SEAHO Report - Fall 2021 - 20

FEATURE ARTICLES
" It's important to state my reflexivity on this topic. I am a Married, cis-gender, white, mother of two children.
I currently serve as the Interim Director of Housing and Residence Life at a mid-sized school in the southeast.
Prior to this role, I have worked in Residence Life professionally for nearly 10 years.
During a training session recently, the facilitator said to the group " My wife always told me, your head and
heart should be where your feet are " . This sentiment rang loudly. How often am I checking my email at home,
knowing that I'm not a firefighter and don't need to urgently respond to these messages in the evening. There
is a balance if you create the scale to be in your favor. The world is not necessarily set up to allow for working
mothers to feel like we are excelling in all areas of our life.
Work life integration. This has been something I have heard about from mother's in residence life and higher
education overall. Connecting our personal and professional lives to
establish a sense of balance. While many parents are enjoying those last
weeks at home or on vacation with their children in July and August,
Residence Life parents are wondering how they are going to get kids
picked up, dinner ready, finish GA/RA/Pro Staff training, building prep,
that last minute presentation for tomorrow, and bedtime routines,
and making sure your contracts are ready to go for the first programs
happening in a few weeks.
My work is important to me, and so is my family. Part of residence
life is attending after hour events or programs. Being in a higher-level
position, I have the ability to attend these events without facilitating
them. Something that I started doing is bringing along one or both of my
children when the event requires my presence but not my participation
or facilitation (it's important to understand the difference). I recognize
that this is not something every campus allows, and is something I have
deliberately asked as part of my job searches.
One tradition I started to help me find the harmony in working
parenthood is during opening. When my son was just 7 months old he
was walking the halls before opening.
Jamison Nelson, August 2019
Every year, for 4 years (thanks, COVID), we have walked the halls together and looked at the decorations, created
punch lists, and talked with the building staff. He loves this time we get to spend together, and I love the part
of his personality this tradition has contributed to. He is so kind, and wants to talk to everyone in the hallways.
He passes out compliments to all of the RAs on their hard work, and makes sure to take pictures in front of his
favorites. "
Cassidy Nelson
Interim Director of Housing & Residence Life/ Mother of Two
University of West Georgia
Living On Campus
" Living on campus in a residence hall I manage with a family can be a blessing and a burden, and both are okay
with me, because the blessings outweigh the burdens every year. The positive impact that our physical presence
has had on our community has reaffirmed me when I've questioned if I needed to hang it up and persistently
apply for live-off student affairs positions.
Ways It Has Been A Blessing
It has been a blessing in so many ways regarding how respectful residents and student leaders are when they
realize they are living with a family. They have entrusted my partner and I for advice as if we were big brother,
big sister, and even mom and dad away from home.
One of things that has worked for us is introducing the family unit during the opening floor meetings. If we are
not able to physically stop by and encourage the reality to set in for the residents, I've incorporated information
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SEAHO Report - Fall 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Fall 2021