Talking Stick - July/August 2018 - 41

Research and
Publication Award

Erik
Sorensen
Miami University

rik Sorensen is assistant director
of residence life and is a Ph.D.
candidate in the Student Affairs
in Higher Education program at Miami University in Ohio. His dissertation
topic is focused on secondary traumatic
stress among RAs. Sorensen involvement with ACUHO-I includes serving
as a reviewer for the Journal of College
and University Student Housing, is the
assessment coordinator for the James
C. Grimm National Housing Training
Institute, and helped test the Campus
Housing Index.
Sorensen oversees the Research and
Assessment committee in his department, and recently co-authored a book
chapter on utilizing individualized accountability plans with student staff. He
is passionate about research and assessment, and his primary research interests include trauma and stress, suicide
prevention, supervision, developmental
capacity, navigating organizational systems, diversity and intercultural interactions, and game-based learning.

What is the first memory that jumps
into your mind when you think about
your career in campus housing?
What has always been most important
to me in my work in campus housing is
the opportunity to help people through
some of their most difficult times. My
Master's program was focused in counselor education, and I felt prepared to
engage with students in conversations
about mental health and suicide intervention. When thinking about some of
my most significant work interactions,
I think of those students who I sat
with and talked through their suicidal
thoughts while providing support and
resources. I hold every single one of
those conversations close to me.
When do you first remember being
aware of ACUHO-I and why did you
get involved with the association?
I became aware of ACUHO-I in a
meaningful way in Graduate School
when I worked at Georgia Southern
University. I had limited involvement
until I attended the National Housing
Training Institute in 2011. It was recommended to me by others who had
attended, and it was a transformational
professional experience (shout out to
my cluster Tara Adams, Kyle Rice, and
David Jones). I was very appreciative for
the opportunity and how ACUHO-I invested in me, and I started giving back
more intentionally from that point. I
have ought additional professional and
service opportunities with the organization since then, and recently have been
heavily connected to ACUHO-I, and it
has been amazing!
Who were your mentors and influencers when you first got started? How did
they assist you?
I have been fortunate to work with amazing folks throughout my career. In my
graduate experience, I worked under the
leadership of Vickie Hawkins, and could
not have asked for a better director as I
more deeply explored who I wanted to

"[After NHTI] I was very
appreciative for the
opportunity and how
ACUHO-I invested in me,
and I started giving back
more intentionally from
that point."
be as a professional. To my 2011 NHTI
group including our hosts at UGA, our
cohort, and our faculty, who all helped
me push my thinking and see myself in
a CHO/SHO role. Later, I also had the
opportunity to work with Grant Walters,
who helped me think about new ways
to get involved with the organization. I
would also like to acknowledge my supervisor, Rob Abowitz, who has always
been supportive of my professional development vision and allowing me time
and space to be involved in all of these
wonderful ACUHO-I opportunities.
What were the major issues in the field
during the time you were on the executive board / most involved with the
association? How do they differ from
what practitioners face today?
In some ways, I think that I am constantly trying to get more involved in
the organization, so the issues evolve
with the times. Some of the key issues that I have worked with through
ACUHO-I include culturally supportive supervision, mental health, growing
needs for assessment, and navigating
financial constraints. These issues have
been present throughout my career, but
the conversations continue to evolve in
finding creative and innovative solutions
to these challenges.
In six words, how would you describe
ACUHO-I?
Innovating strong practices to support
students.

Talking Stick - July/August 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - July/August 2018