SEAHO Report - Holiday 2020 - 18

FEATURE ARTICLES

AN ARTICLE ABOUT ARTICLES
Contributors: Briana Creswell, Wake Forest University
& Demarcus Merritt Sr., Virgina Commonwealth University
Curator: Katie Lewis, University of North Florida

When I grew up, I vividly recall
reading and rereading the
childhood book, Something From
Nothing by Phoebe Gilman. This
is a story about a boy, Joseph,
receiving a blanket from his
grandfather when he was a baby.
Over time, the blanket transformed
into many things: a jacket, a vest,
a tie, a handkerchief, and finally
a button. When the button went
missing, Joseph morphed the
symbolism of the missing button
into a beautiful story. While the
amount of fabric dwindled into
physically nothing over time, the
family still benefited from what it
represented. The question asked is:
How can you make something from
nothing?
When our team learned the news
about professional development
funds needing to be allocated
elsewhere, there was a sense of
feeling lost and uncertain on how to
grow. Much like Joseph, staff often
look for guidance from supervisors
on what to do next - how are
they expected to learn something
with nothing. As supervisors, we
are helping our staff members
to manage and navigate these
changes that COVID-19 has forced
our higher education hands to
" think and do " aspects of our job
in ways to which we may not be
accustomed. One of those aspects
directly impacted is having to
recalculate and reallocate how we
access professional development.
We wanted to coach and encourage
our team on free (or low cost)
professional development
opportunities. One way included

18

the concept of article writing for a
professional platform. We assessed
that many of our graduate and
entry-level staff were new to the
concept of article writing or had
not submitted many articles in the
past. Our knowledge, ideas, and
words are arguably one of the most
powerful (and free) tools we have
at our disposal. We found it helpful
to share the voices of those that
are highly experienced in articles
- that's where Briana Creswell and
Demarcus Merritt, Sr. came in!
Briana is currently the Assistant
Director of Residence Life,
Learning, Leadership, and
Programming at Wake Forest
University; she also serves as the
current SEAHO Report Editor. Her
leadership role includes leading a
committee to address the review
and edition of submissions, as
well as working with an external
company to produce the publication
for regional release. Demarcus
also holds a leadership position
within SEAHO, as he was voted into
a two-year term as the Secretary
of the SEAHO Executive Board at
our regional conference in early
March of this year. He is currently
a second-year doctoral student,
the COO and Diversity Doctor for
The Demarcus Merritt Signature
Enterprises (The DMSE), and
a badass dad of two little boys.
Some regard him as a SEAHO
celebrity. He has presented at
several professional conferences
and has submitted 12 articles to be
published in past SEAHO Report
publications since 2016. These two
professionals in our field know
what they're talking about, and it

was important for us to share their
insight with our team.
In order to prepare for an in-house
professional development session
for our professional staff related
to article writing and conference
presentation proposal submissions,
I conducted an informational
interview with Demarcus and
Briana using a series of questions
related to article writing and
editing. Side Pro Tip: reaching out
to different professionals in the field
(whether you directly know them or
not) requesting to set up a time to
chat, to learn about their journeys, to
hear their stories, to shadow them on
projects, etc., is a prime way to expand
your network! Once the interview
session concluded, I curated their
advice and gifted our team with
their wisdom via a professional
development workshop.
Now, it's your turn, SEAHO, to
learn the tips and tricks of the
trade. Whether it is your first
or fifth article to get published,
we hope you find this beneficial,
reassuring, and inspiring. Read
through, marinate on these shared
thoughts and tactics, pick up a pen
(or keyboard), and write away. We
look forward to seeing your name
as an author soon!
Q: What are readers looking for in a
housing/student affairs article?
A: If you're still reading this,
there might be something that
comes to mind. There are always
new members in the audience,
someone trying to learn from you.
Readers want you to write about
your experience and what you are
SEAHO Report - Holiday 2020

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