Author Archives: Directorate

Graduate Student Spotlight: Whitney Hazard

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Where are you working right now?
Right now I am a Graduate Hall Director at the University of Rhode Island (URI) and I am a first year graduate student in URI’s College Student Personnel Program

What do you love about working there?
The students at URI are so passionate and motivated to succeed, it has been amazing working with the staff of Resident Assistants that I supervise. URI is also near the ocean which makes me very happy!

When you aren’t working, how do you spend your free time?
I love to spend time with my family and friends, as well as watching football or Game of Thrones.

What is your favorite grad school class and why?
College Student Development because I am learning the theories that will be the foundation of my work as a practitioner.

Who inspired you to get involved in Higher Education?
My mentor Jessie Karner who is an Assistant Director of Academic Advising at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). She was my supervisor while I worked as a Senior Community Advisor when I was an undergraduate student at WPI. Jessie is amazing and incredibly passionate about student development. I aspire to be as great as a supervisor for my students as she was for me.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your career (so far)?
The most valuable lesson I have learned so far is to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Both in class and in my work as a Graduate Hall Director, there are times where I am confronted with a situation that I may not know the immediate answer to. It is in these times that I know I am learning and growing the most as a new professional.

What is on your Higher Ed bucket list?
I want to attend a conference somewhere I have never been in the United States!

What advice would you offer to undergraduate seniors who are staring to search for grad programs?
The advice I would offer to undergraduate seniors who are searching for graduate programs is if possible, connect with students who are currently in the programs. You can find information regarding the curriculum, assistantships, etc. online, but to discover what it is truly like to be a student in the program, talk to them! Most will be more than happy to send you an email or talk over the phone, because it is so exciting to hear from students who want to pursue student affairs.

Welcome your 2018 NECPA Executive Board!

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Please congratulate your 2018 NECPA Executive Board! These amazing professionals have been elected by you and appointed by our current board members to serve and represent YOU next year. Please, as always, don’t hesitate to let us know what you think, what you need, and what you want from YOUR New England CPA Executive Board!

  • Jessi Robinson – President-Elect
  • Benjamin Lamb – Past President
  • Sarah Santiago – President
  • Matthew Denham – Operations Coordinator
  • Martha Mazeika – Communications Coordinator
  • Cherry Lim – Equity and Inclusion Coordinator
  • Brent Ploughe – Professional Development Coordinator
  • Morgan Rayner – Graduate Student Liaison
  • Michael Prinkey – Special Presidential Appointment
  • Ian Fournier – Vermont State Coordinator
  • Jessica Smith – Massachusetts State Coordinator
  • Nina Giannotti – New Hampshire State Coordinator
  • Michael Donohue – Rhode Island State Coordinator
  • Kelly Levine – Maine State Coordinator
  • Alycia Johnston – Connecticut State Coordinator

Entry-Level Professionals Workshop Review

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On Thursday, September 28th, 2017, NECPA, BACHA, and MA-NASPA co-hosted the 2017 Entry Level Professional Workshop (ELPW) at Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. This local, annual workshop, co-hosted by NECPA, BACHA, and MA-NASPA is an opportunity for Student Affairs professionals, whether brand new to the field or with a few years’ experience, to engage, learn, and grow through educational sessions and opportunities to network within the region.

Dr. Susan Marine, Associate Professor and Program Director of the Merrimack College’s Higher Education Master’s Program was the keynote speaker.  Dr. Marine talked about how student affairs educators are transforming our college campuses.  Presenters came from Boston College, Boston University, Bentley University, Becker College, Berklee College of Music, Mount Wachusett Community College, UMass Dartmouth, UMass Lowell, and Lead365. There were thirteen sessions covering supervising, career longevity, wellness, professional development and advocacy.

Fifty-six new, mid-level, and senior professionals attended the conference. Conference Co-chair and BACHA New Professionals Co-chair, Jen Stone, summarized the experience best:

“In such a busy time of year, it is incredible to see so many professionals of different levels coming together to develop themselves when it would be easier to not take a day off and stay at their jobs to get work done. Attendance is higher this year, and it shows that professional development is valued in the region. It’s nice to know that a small conference like ELPW can be impactful for professionals of all levels.”

The Strengths of the NECPA Directorate Board

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by Martha Mazeika

In preparation for the NECPA Directorate Board summer meeting, the members took the Strengths Finder assessment. The StrengthsFinder is an assessment invented by Donald Clifton who is known as the Father of Strengths-Based Psychology (Rath, 2007). Participants are given a report on their top 5 strengths as well as relating the strengths to leadership. The strengths can be categorized into 4 domains Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking.

The 12 members of the directorate board for NECPA represent 30 of the 34 strengths spread throughout the 4 domains. Our strongest concentration of strengths is in the Executing category with all of us having at least on strength in this domain. “Leaders with dominant strength in Executing domain know how to make things happen. When you need someone to implement a solution, these are the people who will work tirelessly to get it done” (Rath, 2007). The second domain in which we had 9 members represented was Relationship Building. “Those who lead with Relationship Building are the essential glue that holds a team together. Without these strengths on a team, in many cases, the group is simply a composite of individuals. In contrast, leaders with exceptional Relationship Building strength have the unique ability to create groups and organizations that are much great than the sum of their parts” (Rath, 2007). Also in the Relationship Building domain, we had 5 out of the 12 members having Harmony as a top five strength. I think this speaks to the last part of this explanation as we as a group feel we are much greater than the sum of our parts. As group we discussed how we can use our strengths to continue to build the NECPA.

 

Rath, T. (2007). Strengths Finder 2.0. New York, NY: Gallup Press

 

Martha Mazeika works at Bunker Hill Community College where she facilitates that Instructional Design for Life Map program. She is also a special presidential appointment to the NECPA board focusing on collaboration and outreach to likeminded organizations and individuals in New England.