SEAHO Report - Summer 2019 - 23

SEAHO Feature Articles
the students to the best of your ability?
Forky wanting to help the newly created toy:
Bonnie created a new toy that believed they were trash as well. Forky then decided he wanted to help support
the new toy in not believing that they are trash. As leaders in the residence halls, it is important to encourage
our student leaders to set positive examples and use their light to lead within their hall. These leaders will be
able to use their leadership skills upon graduation as well.
These are just some scenes that resonated with me as a housing professional. I hope they resonate well with you
as well. Additionally, remember to "reach for the sky" as we start the new semester (Toy Story 4).

Finding My Way Back Home:
A Journey Outside and Back to Residence Life
By Daniel Jay Wiggins, University of North Carolina Greensboro
In April of 2018, I left my position as Coordinator for Residence Life at The University of North Carolina at
Greensboro for a position outside of the field of Higher Education. One thing you should know about me is
I can get a little headstrong sometimes: once I get an idea in my head, it's tough to talk me out of it. Despite
several instances of coworkers, supervisors, friends, and family questioning if this was the right decision, I was
committed to the thought of exploration. I figured, "I'm really young, and it's really early in my career. Now
is the BEST time for me to step outside of what I know to see if this is really right for me, right?" And that's
exactly what I did... I let my journey begin.
A little context on the CRL position at UNCG: we work hard, and there's a lot to be done. As someone who gets
refueled by the prospect of opportunity, the CRL position at UNCG was my jackpot. While there may be a lot
of structure for the required parts of our job, there is also a LOT of room for outside exploration and autonomy.
Some of the outside accomplishments included serving on an interdepartmental planning team to implement
a structured dialogical experience on our campus (Spartans-in-Dialogue), coaching students in a one-on-one,
leadership-intensive capacity (Silver Leadership Challenge), serving on state-wide organizational committees
(NCHO, Program Planning Committee), and SO much more! As long as the work was done well and you
weren't sacrificing parts of yourself in the process, our department was very supportive of your developmental
journey and aspirations. The only problem with this was that I became a master at living in a façade, convincing
even myself that I was fine when, in reality, I was pouring from a bone-dry cup. I think the first time I realized
this was when a coworker and friend asked me why I kept showing her different job postings within our field.
She could see clearly what I couldn't see at all: I was experiencing burnout caused by my own need for more. I
had become a "Yes-Person" without even realizing it, and it was overwhelming me.
The Father's Offer
My father and I have never had the closest relationship with one another. This was mainly due to the fact that
he wasn't around when I was younger, which left momma to raise my sister (Amber) and me all by herself.
*As a side note, I will always have the utmost respect for that woman and everything she poured into me. She
will forever be a part of me in my heart and spirit.* Because of the lack of depth to our relationship, one of the
primary reasons I considered leaving the CRL position was because I would have the opportunity to work with
him and develop our relationship even further.

SEAHO Report Summer 2019

SEAHO Report - Summer 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Summer 2019