Wednesday, May 28, 2008

It May Be May Gray, But Not for FAS

May sure has been a busy month for FAS as we wind down the spring semester and gear up for year end!

This year’s Spring Fling was truly wonderful and I am grateful to the PEER Team and Spring Fling Planning Committee for the hard work that goes into making this annual event a success. Thank you for making President Haynes, First Gentleman Jim Mickelson and the President’s staff feel very welcome; I know they had a great time and always look forward to the invitation. Congratulations to all the nominees and award winners for personifying and exemplifying what Responsibility, Trustworthy, Professionalism, Encouragement, Service, Excellence and Collaborative mean in our ever changing and evolving work lives.

This month, I also had the opportunity to attend my first CSUSM commencement ceremony as a member of the platform party. It was both memorable and inspiring and the true reason why we are all here…to support and promote student success. A special thank you to the FAS employees who volunteered their time to ensure commencement was an enjoyable experience for the graduates and their families: Chief Ronald Hackenberg, Lt. Robert McManus, Sgt. Timothy Dow, Sgt. Jesus Flores, Officer Yosaren Panza, Community Service Officers John Hall, Hiram Lopez, Billy Barron, Bryan Alt (UPD); Edward Johnson, Ellen Hawthorne, Gerard McQuade, Craig Curtis, Sid Alvarez, Cal Kidd, Megan Simpson, Cheryl Zwack and Rosie Peterson (FDM), Bruce Bradley (HRRM), and Marietta Kimball and Charlene Montalvo (BFS).

I hope all of you were able to attend the workshop entitled “If You Can’t Say Something Nice, What DO You Say?" conducted by Sarita Maybin. What an opportunity to listen and gain insights and perspectives from someone like Sarita who left the secure world of university administration (some may disagree with this one) and venture into self-employment as a speaker and trainer. The part of the session that stood out for me was Brave, Braver and Bravest. You can choose to not “go there” or get to the heart of the issue by seeking the underlying intent of the words or actions. It takes guts to be able to respond to negative remarks made by others while preserving relationships. No one way is better than the other….assess the situation and decide for yourself. How brave are YOU
?