Talking Stick - September/October 2018 - 53

Stephanie Lynch, assistant dean for
student affairs at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.; and Kenny
Mauk, associate director of operations
and outreach at the University of
Houston in Texas.
Talking Stick: What drew you to apply
for an NHTI faculty role?

Stephanie Lynch: I was looking for
an opportunity to be further involved
in the Association and thought serving
as a faculty member would be a good
fit. I am an NHTI participant alumna,
so I personally knew the impact of
this experience. I credit my experience
at NHTI as one of the most important developmental moments in my
career. My mentor, Willie Young from
The Ohio State University, and I still
keep in contact, and I recognized how
important that relationship has been
to me.

Kate Baier: I was a 2003 NHTI participant at the University of Maryland
College Park. I appreciated the opportunity to connect with colleagues,
both peers and role models, and was
inspired by the experiential style of
learning. When I was in a position
to do so, I modeled the professional
staff training and the professional staff
development in my department on the
adult learning emphasis and competency focus of the NHTI sessions.
Serving as an NHTI faculty member
has been a professional goal and a
service to the field that I aspired to for
many years.
Mari Anne Brocker Curry: Because
I followed an unconventional path to
housing leadership, I wasn't aware
of NHTI until I had surpassed the
years in the field that would have allowed me to be eligible to attend as a
participant. I have always viewed that
as a missed professional development
opportunity. For the longest time, I
also thought I had to be a participant

to be a faculty member. So when
Alma Sealine, director of university
housing at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, shared the call
for faculty and explained I didn't need
prior experience, I had an immediate
interest. On top of that, I love teaching,
training, and facilitating, so it made
the opportunity even more exciting!
TS: The focus of NHTI is,
appropriately, the participants'
experiences and learning; however,
the faculty experience can also
be important. How were you
professionally impacted by your
faculty role?

Curry: The experience was extremely
powerful for me. We highlight for
participants that the institute is just as
much about networking and relationship building as it is about content.
The intense, immersive format was
key in facilitating relationship building
among everyone involved. As a faculty
member, I benefited from the new
relationships with both participants
and other faculty. One of the things I
shared with faculty peers after the institute was my enhanced and renewed
commitment to ACUHO-I and a
desire to take on additional leadership
or volunteer opportunities within the
Association. It has also renewed my
desire to learn more about parts of our
operation at Illinois where I have less
experience so I can continue to be the
best colleague and leader possible.
Kenny Mauk: I was professionally
impacted by how much I learned
about myself from my amazing faculty cohort and the NHTI participant
group. Exploring our personal stories
of why we do the work we do bolstered
my confidence in the work of housing
professionals. The institute, for me,
is one of the most important professional development experiences I have
had. Working with other faculty and

the curriculum development committee to create content for the institute
provided me with deeper insight into
the work I do each day.

Olan Garrett: To be perfectly honest,
even though I applied, I fell victim to
imposter syndrome at points throughout the process and wondered if I was
ready for such a role. Even when I was
selected, I found myself intimidated
by being chosen to present with other
amazing individuals in the field that
I look up to and admire. Serving as a
faculty member, in a sense, became
an opportunity to more fully realize
and be more confident about how far I
had come in my own development as a
professional.
NHTI also reaffirmed my "why" for
being in the campus housing profession - a strong sense of duty to pay
it forward and assist others in their
development, as others did for me as a
student and as a professional at earlier
points in my career, as well as my faith
that the future of our profession is
strong because of our future leaders.
TS: Sometimes potential faculty
applicants believe they must have
been an NHTI participant to apply
for a faculty position and hesitate to
apply. How would you, a seasoned
professional and NHTI faculty
member, explain to a potential faculty
applicant what the institute is and
why they should apply?

Curry: This is EXACTLY what happened with me! I am so thankful I
learned otherwise. This institute is an
opportunity for seasoned housing professionals to give back to the profession and continue to grow personally.
Regardless of your previous exposure
to the institute, you have invaluable
experience and knowledge to share
with advancing professionals who
are on a path similar to the one you
have already traveled and can benefit

SEPTEMBER + OCTOBER 2018

Talking Stick - September/October 2018

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