Talking Stick - May/June 2014 - 69

student organization leaders' leased
lounge training sessions.
We have found that bringing in
interns with experiences from their
own schools or with connections to
other interns and giving them sole
ownership over a process, project,
or event tends to give them even
greater focus to do the job well, and
the learning they glean from the
experience is incredible. Additionally,
we love being able to give back to the
field, helping to prep the next leaders
in student affairs and specifically in
housing!
Specifically for Wake Forest,
we tend to begin talking with our
professional staff in the office to
determine what projects, processes,
or programming efforts need a fresh
perspective, complete overhaul, slight
tweaking, or just assistance. This type
of evaluation is done in preparation
for the intern's arrival. In this way,
we spread out work, ensuring that
the intern gets a full experience
throughout the internship and is
not just making copies and sorting
paperwork. Oftentimes, the intern has
insight into a process or project that
comes from the experiences they've
had on their main/home campus.
Because of this, our staff have learned
to be more open to hearing ideas from
other campuses and incorporating
changes that work for the Wake Forest
residential community.
Additionally, because each
professional staff member has an
opportunity to directly contribute
to the type of experience our intern
gets through the type and number
of projects assigned, each staff
member also has an opportunity to
directly work with the intern and
expose them to their work experience,
responsibilities, and project-related
tasks. The intern benefits from this
structure, too. For, while having an

ultimate internship supervisor, he/
she is able to work with a variety of
professional staff in the office in order
to expand their learning opportunities.
What about any of you? Similar
experiences?

Stang: We have approached what
our interns would do in a couple
different ways - one being projectspecific and one more a shadowing
of a residence life coordinator. Since
work always seems to grow to the
plate at our university, there is always
plenty to do; however, when the intern
has been able to take some kind of
ownership of a task, there seems to
be more in-depth learning, as well as
follow-through on behalf of the intern.
Another component of the program
we have found effective is really trying
to create some kind of mentorship
program with a senior staff member
in housing. This allows the intern
to touch base with the administrator
during the internship, as well as have
a resource once the internship has
concluded.

Kanikkeberg: Our department has
continually encouraged the various
units within university housing to
host an intern for the summer. Our
history has primarily focused on
conferences, but for the first time we
will host an intern in our marketing
and recruitment area. I am very excited
to see what will have transpired by the
end of summer. In the future, I am
very interested in hosting an intern
that will work in our facilities area.
Donna, I'd be very interested to see
how the experience transpires at Wake
Forest since you are hosting in this
area this summer.
Another piece that we are always
conscious of when we consider hosting
an ACUHO-I intern is the experience
that they have outside of the day-to-

day work environment. We are located
in beautiful north central Idaho with
abundant outdoor opportunities;
however, we realize that the Palouse
area may not be the best fit for every
intern. We share with the potential
interns what the pace of campus is like
during the summer months and what
opportunities there are for exploring
our region of the country. We try very
hard to make sure our expectations
match those that an intern is looking
for in their experience - both in the
work environment and the social
experience.

McGalliard: Great point, Dee Dee!
We, too, are concerned about the afterwork or away-from-work experience
for our interns. Fortunately, I have
a very socially minded pro staff and
some great graduate hall directors
whose interests vary widely. Typically,
we schedule fun (including lunches
and dinners) about every two to three
days for the first three weeks for the
intern, and a different staff member
is responsible for hosting them for
events. This gives the intern an idea of
what there is to do in the surrounding
area and on campus for the time
they are here. We do everything from
painting classes to art museums,
restaurant hops, minor league baseball
games, small concerts, cookouts
at staff houses, and more. Usually
they also attend our end-of-the-year
staff retreat as we goal set, review
departmental learning outcomes, etc.
Corey Ray: When I was working in
the Oregon University System, I was
fortunate enough to work on a campus
that was just starting a housing and
residence life department. There was
plenty of opportunity and work for
summer interns. The first couple
of summers really gave interns
the opportunity to learn about our
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