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. 

SA Camp 3.0

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I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be on the planning committee for Student Affairs Camp 2017 (aka SA Camp 3.0). As a grad student, I participated in the very first SA Camp in 2014 and as a first-year professional I presented as a “Camp Counselor” during SA Camp 2.0 in 2016. It is by far my favorite professional development opportunity.

You may be curious about why anyone would want to spend a weekend, in the summer, at a conference… Well, the entire point is that SA Camp is actually based on an unConference model. SA Campers do yoga, hike, meditate, and enjoy the New England weather. We do these activities while having conversations that range from casual to intense, but are all meaningful, intentional, and encourage us to get outside of our comfort level. Seriously, it is adult summer camp! After each SA Camp I have felt refreshed and ready for the fall semester to begin.

The connections that I have made during SA Camp have had a major impact on my life, professionally and personally. Little did I know that just six months after my most recent SA Camp experience, I would run into a fellow camper during an interview! I knew Brianne worked at Endicott College, but I didn’t realize I would see her. Sure enough, as I walked in the Student Center, Brianne’s office was right in front of me. I knocked and she gave me a huge hug while welcoming me to her campus. I could not have asked for a better way to start a daylong interview, or to feel more welcome at a new institution. The day of my interview started on such a positive note by seeing Brianne and sure enough I’ve been fortunate to work at Endicott ever since! The true beauty of SA Camp is that campers come from all over and you never know what new connections you will make.

Please join me this summer in Keene, NH for SA Camp 3.0. If you have questions, feel free to reach out via email!

For more information and to register online please visit the event page at https://newengland.myacpa.org/event/sacamp2017/.

Jillian Toce, M.Ed.
SA Camp Planning Committee
Area Director, Endicott College
jtoce@endicott.edu