy most, and how their interest areas could eventually transform into a vocation.  Finally, I challenge students to reflect on how their career will contribute to society; and if it won’t, to consider a career that will.

You may be wondering if it is challenging to work with student-athletes.    I must admit that despite my own background as a track student-athlete, I wasn’t completely sure what I would find at NC State (especially working with a so-called “high profile” sport like men’s basketball).  What mysteries did I solve?  What big secrets did I uncover?  I found that like other students on campus, our students are bright.  Our students have tremendous passion for areas outside of athletics.  Our students eat, sleep, read, listen to music, and sometimes get into a little mischief.  Our students are…pretty much like other students – except that some can windmill dunk a basketball.

Finally, let’s talk about motivations for pursuing a career in academic support for student-athletes.  I think that people enter our field for a variety of reasons.  Some are interested in the “prestige” associated with working in college athletics.  Some want to be the person who has tickets to the big game.  Some want to be “in the know” with the behind-the-scenes action of college athletics.  Others enter the field with a genuine commitment to and passion for serving the needs of students.  I am fortunate at ASPSA to be surrounded by individuals who fall in the latter category, which makes it very easy to come to work every day. 

As you think about your own interest in the field, consider the role of students.  If the needs of students are not closely aligned with your personal philosophy, ASPSA is probably not the program for you.   On the other hand, if you are totally focused on student success – most importantly, academically – the ASPSA internship program may be a great fit for you.  To find out more, please contact our intern coordinator, Maria Tyson Crockett, at mstyson@ncsu.edu!

Happy athletic academic advising!

-Jack

Good evening from the ASPSA office of AJ!  I had a few minutes in-between night time study hall check in, and I wanted to touch base with our readers.  The fall 2012 semester has begun with a bang, and I thought this would be a perfect time to update you on what I have been up to these past few weeks.

I don’t think there is one particular word or phrase to describe the transition into the fall semester; but I think I will go with “Controlled Chaos.”  As I mentioned before, my primary responsibilities are with football.  We are currently in the process of collecting all the syllabi from each of the student-athletes, in an effort to create our Academic Update Reports.  The AUR’s are how we keep track of each student-athletes progress in all of their courses.  It is a key component to documentation here at ASPSA.  The process of creating the AUR’s is time consuming because you have to deal with schedule changes, as well as the urgency (or lack thereof) of the student-athletes to get their syllabi turned in.  While things haven’t moved as quickly as I would have liked, I have maintained a positive attitude and I still am on track to complete them by my initial deadline.

My secondary responsibilities have also been keeping me busy.  I have been helping one of our Assistant Directors, Maria Tyson, with the preparation of the curriculum for our University Studies Course.  Maria is great because she has really allowed me to take on more work than she normally would, in an effort to gain more experience.  She has pushed me to improve the quality of my work in subtle ways, which has been a refreshing confidence boost! 

The USC course is a 1 credit course that all freshmen student-athletes are required to take.  The exciting part is that everyone in the office assists in teaching a section.  The interns are paired with an academic coordinator that they don’t normally work with, in an effort to gain another person’s perspective of how to approach working in this field.  I am working with Jody Moylon.  Long story short…she is awesome!  We have had once class so far, and I can already tell that Jody and I will work well together.  I really like to interact with the student-athletes in this setting because I feel like it is a great time to build relationships.  I’m looking forward to seeing how the class unfolds in the next few months.

I have also had my initial meetings with the baseball and wrestling student-athletes that I am assigned to work with via Tory Casas.  Tory is a great person to work with/for because she understands what it means to be an ASPSA intern.  She was in our shoes not too long ago.  Her knowledge, wealth of experience, and personality all make the days enjoyable.  My meetings with her student-athletes have been great.  I am serving as their primary contact for any scheduling/tutor conflicts they may have, as well as keeping their AUR’s up to date, and serving as a voice of reason.  I have experience in this type of role and I am looking forward to building the personal relationships.

As you can tell, I am involved in some many awesome things here at ASPSA.  I don’t feel like I am over extending myself because there isn’t any pressure to keep adding things to my plate.  I like to keep busy and this experience is definitely allowing for that.  However, I am looking forward to getting a few weeks into the semester where there is an organized routine!!

Well that’s all I have for you right now.  It’s time to get back to work.  Keep reading and follow us on Twitter @ASPSA1

-AJ

I have never created a blog before, but I guess the proper thing to do is welcome all of you readers to our experiences (Jack Sachse, Shannon Roberts, and myself, Andre “AJ” Johnson) as the 2012-2013 Assistant Academic Coordinators, with the Academic Support Program for Student Athletes, at North Carolina State University!  In an effort to promote the program beyond word of mouth and sheer awesomeness, we have decided to implement a blog into the internship experience.  Our hope is that our insights give future applicants an in-depth view of what it is like to spend a year at NC State, working with the ASPSA staff and Wolfpack Student-Athletes.

Throughout the year, Jack, Shannon, and I will take turns posting on the blog.  We all have different roles within the department, so having a holistic view of our responsibilities will in theory, assist future Assistant AC’s in having a better understanding of what they will be signing up for.  So sit back, relax, and enjoy the reads—we hope they will be informative and entertaining!

-AJ