Transcript
Speaker: I'm JC Stoner and this is the Swakuho podcast.
Speaker: Before we begin, I have a housekeeping item that came from the annual conference in February.
Speaker: I did a program at the conference on controlling your own professional development destiny where I aired snippets and takeaways from past podcast episodes.
Speaker: In the program feedback, someone mentioned they were playing with the idea of using the podcast like a book club with some of their full-time staff.
Speaker: I love this idea.
Speaker: If anyone does this, please email me at swakuhopodcast at gmail.com and let me know how it goes.
Speaker: Related to that, as I look to scale up the podcast, on the horizon, I hope to be able to provide reflection guides and worksheets to help direct members to take action with their own professional development.
Speaker: Today we kick off the next block of episodes by talking to another Swakuho past president, Adonis Thompson.
Speaker: We first cover Adonis' time as a mid-level housing professional and his move from residence life to operations.
Speaker: We then shift to Adonis' Swakuho involvement that eventually led him to the president role.
Speaker: Adonis was the first black man to serve as president of Swakuho, so we spend some time talking about the challenges and obstacles for advancing leadership as a person of color.
Speaker: We then close out the episode by talking to Adonis about his transition to the private sector.
Speaker: Adonis is originally from Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
Speaker: He started off working in TV production and in the entertainment industry before finding his passion in student affairs.
Speaker: While working in the field, he held positions as a hall director, complex director, assistant and associate director of housing.
Speaker: Adonis was very active with housing organizations like Swakuho, Siho, and Akuhoai while working to help others see the value in them.
Speaker: In 2019, Adonis began working for Star Res, which allows him a good excuse to still attend the Swakuho conference.
Speaker: Often teased about looking young, he always laughed how students would confuse him as one of them on casual Fridays.
Speaker: Adonis, welcome to the show.
Speaker: Glad to be here.
Speaker: Glad to be here, man.
Speaker: It's always good to talk to my fellow Swakuho family.
Speaker: Good.
Speaker: Well, first things first, Adonis, your bio talked about you on a casual Friday.
Speaker: I'm curious what casual Friday looks like to you because I don't think I've ever seen you in anything less than a tie and a really chic vest.
Speaker: The funny part is like, I am definitely a jeans and t-shirt guy and now working remote, I'm breaking down to sweats and t-shirts, but uh,
Speaker: Definitely casual Fridays.
Speaker: I would look forward to being able to go back to the jeans, the T-shirts in the wintertime, throw on a hoodie, you know.
Speaker: And so it was very funny that I would walk down the hall and get questions from students that were like, hey, where's this?
Speaker: Where's that stuff that they would normally ask another student?
Speaker: Or they would say stuff to me that should have only been said to a student.
Speaker: I'm like, hey, you do know you.
Speaker: And they're, oh, man, I didn't even know it was you.
Speaker: So, yeah, it cracks me up when I'm not in the usual suit and tie.
Speaker: I miss it, though.
Speaker: I miss that.
Speaker: Did you ever use getting confused as a student to your advantage?
Speaker: It actually, that's probably the biggest time it played a role in my job was actually when I was a hall director.
Speaker: Because by the last year, me being a hall director, I started dressing up more, you know, dress for the job you want, not the one you have.
Speaker: And it was crazy because I remember I saw some students sneaking into my building.
Speaker: And these girls let me in like I was a student.
Speaker: So because I was just leaving the gym.
Speaker: So I go back up to my office.
Speaker: I give a little notepad and come right back to the room and I knock on the door.
Speaker: And I was like, look, I already know you in there because you let me into the building.
Speaker: The guy you can hear the guy say, did you really let me in?
Speaker: And so that's the one time it definitely played a part in the job.
Speaker: And it worked out because it made it so much easier to deal with.
Speaker: I love those stories.
Speaker: When I was an RA, and this would have been somebody on Tanya's staff who was telling me a story about they were walking down a hall, and it was like the first week, and it was one of those high-conduct, high-party buildings.
Speaker: And they ran into a couple students, and the students were walking down.
Speaker: He's like, what are you doing?
Speaker: They're like, oh, wait, are you the RA?
Speaker: The RA pointed to the person behind him walking down the hall, and he's like, who was an RA too, and said –
Speaker: I think that person's an RA.
Speaker: And they're like, oh, okay, well, then we're going to a party in our room.
Speaker: And so they invited him into the room and then he's like, okay, well, I'm also an RA.
Speaker: Got to be more careful.
Speaker: Definitely.
Speaker: So, Adonis, you worked on the operations side of the house at Arkansas State University.
Speaker: Every operations guest I've had on the show originally made their bones in residence life.
Speaker: I actually did start off, you know, working in the residence life field.
Speaker: You know, I did get to be an RA and always wondered what it would have been like if I was.
Speaker: But, you know, I jumped into it.
Speaker: And the funny thing is when I got into student affairs, and I even say this when I talk to customers now, you know, my new job is that I'm definitely one of those that fell under the adage of you don't choose res life, res life chooses you.
Speaker: Because I got into the field wanting to be a Greek life coordinator.
Speaker: And I ended up just getting the opportunity to be a hall director.
Speaker: And it was crazy because when I stepped in, it was like, oh, here's an opportunity to help mentor students and help do these type of things.
Speaker: But
Speaker: You know, of course, it comes with, as we like to say, the touchy-feely part and the programming and the free pizzas that programs and all that stuff.
Speaker: And I actually cut my teeth with that part.
Speaker: But when I stepped into operations, it was because, you know, I was moving up in my career and I knew I wanted to be a more well-rounded professional.
Speaker: And that was the part that I didn't have was the, you know, the operation side.
Speaker: So I felt like in order to make myself more attractive moving forward, you know, go out and get this other experience and learn what the other side of the house is doing.
Speaker: And that's what got me in there.
Speaker: And I really enjoyed it.
Speaker: But I think the weird thing about it is that I wanted to bring the people side of res life into operations because a lot of people look at operations as it's money, it's heads and beds, and we're done.
Speaker: And I wanted to bring that customer service aspect that, hey, we really do care about you and we want you to have the best experience into that operations world.
Speaker: So it w as a great blend of those two worlds.
Speaker: And
Speaker: But Res Life was fun.
Speaker: You definitely don't get as many pizza parties and operations as you do with Res Life.
Speaker: Yeah, on episode four, when we were talking about preventative maintenance, that was a routine theme.
Speaker: It's like, how do you bring more of the res life over into that about the student-centered focus where it's like, you know, beds and heads or maintenance or, you know, those sorts of things.
Speaker: So do you feel like you were successful in doing that?
Speaker: Yeah, I think that was one of the things that if I could say I could hang my hat on something during my time in student affairs and res life, it was being able to do that, to have a good relationship with students.
Speaker: And it was weird because I think my...
Speaker: to where almost to the point that my student athletes didn't even want to go to their RAs or their hall directors.
Speaker: They would come straight to me.
Speaker: They would come to the office and just ask the front desk, hey, is Mr. Thompson here?
Speaker: I need to go talk to him.
Speaker: And I'm like, hey, you know, you got an RA over and you're building for that.
Speaker: But it was building that relationship.
Speaker: And also, you know, the times when parents would call and they're upset and they're cussing people out, this, that, and the third.
Speaker: And I'll never forget, I got a call once.
Speaker: And one of my student workers comes in.
Speaker: They're like, hey, you know, this parent's on the phone.
Speaker: They're mad.
Speaker: They've been cussing us out.
Speaker: And the first thing I said was, look, one, you all don't get paid for that.
Speaker: That's my job to deal with those type of parents.
Speaker: So go ahead and send a call back to me.
Speaker: So they send a call back.
Speaker: And I had this window in my office.
Speaker: Well, that was on the door of my office.
Speaker: And I could see my student workers looking through it because they're like, oh, man, this is going to be good.
Speaker: He's going to really get out because, you know, I don't really smile as much as most people think.
Speaker: And I got this deep voice that makes people think I'm just so mean.
Speaker: But the next thing you know, I'm in the office cracking up laughing with this parent.
Speaker: So when the phone call ends, my student workers just burst into the office and they're like,
Speaker: What the heck was going on?
Speaker: They were just yelling at us.
Speaker: And I was like, you know, they just wanted to be heard.
Speaker: And that's the opportunity I gave them.
Speaker: I want to hear what your problem is.
Speaker: I want to know what's going on.
Speaker: And now I'm going to give you options.
Speaker: And if I give you a no, I want it to be the best no that you've ever received, that you understand why you got that no and you understand the options that we have to give you outside of that.
Speaker: And that was something that I stress.
Speaker: with my team.
Speaker: And then we wanted to make it departmental that these are the ways that we want to see this business.
Speaker: And we want to make sure that everybody knows that when they leave, they had the best feeling and the best opportunity to be served when they came to us.
Speaker: I couldn't agree more.
Speaker: And I think I picked it up in operations also where that feeling of wanting to be heard.
Speaker: But so often we want to just keep interjecting to defend or this is the reason at all.
Speaker: Like I have found so much value and just as painful as is sometimes it's just let them go.
Speaker: Like let them go and listen and they're mad and –
Speaker: it kind of takes the wind out of their sails in a sense of like, okay, now that you've gotten that out, let's talk about options.
Speaker: What can we do?
Speaker: And it's so helpful.
Speaker: It's crazy because a big thing that I wanted to stress was also getting people to understand, like, get me as much information as possible and whatever you can bring to me.
Speaker: By the time I got on the phone with that parent or I had that student in the office, when they came in,
Speaker: I was already on, hey, I heard that you were having an issue with this.
Speaker: This is what I've done, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker: And I already started working on it.
Speaker: So by the time that they got to talking to me, they were in a kind of a state of shock because they were like, oh, you've already started handling this.
Speaker: And like I said, it took the wind out the sails and they're not as angry because it's like,
Speaker: I want you to see that your issue is important to me and I've already started working on it.
Speaker: And here's what we can do now.
Speaker: What else can we do?
Speaker: What else?
Speaker: What new information can you provide me that can help push this across the finish line?
Speaker: And I think just giving that, you know, showing up front that it's important and not just like, I say what you need to say so I can move on to the next problem.
Speaker: But showing that it's important, actually putting in some work beforehand really went a long way with the people that I dealt with.
Speaker: Oh, definitely.
Speaker: And when you say things like, I'm sorry it took me a little bit to get back from you, even though it's only been half an hour, but I just got off the phone with maintenance or is making calls to maintenance to see what we were going.
Speaker: I didn't get an answer, but I'm on it.
Speaker: It just helps so much, that little pre-planning or pre-work you do.
Speaker: Indeed, indeed.
Speaker: So as operations looks differently at every school, what were your primary areas of responsibility?
Speaker: For me, it was overseeing assignments, contracts, what we call specialized housing, which would be our international students, athletics, our LLCs, Greek life and things like that.
Speaker: Also did a lot of kind of training.
Speaker: Being the person after our director, if he wasn't there, it was like, OK, your job is to step up and be in that role.
Speaker: And also being a gatekeeper to make sure that he didn't have to deal with some of the issues that a director normally would have to deal with just because of the fact of you're busy.
Speaker: We're in a time of change.
Speaker: Let me take some of that off of your plate.
Speaker: I also did a lot with overseeing IT for our res life because we were lucky enough to be a department that had a dedicated IT person.
Speaker: And so, you know, which was definitely great because they dealt with all of our computer software.
Speaker: They dealt with all our housing software.
Speaker: So things that I was like, look, I really don't have time for that right now.
Speaker: She was already on a killing.
Speaker: And, you know, and that was a great thing.
Speaker: And, you know, so overseeing those areas was really big.
Speaker: And then also just kind of doing a lot of recruitment assessments.
Speaker: Housing was out there in the forefront doing a lot of that and setting up what we needed to do to make sure that students saw, hey, I need to be on campus.
Speaker: And then also retaining those students to say, I need to be on campus my next year, the year after that.
Speaker: That was a big part of what we dealt with for our operations.
Speaker: So what skills from your Res Life days set you up for success in operations?
Speaker: More than just like the abstract being student centered, but tangible skills.
Speaker: I think a lot of it, you know, the weird thing is, you know, dealing with a lot of the student conduct cases and things that I had to deal with really helped out because that took away the whole, I don't want to deal with conflict and I don't want to deal with having to have a person upset with me.
Speaker: Because a lot of times when you talk to a parent, it was because they were upset about something.
Speaker: And so being able to have those conversations and then bring that over and say, OK, only thing that's different is you're still having these difficult conversations.
Speaker: It just stepped up to the next level because you're not dealing with just a student.
Speaker: You're dealing with the parent and you're dealing with it on a money level because they're like, hey, I'm paying all this money to the school and
Speaker: to your housing department, I should be getting these services and this and that.
Speaker: And being able to bring that into it to say, okay, how did you work through those issues with a student that may not be able to come back after this issue that they caused?
Speaker: And so bringing some of that in was really key.
Speaker: I think another thing is that I was lucky enough that when I was a hall director and being in res life, they treated us like semi-professionals.
Speaker: And so a lot of the stuff that we were doing were things that you would normally see professional staff doing.
Speaker: So I think that those skills were developed a lot sooner.
Speaker: So it wasn't as much of a shell shock when I started getting into the operation side of things like, oh, here's all these other things.
Speaker: But I think also having the res life side, I could see this is what res life work does.
Speaker: And this is how it affects operation.
Speaker: And so now that I'm in operations, I can tell them what I really need because I've been on that side of the tracks and can say, hey,
Speaker: I understand what you're going through and I can relate to it because I've been in those shoes.
Speaker: This is what I need for you to do in order for it to help my job out.
Speaker: And this is what I can do for you to help your job out.
Speaker: I love the mutual giving and taking.
Speaker: It's all an exchange.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: And I think it gets overlooked a lot, especially if you haven't been on one side of those tracks that you think, well, my world is more important because without us, you can't even do anything.
Speaker: And then it's like, well, without us, you all don't have the funding to do anything.
Speaker: But it's like, if neither one of you are there, neither one of you have a job.
Speaker: So, you know, it's making it important that you see both sides of it and make sure that you have that mutual respect for each other.
Speaker: Well, and it's so easy to assume other people's priorities when you're not on that side of the house.
Speaker: Why is this taking so long?
Speaker: This is the easiest thing, right?
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: And I think that was the thing is that a lot of times that hall directors would think that, oh, well, we should be able to get this and that, like this and that.
Speaker: But it's like, no, because actually it's a lot of other steps that you don't even have to deal with.
Speaker: before we can even get you that.
Speaker: And that's the thing is I think a lot of times we're blinded to the fact that we don't get to see everything that goes on in somebody else's position and you don't get that appreciation for it.
Speaker: And that was one thing that we also kind of brought into the department is that when our hall directors went through their training, it wasn't just to say, okay, we're going to train you how to do just your job.
Speaker: A big part of it was that I wanted to bring in that you need to see all of the people that you work with or that you
Speaker: your work affects.
Speaker: So now that you know what they do and the importance of what they do and how it affects your job, you now have that appreciation for it.
Speaker: So that was something, you know, the last few years of me being in the field was that every time I had to deal with training, that was a big thing is that you need to meet everybody that your job touches so that you can understand why you need to do what you do and how important it is to not only yourself and your students, but also to other people involved in the process.
Speaker: Well, so many people we talk about got to know the why, got to know the why.
Speaker: And sometimes I think like people, when they hear the why, maybe they just don't appreciate it as much.
Speaker: So maybe that's on the person communicating the why or maybe on the recipient.
Speaker: I don't know, but there's always that why.
Speaker: And it could go downstream so far, but still not be totally taken.
Speaker: The whys are important.
Speaker: And I think it's also not just knowing your why it's living by your why.
Speaker: You know, and that's the thing is a lot of times I think this was a big thing that I noticed while working in the field is that we do get caught up in catchphrases and things like this is the hot phrase of the moment.
Speaker: So we're running with it.
Speaker: But it's like understand and live by that.
Speaker: You know, it's almost like your why should be a principle that you live by.
Speaker: Is that, you know, this is why I'm doing this job.
Speaker: Here's examples of why this is important to me.
Speaker: And here's examples of me actually putting into action my why.
Speaker: You know, this is why it's important.
Speaker: And now I'm going to show you through my actions of why it's important to me and why I do what I do.
Speaker: Yeah, I could tell the catchphrase of the year every time when I used to go to TPE every year.
Speaker: Oh, yes.
Speaker: I was an entry-level candidate, was always talking about.
Speaker: It's in every interview.
Speaker: One year, it was like self-authorship.
Speaker: It is in every interview.
Speaker: And my thing was every time I would get that catchphrase, because we would go in and we'd have that list, okay, here's what we're going to get.
Speaker: Or it's like, okay, after the first couple of interviews, what was the word that's always been said?
Speaker: So whenever somebody dropped that catchphrase, I would instantly say, OK, well, give me an example of that.
Speaker: Yeah, because it's like I don't want just your rehearsed answer.
Speaker: I need you to give me who you really are in this interview, because who you are is what the students are going to see, because you're only going to be able to live up to that interview persona for so long.
Speaker: I need to know the real you in this interview, because the real you is who I'm going to end up hiring and putting out there in front of my students.
Speaker: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker: So earlier you talked about you didn't experience the shell shock because you had a little bit more of that earlier on.
Speaker: Was there anything that was a big culture shock moment when you settled into operations from ResLife?
Speaker: The fact of having to finally sit down and accept that I could not
Speaker: win every battle that I wanted to win.
Speaker: That I felt like, yo, I got this game plan.
Speaker: I'm going in here.
Speaker: It is to the T. Let's make it happen.
Speaker: And when it didn't happen.
Speaker: And, you know, and that was one of the things that, you know, it hurt because it was like, okay, I put in all this work to make this happen.
Speaker: Why are you still not moving forward with it?
Speaker: And I think having to learn that everything comes with a season.
Speaker: And also, I was lucky enough, you know, God rest his soul to my old director, Patrick Dixon.
Speaker: He was awesome because if he told me no, if it was on me, he explained to me what I was lacking to get it there.
Speaker: If it was something that was departmental, he explained to me, this is why I can't do it at this moment.
Speaker: And yes, it may seem like we can do it right now, but this is why we can't do it.
Speaker: And that's when I really learned that it's not just picking and choosing your battles.
Speaker: It's sometimes saying, do I really want to go and waste my, you know, waste my ammunition on a spat when I know I'm going to have a bigger, much stronger battle to fight later.
Speaker: And so at times I would say, okay, if I can't get A and B,
Speaker: I'm a hold off because C is a lot more important.
Speaker: then and then I'm gonna go up to back because that's the hill I'm willing to die on and say okay I'm down for this those other two I wanted it I couldn't get it but I'm not gonna let you not let me get this one and that's when those were some of those lessons to learn but it was definitely having to understand it even sometimes when you got the best well-planned game plan out there there's still gonna be times that you're told no and you just got to be able to accept
Speaker: Well, and even if you sacrifice A and B now to get C, doesn't mean A and B are off the table forever.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: And sometimes you have to know when to go back and say, okay, hey, so remember that one time I brought up so-and-so?
Speaker: Here's an even better opportunity to do it now.
Speaker: And my boss knew I was going to come.
Speaker: And there were some things that I would – we created a program that we brought in that was an international program.
Speaker: And I really was strongly pushing forward in the first.
Speaker: year it got shot down and I was like, you know, we're going to go out there.
Speaker: It was called global engagement.
Speaker: And I had a staff member that we brought in that was going to help out with it.
Speaker: And she helped push it to the next level.
Speaker: And I was like, yo, we're ready for it.
Speaker: Let's do it.
Speaker: And he finally said, you know what?
Speaker: I think this is the time.
Speaker: Go ahead.
Speaker: I'll give you this amount of space to make it happen.
Speaker: And let's see what happens from there.
Speaker: And we ended up making that program expand to the point that we were having to turn down students
Speaker: because we didn't have the space anymore.
Speaker: And I was like, hey, what went from shot down came to now being a part to where it's like, oh, OK, so how do I slow this down a little bit?
Speaker: Yeah, you've got to scale up a little slower.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: Was there ever a time where you had been told no once, twice and multiple times and your boss ever told you, don't ever ask me about that again?
Speaker: Yeah, one time when I wanted to rearrange a building, I was like, yo, man, we're not using this for what you think we're using it for.
Speaker: Let's just go ahead and swap it out.
Speaker: Let's do this.
Speaker: Let's do that.
Speaker: And he was just like, no, we can't do that.
Speaker: You're not going to be able to do that.
Speaker: We don't have the money for that right now.
Speaker: And then luckily, you know, some other things came into play, which, you know, again, it was good that he shot it down because it would have actually put us in a big hole.
Speaker: But, you know, it was one of those things of just throwing it out there.
Speaker: And sometimes it's like fishing.
Speaker: Sometimes you just got to cast a rod to see what you can catch or see how many bumps you get.
Speaker: Because then, you know, OK, at least I know I can hit this spot and I'll come back to it later.
Speaker: But, you know, there were there were some times that he definitely would tell me no.
Speaker: And then there were sometimes he'd tell me no.
Speaker: And I knew, yeah, this is a one time battle.
Speaker: I'm going to ask.
Speaker: He says no.
Speaker: I'm just going to move on and go to the next thing for something bigger after that.
Speaker: I just think it's so fascinating thinking about like the capital exchanges in departments and watching.
Speaker: And I'll tell you what, I learned more about departmental or political capital or whatever you call it, just from the times I've lost than the times I've won.
Speaker: It really makes you reflect on like, what didn't I have in this moment that I could have maybe had, or what can I do to get there?
Speaker: It's just so fascinating.
Speaker: And I think what you said there was key is not the fact of losing.
Speaker: It's the fact of what did you learn from it?
Speaker: And that is the key part is that no matter every experience that you go through in life, be it positive or negative, there is something to learn from it.
Speaker: And you just have to be willing to be open minded enough and say, OK, what else can I get from this situation?
Speaker: Because there has been a lot of times that I've been told, no, through many jobs, through, you know, just life, period.
Speaker: from this to teach other people moving forward.
Speaker: And would you try to teach people that moving forward?
Speaker: Sometimes it's so abstract.
Speaker: Like, did they get it?
Speaker: Or did it's like, oh, I kind of got it.
Speaker: It's one of those things is almost that you have to let them learn from experience as well.
Speaker: And those are some of the things that I used to tell hall directors, like, look, my job is not just to tell you what to do, it's to get you ready for the next step.
Speaker: And then when I started, you know, dealing with professional staff, it was still the same way.
Speaker: It's not just to tell you what you're doing, it's to get you prepared for that next step.
Speaker: And here's some of the things that I've learned along the way, you take from it what you will.
Speaker: You know, I'm just throwing this out there.
Speaker: And I would also tell them that,
Speaker: There are going to be some things I'm going to let you learn on your own.
Speaker: You're just going to have to bump your head.
Speaker: But if I know you're going to make a monumental jump off the cliff moment, yes, I'm going to snatch you back and say, don't do that because I know exactly what's going to happen after this.
Speaker: But, you know, there's other things you just have to let people learn and you've given them the tools.
Speaker: Now, what they build with it, you know, that's a whole nother story.
Speaker: I'm going to let you fail, but not that bad.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I'm going to let you fail enough that, you know, you may have to put some pieces back together, but we're not going to totally destroy the whole story.
Speaker: I think that's great.
Speaker: There's a note for all supervisors out there.
Speaker: Let them fail a little.
Speaker: So Adonis, tell us about a small niche skill you developed that had a big long-term impact on your career success.
Speaker: I would honestly say learning to listen a lot more.
Speaker: I think that going into it, when people say, oh, I'm a good listener and this and that, but
Speaker: It's one of those things of being able to listen and not have to give an opinion afterwards, just to be able to say, okay, go for it.
Speaker: And like, kind of like we were talking about earlier, sometimes dealing with parents of not sitting there, just waiting for them to finish their sentence.
Speaker: So you can hurry up and drop your part in there.
Speaker: It's like, sometimes it's like, all right, I'm just going to sit here and listen.
Speaker: Now, if you need my opinion or want it, okay, I'll drop it from that point.
Speaker: But, you know, I think that was a big thing of picking up, but also, you know,
Speaker: I think organization skills of I really started changing up how I started planning out things and how I wanted to approach work in different tasks.
Speaker: And operations really helped me do that because in Red's life, I could kind of be more free will and just, hey, I'm waking up this morning.
Speaker: It's Red's life.
Speaker: Let's do what we do, baby.
Speaker: With operations, it was like, no, you got goals and you got to beat them.
Speaker: And so you need to plan it.
Speaker: But another big one I would definitely say would be backwards planning.
Speaker: Because, you know, a lot of times we plan to say, OK, here's where we are today and now let's plan it out moving forward.
Speaker: And actually, one of the best skills that I picked up was how here's our end goal.
Speaker: What are all the steps that need to happen leading up to that?
Speaker: And we would start from the end and work backwards.
Speaker: And that was something that became really huge.
Speaker: And I love doing that because when it was that time of the year, pretty much we were setting up our operations calendar is like, OK, here's graduation.
Speaker: Now what's everything that needs to happen leading up to that?
Speaker: And let's get those dates set up.
Speaker: And then we can adjust from that when we start doing it forward.
Speaker: And I think that was one that's definitely a niche thing because I have not come across many people that do backwards planning.
Speaker: Which is so crazy because it's like so obvious.
Speaker: Like we're seasonal.
Speaker: Like we, whatever move out day is like, we can start backing up as like, okay, ads go up with like advertisements go out two weeks prior extension requests go out at this time.
Speaker: It's like,
Speaker: But we'd never do.
Speaker: Never do it.
Speaker: And it's weird because I'll start doing it in daily things in life that I'm just like, okay, I need a plan for this.
Speaker: So this is when it's happening.
Speaker: This is when this needs.
Speaker: And other folks are like, what are you doing?
Speaker: I'm like, don't worry about it, bro.
Speaker: Just trust me, this plan is going to be in effect.
Speaker: We're going to be ready to roll when it's time to do it.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And the more minutiae you can get into it, the more effective it is.
Speaker: But then people start to feel like, why are you micromanaging when I'm supposed to send an email out?
Speaker: It's like, because it happened, we never do.
Speaker: And then we think about it last minute and then it feels like chaos.
Speaker: And you're like, you don't, you don't have a predictable schedule.
Speaker: And the weird thing is that anybody that works in student affairs, especially housing, predictability should never be a word your vocabulary.
Speaker: Because every day, I mean, there's days that I come in and I'm like, I learned to appreciate the love moments.
Speaker: That when it got slow, I learned to love those moments.
Speaker: Because when chaos hit, oh, it hit.
Speaker: And it was like days of, you know, not going home until the, you know, late, late, late, you know, hours of the night.
Speaker: Or waking up super early to go get planned for something.
Speaker: Standing outside and
Speaker: in the heat.
Speaker: I'm not even a traffic guy, but I'm directing traffic on how to get cars where they need to be for moving and stuff like that.
Speaker: Next thing you know, I'm thinking everything's great with my halls and blah, blah, blah.
Speaker: Next thing you know, I got students that are busting windows out and doing all sorts of crazy stuff.
Speaker: You learn to expect the unexpected.
Speaker: Nothing should be as predictable other than, hey, this is when we're sending out assignments.
Speaker: This is when the
Speaker: portals opening.
Speaker: This is what I need people to say.
Speaker: You know, those are predictable things, but the majority of that world is just, Hey, wake up and let's see what happens today.
Speaker: I'd love that.
Speaker: Like the one consistent thing in our lives is Adonis's operations calendar.
Speaker: There you go.
Speaker: We know this is going to be what we're running with and we will make changes as needed, but you can at least expect these things to happen.
Speaker: Everything else that happens, we're just going to do it.
Speaker: I mean, you know, everybody knows me knows I love the wire.
Speaker: And one of the things that was a quote from that show that I took into the job was that just keep it born.
Speaker: If you keep my job born, then we doing a great job.
Speaker: And I used to always tell my staff, even when I would leave, I would be, you know, most people say, hey, see you later.
Speaker: Goodbye.
Speaker: I would see hall directors after training, after I do my session with them.
Speaker: And the last thing I would say is, hey, keep it born.
Speaker: As long as it's born, we good.
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: That is so great.
Speaker: I think one of my other favorite quotes from so far is, quote, let's do what we do, baby.
Speaker: I think we need to make conference ribbons for that.
Speaker: Make it do what it do, baby.
Speaker: I mean, and that's the fun part is that I think about young professionals in this field and I'm like, there is no other job that you're going to have that you're going to, that you have the opportunity to have this much fun with.
Speaker: Like when you are a hall director or an RA, you
Speaker: with your job day in and day out.
Speaker: Now, yes, there are going to be some days that it is not fun.
Speaker: Key inventories, never going to be fun.
Speaker: Not going to lie to you and say they're going to be fun.
Speaker: But there are times that where you get paid to go out and throw a program for students, to have parties with food there, with music there, and bring in guests and this, that, and the third.
Speaker: And you get to have these moments
Speaker: that other people don't get to have.
Speaker: And that was one thing that kind of scared me as I moved up in the field was that they always said, well, as you move up, you lose contact with the students.
Speaker: And that was one thing for me that I did not want to happen is that I said, no matter how I move on this chain, I'm still going to have that connection with students because without them, there is no position that I'm in.
Speaker: And so, you know, enjoy it, especially when you get to be at the ground level and get to work with those students on a daily basis and get to see them and get to know them.
Speaker: Because, you know, I look back on my time as a hall director and as a complex director and even in my AD positions.
Speaker: The fact that I picked up fraternity brothers, friends, people whose weddings I've been in, people who that I still talk to to this day, that I get to mentor to this day.
Speaker: That's an amazing opportunity that you do not get with every job.
Speaker: And it's something that I think that.
Speaker: If you don't really look at what your job can be and the fun that you can have and the impact that you can have in res life, you really get it.
Speaker: You really miss out on a great opportunity to just enjoy work, because honestly, I enjoyed work as a hall director.
Speaker: It was like, yeah, I got some stuff that's tough.
Speaker: But I enjoy the work that I get to do.
Speaker: And I'm not as taxed about it as, you know, as you get when you get into some of your later fields.
Speaker: It's like, enjoy it now because it's great at that moment.
Speaker: Just make it do what it do.
Speaker: Have fun.
Speaker: First of all, I love key audits.
Speaker: It's like I just didn't order 2,000 keys.
Speaker: I just accomplished 2,000 tasks.
Speaker: Productive.
Speaker: There you go.
Speaker: My thing is whenever we lost, it would be that one key that gets lost and everybody's freaking out about it.
Speaker: And I'm like, look, bro, you just got to go tell them they got to pay for the key.
Speaker: Somebody's got to pay for this key.
Speaker: Let's get it over with and let's just move on.
Speaker: I did have one summer where somebody did lose.
Speaker: Over 300 keys.
Speaker: And I was like, yeah, we're going to have to have a long, long conversation about this.
Speaker: Boy, 300 keys.
Speaker: I mean, sometimes at some point it's like if we're charging 75 bucks or whatever for a lost key, it's like the amount of time we spend talking and sending staff resources out.
Speaker: It's like staff salaries alone, like tripled that cost already.
Speaker: It's like, just do it and let's move on.
Speaker: Let's get it over with and let's move on.
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker: So looking back at your career so far, what's an opportunity you said yes to that afterwards you wished you would have said no to?
Speaker: I would probably say some of the committee work that I got into.
Speaker: And the reason why is not that it was bad.
Speaker: It was just I started spreading myself too thin.
Speaker: I was doing a ton of stuff on campus.
Speaker: I was just all over the place.
Speaker: And I remember one time I got asked to join this committee and I'm like, all right, great.
Speaker: Boom, let's do it.
Speaker: but I knew what else was already in my hands and things worked out and it still ended up being a good experience.
Speaker: But at the end of the day, I was so beat and just tired.
Speaker: And I was like,
Speaker: of things to do when I really did not have the time to do it.
Speaker: And that was one of the first, I mean, I'd heard this before, but you know, don't spread yourself too thin, make time for you, this, that, and the third.
Speaker: That was the time that it finally said, yes, you need to chill out because you're doing too much and you need to just at some point pass it along and say somebody else can take care of this.
Speaker: And that was one of those times that I wished I would have just stepped back
Speaker: And said no.
Speaker: And here's a great recommendation for the next person that can take over in that position.
Speaker: But I took it on.
Speaker: But the next year I was already planning, hey, this is something that somebody else can do.
Speaker: I'm gonna let them have that.
Speaker: What about a missed opportunity?
Speaker: Anything you wished you would have said yes to that you had passed on?
Speaker: I would say it's weird because I'm one of those people that I tend to say that you just live with.
Speaker: You know, I don't have regrets.
Speaker: And if you have any, you just learn to live with them.
Speaker: I think sometimes I think about, you know, offers that may have been made that I didn't shoot, that I didn't take, because sometimes I wonder what
Speaker: what would have happened if I would have taken that.
Speaker: But then again, I'm also a person that does not like to live life with what ifs and everything happens for a reason.
Speaker: So it's kind of like, you know, it is what it is.
Speaker: You know, I feel like I've made the moves that I needed to make in my career and in the field, but I really don't see many things that I was like, man, I wish I would have went back and did
Speaker: Now, there's probably some things that I wish that I could have done for students.
Speaker: Like, you know, if I could have had that one last conversation with a student before they moved off, there are some of those because especially with students that I saw that were troubled.
Speaker: But it's one of those things that also I look back at everything that I did do.
Speaker: And how much more could I kept pouring in before that student would have got the point?
Speaker: And some things it's just like, hey, you're either going to do it or you're not.
Speaker: And I think those are some times that I wish that I could have had that one last conversation
Speaker: or they decided to quit school and this and that.
Speaker: Because, you know, when you get in the field, especially on the res life side, it's that I can save everybody.
Speaker: And you have to understand, no, you can't.
Speaker: And, you know, that's one of those things that being able to accept that I couldn't save everybody and that not everybody was meant to be at a college setting or this may not be their time and season forward.
Speaker: You know, being able to understand and accept those things in the career path was probably the things that I wish I could have done again.
Speaker: I love thinking about the road not taken like you were talking about, but also, again, not from a sense of regret, but just like perspective thinking exercise of like, what if?
Speaker: I think it's healthy to do that as long as you do it in a healthy way.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker: I mean, and that's why, and that's, I think, the big thing of why I choose to not live life with regrets, you know, because once you do that, it sticks with you and it just festers.
Speaker: And it's just like, man, I should have did this.
Speaker: And then I could have did this and I could like,
Speaker: You did what you did.
Speaker: Now be happy with where you are, because if you would not have done it, you may not be in the space places that you are.
Speaker: You may not have made the connections that you made and met the people, you know, and been able to do all of these different things.
Speaker: So, you know, everything happens.
Speaker: And one thing one of my mentors told me was that, you know, you need to ride the wave sometimes and, you know, do what you're going to do.
Speaker: And if you're meant to be back in these certain positions and places, you're going to get pulled back to them regardless.
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker: The grass ain't always greener on the other side.
Speaker: No, it is not.
Speaker: So earlier we talked about learning a lot from failures or mistakes.
Speaker: Do you have a favorite failure in your career?
Speaker: Something you learned a lot from that later set you up for success?
Speaker: Honestly, I think about the it wasn't really a failure, but it was it was a no.
Speaker: But I remember applying for a job prior to coming into the hall director job and I didn't get it.
Speaker: And what it did was it made me hungry.
Speaker: It made me say, okay, go back to the drawing board and see what you could have done better and how you could have approached it differently and the things that I can do to work on myself.
Speaker: And that hunger made me get this mentality that all I need is to get my foot in the door.
Speaker: And if I get my foot in the door, I'm kicking it in.
Speaker: And that's been my mentality about a lot of things in life is that just if I get my foot in the door, I'm going to kick it in.
Speaker: And it also made me understand that
Speaker: it's okay to be told no, because one, that may not be the opportunity for you.
Speaker: And two, it gives you a chance to evaluate self and to say, hey, what do I need to do?
Speaker: And what can I bring to the table to make myself better?
Speaker: And I think that was one of the biggest things that, because I really felt like, yo, I'm coming into this and I'm ready and I get this and blah, blah, blah.
Speaker: And when I got that note, and the crazy thing about it is I actually got the note from an advisor of mine.
Speaker: I was like, what?
Speaker: Oh, dear.
Speaker: But it was great to get it because now that I look back, I'm like, bro, if you would have never told me no, I would have never made these other moves in life.
Speaker: And I'm glad.
Speaker: And I even thank him for it.
Speaker: I'll never forget one of the last times I saw him.
Speaker: I actually thanked him for it.
Speaker: I was like, you don't understand what you did for me by telling me no back then and letting me know that this isn't your time.
Speaker: And I was like, all right, cool.
Speaker: And that's why I try to tell, you know, also young professionals, I try to tell them that is that,
Speaker: The no is not the end of that's just starting things.
Speaker: You know what I'm saying?
Speaker: You know, it's it's not like a race, you know, on a track to where if you jump the gun, you're automatically disqualified.
Speaker: You actually get a chance to reset and get yourself back in line and do it again and do what you need to do.
Speaker: And so sometimes take those no's.
Speaker: And like you said earlier, it's a learning lesson.
Speaker: What do you learn from it?
Speaker: And then let's go out there and let's make it happen and let's do what we can do to be better.
Speaker: And that's been a big thing.
Speaker: And it's carried from that first time to even now in my career, I'm still the same way.
Speaker: So between Res Life and operations, you've probably sat in a ton of meetings.
Speaker: What's the most ridiculous meeting you ever sat in?
Speaker: It's funny because it's always been a joke and you hear people talk about it, but I actually did sit in a meeting that was to plan another meeting.
Speaker: And I was like, this is, this is dumb.
Speaker: And the whole, and again, I don't have the super smiley face and I got the deep voice and I just kind of was sitting there and I had this look at one person in the meeting that knows me well.
Speaker: And they looked at me and they kind of snuck their phone under the table and text me, clear your face up.
Speaker: Because the whole time I was sitting in there like, are we literally talking about
Speaker: what we're going to talk about in this next meeting.
Speaker: And we couldn't email this as, hey, here's the agenda and a synopsis.
Speaker: Let's get this prepared.
Speaker: We and it was it was not a short meeting.
Speaker: It was literally like an hour long meeting.
Speaker: And, you know, one of those worst meetings is that Friday meeting at the end of the day.
Speaker: So I've waited all day to get to this meeting to find out the only thing we're talking about is what we're going to talk about in the next meeting.
Speaker: And I was like, yeah, we're not doing this one again.
Speaker: What was the topic of the meeting you were planning to have?
Speaker: It was actually something to get planned on to get ready for what we were going to do for hall directors.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: And I was just like, literally, this is, and that's the thing.
Speaker: It wasn't even a groundbreaking topic.
Speaker: And I was like, you know, if this is going to be some real deal, like, you know, this is some fiscal support type thing or we about to shut down a hall and we got to figure out how we're going to tell students because we kicking them out tomorrow.
Speaker: Yes, let's have that meeting.
Speaker: But when it was like something that I could have literally said, hey, just email this out.
Speaker: We can all agree about this in an email or you honestly, I wouldn't even been mad if you would text me this.
Speaker: And we could have took it from there.
Speaker: But they were like, no, we're going to come in.
Speaker: We're going to all get together and have this meeting about this.
Speaker: And the crazy part is I really felt bad for the people that didn't have to be at the meeting.
Speaker: Because I was like, yeah, we literally just got you sitting in here because there's nothing you really going to say about it.
Speaker: And so it is stuff like that.
Speaker: It's those times that you got to learn what's worth an email, what's worth the text message, what's worth just, hey, let me pull you to the side and tell you this.
Speaker: And then moving on over.
Speaker: Let's have this full because there was no agenda at first.
Speaker: We made the agenda to make the agenda about the agenda.
Speaker: And I was like, yeah, we're not doing this again.
Speaker: And you wonder why sometimes we feel like we never get anything done in this field.
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker: Because we spend time meeting about meeting.
Speaker: So earlier you talked about mentoring.
Speaker: What is a piece of advice commonly given that you would tell a new professional to ignore?
Speaker: You're probably going to have me getting ruffled feathers on this one.
Speaker: But you know me.
Speaker: I speak from the heart and I try to shoot it straight.
Speaker: I would say, I'm not going to say to ignore it.
Speaker: I would say to take it with a grain of salt and understand the fine line that you're about to walk.
Speaker: But as we move forward in this field, a lot of times we hear that, you know, about the whole self-care and this, that, and the third, which I'm
Speaker: for a huge advocate for self-care.
Speaker: But I also think that, and I was noticing this as I was coming out of the field, that I was seeing a lot of self-care, and I just did air quotes, that was getting used to, I just don't want to do this stuff, or I don't want to spend time outside of this and this to do it.
Speaker: And the thing about it is not saying that, hey, you need to work 18, 19, 20 hours a day.
Speaker: But it's also saying that you doing that one little extra thing may be that one little extra thing that's going to help you when you're ready to move to that next level.
Speaker: Because anybody can just do what's on the job description and say, OK, I did my job.
Speaker: But did you do that one extra thing that's going to take you to that next level to when you starting to recruit?
Speaker: just the job description, candidate B took that time and has that example of that story of when they did that extra thing and put in those few extra hours.
Speaker: And so understanding that self-care is great and you need to do it.
Speaker: You need to understand when you've overloaded yourself, when you're starting to not take time out to breathe.
Speaker: but it's not to be used as a reason to say, I don't want to do this part of my job where they shouldn't ask me to do this.
Speaker: Because I'm going to tell you now, there's no job out there unless you work for yourself.
Speaker: And even when you work for yourself, there's going to be times that you're going to do stuff that's going to take you out of nine to five or whatever your usual hours are.
Speaker: And so understanding the balance between self-care and knowing that it's okay just to do a little bit extra because
Speaker: I want to be that standout candidate moving forward.
Speaker: And I think that's one of the things, because I was witness to one of those conversations about it and like, oh, well, you should only be doing this and you should only be doing that.
Speaker: And I'm just looking like, are you literally setting a student up for failure?
Speaker: Because when they say, oh, I can't go do this or I can't respond to this call and it's in my own building because it's after my work hours.
Speaker: That kind of hits hard because it's like, bro, you can fix that problem in five minutes because you're there.
Speaker: But now we got to wait 15 to 20 minutes because you want to call somebody from a whole nother area across campus to come do it.
Speaker: And those are the things that when you got to say the balance of I'll just take care of that real quick and move on.
Speaker: and blah, blah, blah.
Speaker: But that would be my thing is understanding when to find that balance in that line and understand grain of salt when it takes self-care to a point that you're just not doing anything.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: And I think there's two things that I would comment on that is that one, there's a difference between working 41 hours a week, like doing one extra thing and doing 80 hours of extra work because you said yes to everything.
Speaker: Going back to you saying earlier, it's like, you know, saying no and all that.
Speaker: And then the other piece is like,
Speaker: I can take care of that thing in my building that you mentioned in five minutes or somebody can come across 15, 20 minutes later.
Speaker: But then you also have to deal with it the next day.
Speaker: And then it throws off your schedule where it's like, oh, all the downstream impact of that now ruins your next all eight hours of your day.
Speaker: And now we're talking about the self-care of that day in itself.
Speaker: And it's just it's extra stress that may get added on.
Speaker: It's just getting...
Speaker: You know, looking at those times of when you have to be able to say, and I think the key thing you said in your statement is that because you said yes to everything.
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker: And that's the problem is understanding that there is a time that you need to say no.
Speaker: And that even leads back to the whole committee thing.
Speaker: I kept saying yes to everything to the point that I was like, you know what, this is the time you should have said no and you didn't.
Speaker: But now that you in it, you got to go ahead and finish it out.
Speaker: And so, you know, that's one of the things is that you have to understand when you're overloading yourself and when it's time to just step back and let things be.
Speaker: But also when it's a time to step up and be the person that's going to be like, yo, I got to knock this out and get it done because this is something that needs to get done now.
Speaker: We need to be on it because, again, if you don't handle it in the five minutes you could have, you're probably going to have an hour of it tomorrow.
Speaker: Because one of the quick I remember a situation where that happened and that question came.
Speaker: ups ask the person like yo so why didn't you do this and it was one of those like uh-oh where are we going because you really don't want to tell the person that just asked you that question well it was after five and i didn't want to like okay
Speaker: We'll see how this plays out.
Speaker: So, you know, it's a tricky road.
Speaker: You have to navigate it.
Speaker: Sometimes it can be a slippery slope.
Speaker: But I think that that's one of the things I would definitely tell young professionals to look out for is to be mindful of how that is used when you go out there and do the whole, I'm not going to do this because it's outside of my algorithm.
Speaker: Yeah, it is tricky, especially for like people in management or a position of authority because – or at least in my observation, it's like young professionals bestow upon the responsibility upon their supervisor to provide them every opportunity.
Speaker: But then also the conflict of interest is like, oh, but you also have to manage my time so I can self-care.
Speaker: Like I don't know which one you want in any given moment.
Speaker: And that's the thing is like if you're going to ask for the opportunities to grow, if you're going to say, hey, what can I do to get to this next level?
Speaker: The funny thing about it is that that next level comes with doing some extra stuff and it comes with some after hour stuff.
Speaker: And I mean, and as you work through things, you know, even my friends that are entrepreneurs that have their own businesses.
Speaker: They literally are times that they're like, yo, you know, I can work from this time to this time.
Speaker: But tonight I got to pull in these extra hours in order to achieve the goal that I'm going for.
Speaker: In order to make that next move I want to make, I've got to do this little bit extra.
Speaker: And there's no way of escaping.
Speaker: And I think that's what sometimes people get confused.
Speaker: Well, I'll just work for myself.
Speaker: It's there, too.
Speaker: Trust me.
Speaker: It's in that it's in that realm, too.
Speaker: Yeah, if you want to have the really cool professional development opportunity, it may mean that you got to do that stupid key audit from 5 to 5.30.
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: All right, so let's move on to your Swakuho involvement.
Speaker: You were president of Swakuho for the 2018-2019 term.
Speaker: What was your pathway to the president role?
Speaker: Really, it was just kind of that work your way up.
Speaker: I started out in Swakuho as just a member.
Speaker: Then, you know, from the community fair, I saw some things and thought it was kind of cool and wanted to see what it was like.
Speaker: So I actually got into the programming committee.
Speaker: And the weird thing about the programming committee, and I always laugh because Ricky and I used to laugh about this and Gwen, you know, who was in the region, we used to laugh about it.
Speaker: I actually wasn't even supposed to be on a programming committee.
Speaker: I just happened to not be doing anything at one moment.
Speaker: And I walked into the room.
Speaker: It was like, hey, what's going on?
Speaker: I was speaking to everybody.
Speaker: And they were doing some work.
Speaker: And I asked, like, hey, y'all need some help.
Speaker: And I started help putting notes on the board to schedule out programs.
Speaker: And the next year, they were just like, yo, you on a programming committee.
Speaker: And I was like, oh, OK.
Speaker: And so that was the first step in.
Speaker: And then from that led to diversity and social justice.
Speaker: Just being over that, I ended up chairing that committee.
Speaker: That led to being a state director.
Speaker: And then from there, it was like, hey,
Speaker: Let's go for it.
Speaker: And ended up running for president and jumped into it.
Speaker: And it was it was it was one thing after another.
Speaker: But it was just great to have that progression to be a member, a committee member, committee chair, state director, then to the, you know, to the presidency.
Speaker: And I think that was a great way for me to get into it because I got to fill out different steps of the process.
Speaker: I love looking at that pathways to leadership.
Speaker: I think it's so fascinating.
Speaker: And I'm glad the current strategic plan for SWACUHO has a specific item called like pathways.
Speaker: I'm wondering, where was the point along the way where you said to yourself, I think I could be president?
Speaker: I think for me, it probably came around the time of being state director.
Speaker: is that I felt, you know, and the weird thing is actually being state director was really my goal.
Speaker: I just really wanted to be the state director at Arkansas and represent my state and help bring it up, help to get people involved in my state and things like that.
Speaker: And from actually that was kind of like, hey, I did it and I was going to be happy about it.
Speaker: And then, you know, from talking to a lot of the great mentors that I had, you know,
Speaker: Tanya, you know, Susan, Diane, just all of them were coming to me and they were talking to me.
Speaker: And I remember Kenny even was stepping up to it and they, they just had pulled me aside and said, Hey, it's time.
Speaker: And I was like, what you mean?
Speaker: And, you know, they were like, you know, why haven't you run yet?
Speaker: And I was like, well, I'm not really sure that I'm ready for it.
Speaker: And they were like, what's holding you back.
Speaker: And it was good to have them.
Speaker: I didn't feel like they were questioning me.
Speaker: it was more of, I felt that they were, they saw something in me that I didn't see in myself that I don't think I was ready to see in myself yet.
Speaker: And it was great to know that I had that support and they were like, yo, go out there and do it.
Speaker: Believe in yourself, believe in what you got.
Speaker: And I started looking back over things and I went back to my director and I talked to him and I said, look, I think that I'm going to do this and I want to know, you know, how do you feel about it?
Speaker: Are you going to be in support of it and everything?
Speaker: Cause yeah,
Speaker: I feel like this may be the time to go ahead and make that move and let's strike while the iron's hot.
Speaker: And I feel good about it.
Speaker: And he was like, yo, do what you do.
Speaker: And I prayed on it and had some talks with the fam.
Speaker: And it was like, all right, let's do it.
Speaker: And jumping into it, I wasn't as nervous as I thought I was going to be running forward because I felt like with Swakuho, it's always been family-like.
Speaker: And that's the one thing about the region that I've loved so much.
Speaker: And to be able to come back to the region that it always felt like fam.
Speaker: And when I got ready to do the, you know, run for it, you know, having the support of mentors and people, you know, within the region, I think that really just made it to where it was like, okay, it's time to do this.
Speaker: And if it happens, it happens.
Speaker: If it doesn't, you know, you had the experience of doing it.
Speaker: And I think that's what kept me from being scared to jump into the, to the fray.
Speaker: You were elected in one of the most dramatic elections in recent memory, or at least in my memory, right?
Speaker: Three people ran that year.
Speaker: How many ballots did we go through?
Speaker: Three or four?
Speaker: I want to say it was, yeah, three or four because we kept getting up, walking out, and it was crazy.
Speaker: We would come in and we were thinking, okay, it's done.
Speaker: We're ready.
Speaker: And go back in the hallway.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: We come back again and get back out there in the hallway.
Speaker: And it was just like, what is going?
Speaker: Because, of course, we were walking far enough away from the room that we could not hear what was being said and going on in there.
Speaker: So we were really wondering what was happening.
Speaker: And then by the third, fourth time in the hallway, we were just like, I would have we out here talking about every other thing under the sun besides the other.
Speaker: Well, that was my real question is, what were you all talking about behind the scenes?
Speaker: I mean, it was crazy because it went from talking about the election, you know, and everything.
Speaker: We started making jokes about stuff and teasing each other and running with Kurt and, you know, and David was, I think, crazy.
Speaker: to have them on the ballot with me was also a great experience because it was two people that I really respected.
Speaker: And that was, you know, I had such respect for them and we've worked together before and being able to be with them.
Speaker: But the funny thing about it is,
Speaker: The whole time that we were out there and going through it, there was this moment of where we all just flat out said, no matter who wins this, we got each other's back.
Speaker: We're going to stand behind whoever gets it.
Speaker: And we're going to be there to work with you and be a great partner for it.
Speaker: And that was the amazing thing about it is because after the election was over,
Speaker: those guys, they lived up to what they said out in the hallway.
Speaker: And they stood behind me.
Speaker: They had my back.
Speaker: Anytime I needed to talk about something, they were there.
Speaker: And that felt really good to have that and to know that they were there for it.
Speaker: So, I mean, it was just crazy.
Speaker: You know, we were out there joking.
Speaker: And if you know Coop, he's a funny guy.
Speaker: So being out there with him cracking jokes was even funnier.
Speaker: So I think that was a crazy thing.
Speaker: And I think we were just glad to have it finally end, Winnie D.
Speaker: So correct me if I'm wrong, but you were also the first black president of SWACUHO.
Speaker: The first black male president.
Speaker: Dr. Joanne Smith was the first.
Speaker: And it's funny that you bring that up because...
Speaker: The night that I won, well, the night that it was announced and everything, when we did it at the banquet, she was there.
Speaker: And I never will forget having that opportunity to go up to her.
Speaker: And I never met her before.
Speaker: And I walked up to her.
Speaker: I introduced myself.
Speaker: And I gave her a big hug.
Speaker: And it's even on one of my Facebook pics.
Speaker: And it was on my Snapchat that day.
Speaker: But I remember giving her a hug.
Speaker: And I told her, because of you, I can do this.
Speaker: And it meant so much to be able to have, you know, that chance to do, you know, to represent and just be able to give her that love and show a free.
Speaker: And I mentioned her in my speech.
Speaker: I even told her, you know, I need to tell you, thank you, because it took courage for you to do it.
Speaker: It took courage for me to do it.
Speaker: And I want to be, you know, the same way that you were a beacon of light and somebody to inspire to be like, I want it to be that for the next person that's coming up, you know, and, you
Speaker: And it was even bigger than just saying, you know, for, you know, blacks in the field and anybody else.
Speaker: I just wanted to be somebody that others could look up to and say, hey, he went out there and he did it.
Speaker: I can do this, too.
Speaker: But, you know, especially in the field where, again, you know.
Speaker: Two, one black woman, one black man, and that's it.
Speaker: And so it's it's definitely something to say that, yes, you do carry this and you know, you want to represent it well.
Speaker: But it's also just one of those things that just, you know, living in a moment and being able to be proud to say that you can represent.
Speaker: So did you feel an elevated sense of responsibility or increased attention that came along with that?
Speaker: I think for me, I felt more of it by being young because I felt like I was still one of the babies in the group, you know, but now I can go, I go back to squad cool and I'm like, no, you're an old hero, you know, none of these new members, but it was, I think that anytime that you come in as a first,
Speaker: It's one of those things that you do carry that weight.
Speaker: But I also wanted it to not only just be like, oh, here it is.
Speaker: He's a black president.
Speaker: I came in as that, but I also wanted to walk out as he was a good president.
Speaker: And that was the thing, because I think sometimes when it comes to, you know, issues of race and things like that, any of our isms that's out here in the world, I think because we have to throw that tag in there so much that we lose sight of, hey, this person worked hard just to be in that position.
Speaker: in that position just by being who they are.
Speaker: And so, yes, I knew that I represented being a Black man in that position.
Speaker: And I also looked at it as an opportunity to say to other Black men, like, hey, I'm doing it.
Speaker: You can do it too.
Speaker: Now let's step up and get you in the position.
Speaker: But at the end of the day, I also wanted to walk out with people being proud that I was the president and could say that I did a good job on the way
Speaker: So there's been two out of 50 plus presidents who have been a person of color and occupying that role.
Speaker: Why do you think that is so few?
Speaker: Lord knows.
Speaker: I think part of it I will also, I think, is understanding what you can do in the organization and putting yourself in position to be able to do those things.
Speaker: It's like when you come to the conference, come to the conference, one, and learn things.
Speaker: Secondly, come to the conference and get involved.
Speaker: Once you get involved, that means more than just putting your name on a committee, but it's actually being a part of that committee, being an active committee member to when they say, hey,
Speaker: this person is doing great work, boom, boom, boom.
Speaker: They should be committee chair.
Speaker: And then from committee chair, building yourself up, but going out there and seeking those opportunities to get involved, but also eliminate the whole factor of, I can't because I'm this, you know, and that's the thing is like, I didn't want to go into it thinking, you know, because in some ways, a lot of people, you know, there was some, there was talks of, Hey, a person from Arkansas is not going to win the presidency.
Speaker: And I was like, okay, cool.
Speaker: I'm a young person.
Speaker: I'm a young black male.
Speaker: And I'm in the state of Arkansas, which is the second smallest region.
Speaker: You already got three strikes and you're not even supposed to get three strikes.
Speaker: So apparently I foul-tipped one of those.
Speaker: And I was like, yo, we're going to go out here and we're going to do it.
Speaker: We're going to swing for the fences.
Speaker: And that was the thing is not being afraid or not automatically canceling yourself out because of what some people may say would be a hindrance.
Speaker: And that's the thing, but
Speaker: You know, I think that would be a good topic to research.
Speaker: You know, and you you and I both know that sometimes within SWACUHO, it's only one person running.
Speaker: And, you know, it needs to be multiple candidates.
Speaker: It needs this.
Speaker: And that was something that was brought up in the speech, too, is that, hey, us going through three, four times of election show that you all care about this organization, that you want to make sure you put the person in place that you feel will do the job.
Speaker: And that's the way it should be every year that we see multiple people running for it.
Speaker: It needs to be multiple people that have the hunger to be president.
Speaker: And, you know, hopefully we see that as we go move forward, that multiple candidates come out and that we see multiple candidates of all sorts of, you know, nationalities and races and all of this.
Speaker: Just open it up.
Speaker: This is a diverse field.
Speaker: Let's go out there and show it.
Speaker: You know, the committee should show it.
Speaker: The board should show it that it is a diverse community, because I think also if you don't see it up there,
Speaker: that you can be up there.
Speaker: And that was one thing that I wanted to make sure that I could give to people that, yo, you can do this.
Speaker: I'm here.
Speaker: You can be here.
Speaker: Yeah, you brought it up, the part about there's only one candidate, so many elections.
Speaker: I think I can think of three elections in the time I've been in Swakuha where there's been more than one candidate.
Speaker: So, I mean, I feel like there's a pipeline problem on that pathway we were talking about earlier.
Speaker: Indeed.
Speaker: And that was one thing I think when I was president that I wanted to stress is that I really wanted to stress the involvement.
Speaker: involved.
Speaker: And that started from dealing with the newcomers and dealing with people that were in committees and getting them signed up.
Speaker: And then also from my state, I was just like, look, the state of Arkansas, we need you all to step up.
Speaker: We need you on committees.
Speaker: We need you to do this.
Speaker: We need to start getting schools involved and pulling people back in and things like that.
Speaker: And just getting out there and understanding what the organization can do for you, because it opens up so many doors.
Speaker: And we talk about networking,
Speaker: Swakuho in that conference and being involved, that's one of the best networking tools that I had in my entire career, because there would have been no Akuho-I involvement if I would not have started with Swakuho and starting to do things in Akuho-I that I never got to do before.
Speaker: That's why I really stress, get out there, get involved, because if you do that, it's going to open up some other doors and getting that representation.
Speaker: I think that once people start doing some other jobs within the organization, it gives them that passion and that hunger to want to do more.
Speaker: And that's the big thing is that we just have to keep getting people something to do and keep them hungry and keep them wanting to do it.
Speaker: Well, on a previous episode, Jasmine Jennings talked about growing up as a black woman.
Speaker: She was always told you have to be twice as good as everybody else around you.
Speaker: And I think about that in the pipeline, the leadership pipeline of like on the committee.
Speaker: It's like sometimes you don't even have to be anyone doesn't have to be twice as good.
Speaker: Sometimes you just have to say yes and then do it because there's so many people that just the attrition rate on committees of involvement is just so little on some of them that, you know, there's there's opportunity there to just say yes and do it.
Speaker: And I think that's what really got with Diane came to me about, you know, stepping up in diversity and social justice and doing that.
Speaker: A big thing was like, OK, how do we get this committee out here and get that name out there?
Speaker: And from that work and people saying just, hey, he's got this drive to push it.
Speaker: I think that that opened up the other doors.
Speaker: And so, you know, that's the thing is, you know, even if the committee is not the popular committee,
Speaker: Sometimes just you getting out there and putting in that work for that committee opens it up to where people are like, hey, I see what you got going on there.
Speaker: And then that also brings up that committee as well.
Speaker: And so it's just taking that leap of faith sometimes and just being able to, you know, sometimes you got to bet on yourself.
Speaker: And if you're willing to do that, you know, who knows what could happen.
Speaker: You mentioned involvement, but what was the platform you ran on in addition to that?
Speaker: Involvement was a big piece of the platform, but then also transparency was a big thing.
Speaker: Because I think a lot of times, a lot of people didn't understand what was going on behind the scenes with Swakuho.
Speaker: And so being able to communicate out to the body of, hey, here's what we're thinking the exec board is thinking about doing.
Speaker: Here's what ideas we've heard from you all.
Speaker: Let's start putting these things into play, but also communicating out this is what we're doing.
Speaker: And I think that was really big was to get that communication out there because you didn't want to be seen as, oh, that's the executive board, you know, the executive board, look out.
Speaker: And then people start running away in this.
Speaker: And I was like, no, we're approachable and we want to talk to you and we want to grow with you and we want you to take our spot in the future.
Speaker: And that was a big thing for me was just getting that open communication and getting that involvement.
Speaker: Those are two huge things for me when it came to running.
Speaker: But didn't you also run on increasing involvement from HBCUs?
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker: Reaching out to the HBCUs was a big, and it was funny to start seeing when I started seeing HBCUs pop up and I was like, you know, we doing it, we making these contacts, but even, you know, having a chance, you know, I think about within my state, you know, we had Arkansas Pine Bluff, we have Philander Smith,
Speaker: And to see them show up at that next conference was like so touching to me because I'm from Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
Speaker: And so to see my hometown school there meant so much to me.
Speaker: And, you know, and to see them get involved and seeing that they could gain so much from it.
Speaker: And that was one of the big things is just being able to see those schools pop up and then also seeing.
Speaker: their members get on committees.
Speaker: And so it's like, OK, if you can come here, get on these committees and then take back to your school the value that opens the door for you all to start attending these these these events more and more.
Speaker: And so it was really big.
Speaker: And then I think, you know, it was really starting to stretch out to say not just the HBCUs,
Speaker: But let's look at what other, you know, what, you know, the Hispanic serving institutions.
Speaker: We need to start reaching out to those schools.
Speaker: We had schools that were, you know, religious affiliated that weren't really represented, you know, that were in Oklahoma and in Arkansas and things like that.
Speaker: OK, what are these schools that we're missing?
Speaker: We're getting the mainstays and the flagships.
Speaker: But who are we missing?
Speaker: And let's start getting these underrepresented institutions in here and getting them involved.
Speaker: I've talked to a number of past presidents about their platforms and all that.
Speaker: I will always remember your speech because of that specific thing, because it was a very actionable, tangible, specific, whereas many presidents or president candidates run on like increased involvement in the abstractness.
Speaker: But I will always remember the specificity of like tangible deliverables that you were running on.
Speaker: I think that was one of the key big things.
Speaker: And part of it that kind of made me nervous is that I wanted to say, okay, what is it that we can bring to the table that is actually achievable?
Speaker: But also by doing that, that also meant you had an opportunity to fail.
Speaker: And if you fail on it, everybody's going to see it.
Speaker: But the thing was, I can throw out a lofty goal,
Speaker: And everybody's like, oh, he put that out there.
Speaker: Everybody says it.
Speaker: Or you can throw out something that, hey, if we make this happen, you're going to know we made it happen.
Speaker: And that was a bigger thing for me was that what can we do that people could actually see and that could actually affect the long term?
Speaker: And that's one of those awesome things that I thought about as a president is that you're only president for one year.
Speaker: You know, you're president elect, actual president, and then past president.
Speaker: And my thing was, no matter what I do within this year, I may not get to reap any of the benefits of it.
Speaker: But it's not about me.
Speaker: It's about what am I going to leave behind that somebody else can pick up this baton and run with.
Speaker: And that's where I think the cool part of it for me was, you know, I know that I'm not going to get to live this out, but I'm at least get to look back and say, hey, it's there and they're doing it.
Speaker: And that was a great feeling.
Speaker: Yeah, isn't that so true?
Speaker: A lot of things we do.
Speaker: It's like you'd never get to be there on the front lines when it all comes to fruition.
Speaker: And here's a little fun fact is actually Julie Wixton from SMU was president two years in a row, 1989 and 1990.
Speaker: So I don't know how that worked out, but doing double duty with past president and president in the same year, I guess.
Speaker: Getting it in.
Speaker: I mean, sometimes, you know, nobody runs.
Speaker: Somebody has to drop out.
Speaker: I mean, because, you know, the crazy thing with me, I didn't, hey, no one told you to comment on me running president.
Speaker: My dog decides she's upset about something in the back.
Speaker: But that was one thing for me is I actually didn't get to finish out my past president year, you know, and so I feel like I want to come back to the region at least one time and say, I still got one year of this to do and I want to get it out of the way.
Speaker: But it's definitely one of those that it's a great experience and I think
Speaker: missions for it, to just go for it and do what you do, man, because it is a memorable thing.
Speaker: And I definitely was honored to be able to serve in that capacity.
Speaker: So that's a great segue.
Speaker: In 2019, you made the move to the private sector and started working for Star Res.
Speaker: What actually prompted you to make that jump?
Speaker: In life, you just find that there's times that it's time for change.
Speaker: And there were some things that were happening around that I was like, you know what?
Speaker: This may be, this is my sign that I may need to make that move.
Speaker: And I started,
Speaker: getting some moments to where things weren't as enjoyable as they used to be, that it was becoming more of a task and a chore than, hey, I'm loving what I'm doing when I walk in here and I get to do this.
Speaker: And that was something that I didn't want.
Speaker: I never wanted to feel as if what I was doing was not something that I was loving to do.
Speaker: And I think that for me also,
Speaker: It was just, I felt the need for being able to do something a little bit different.
Speaker: I felt like I achieved a lot in where I was.
Speaker: And I was like, okay, what's the next step?
Speaker: What are we going to do?
Speaker: But I also didn't want to get too far from student affairs.
Speaker: Henceforth, I work for a company that works with student affairs every day.
Speaker: And so that was one of the big things that being able to know that I'd hit a point in which a decision needed
Speaker: and you get to that point in the road of where you need to say, okay, you're going left, right or straight.
Speaker: And it was time to make that choice.
Speaker: And I don't regret the choice.
Speaker: I miss the field at times, you know, but I also understand that this opened up a brand new avenue of things and opened up a new skill set for me to be able to do some things.
Speaker: And it was just time.
Speaker: I think that's the biggest thing.
Speaker: If I could say anything, if I could break it down to one word, it was just time.
Speaker: You worked with Star Res before working for Star Res.
Speaker: Was there something on your Star Res wish list as a housing professional you always wanted to see happen that when you got to working there, you were like, I got to bide my time, build some capital, and then I'm going to make this happen for all my housing folks?
Speaker: It is funny because it was starting to happen.
Speaker: I was already kind of in the mode of doing it prior to when I got there.
Speaker: But it was when I was a customer, it was so different looking at what we have as our like StarCare, which is our learning modules where you can go in and kind of teach yourself how to use the software and learn different things and ask different questions.
Speaker: And I remember when I was a customer, it was like super duper long videos.
Speaker: And I was like, OK, I got to figure out a time in my day to watch this video or do this and do that.
Speaker: And now it's like looking at what we're doing, where it's like we have these learning plans where there are nice little bite sized chunks that you can go into and knock out things.
Speaker: It's got examples, little quizzes that you could have.
Speaker: And I'm like, man.
Speaker: And now I get to go in there and drop ideas about, hey, so we can put this in there and this would be a cool thing to learn.
Speaker: And that's the cool part about it, is that I get to talk to people that I work with and to the customers and take that back to the team and be like, yo, this is what's a hot topic.
Speaker: Let's start dropping that out there because when I first got there, I didn't want to just verbal vomit everything I felt as a customer and things I heard.
Speaker: But it was like now that I'm here and I've gotten to know the avenues to take, I can now take those ideas that we hear in those things and say, OK, hey, here's some stuff we need to be thinking about or here's some things we need to make lesson plans on.
Speaker: And let's put that out there for our customers, because this is what's important to them as they're moving forward with the software.
Speaker: So how frequently do you hear from housing folks?
Speaker: when they suggest something you should do to which you can say you can do that already?
Speaker: A lot.
Speaker: A lot.
Speaker: Because a funny thing about it is because you'll hear me say, oh, have you seen that StarCare article?
Speaker: Or I'll just send them a link.
Speaker: And I'm like, here you go.
Speaker: And they're like, what?
Speaker: And I even had that moment myself.
Speaker: Nothing was more humbling than to go into the company thinking that you knew stuff.
Speaker: And then I walked in and I was like, man, I know nothing.
Speaker: And it was like one of those moments.
Speaker: But also seeing how many tools that I had at my disposal that I didn't know I already had that I wasn't using.
Speaker: And I was like, man, if I could go back and be a customer again, oh, I'm about to tear this place up because I know all this stuff.
Speaker: Or I had all these things I could have been using that I wasn't.
Speaker: And so that was definitely one of the funny moments because I remember calling back, talking to some old colleagues, and I was like, yeah,
Speaker: So we were totally using this wrong.
Speaker: Just want to put that out there to you.
Speaker: But that was definitely, you know, a cool thing.
Speaker: But it happens so often that people will call and be like, oh, well, I can't do this.
Speaker: Or why can't I do this?
Speaker: Or this is not in the software.
Speaker: This is so easy.
Speaker: You should be doing this.
Speaker: Yeah, it's like, oh, it's right there.
Speaker: And some of it has literally been click this button.
Speaker: And they're like, what?
Speaker: I'm like, yep, it's right here in your settings.
Speaker: Just click that and you're good to go.
Speaker: And so, but it also, I think by seeing that, that's opened my eyes to things that, hey, when you're training a customer on it, make sure to mention these things because this may be the stuff that's getting overlooked that on the inside, I see it so often that as a customer, I'm not thinking to go there and use that part.
Speaker: Well, and I think part of the problem is like I think sometimes StarRes, any company gets a bad rap from like the people who aren't, quote, power users because there's a whole lot out there.
Speaker: And then me, you know, or universities typically have like.
Speaker: a power user or like you're the star res person that everything goes through them and they've only got limited time to explain or research or do the things and the nuances that aren't in their area.
Speaker: That you, you hit on like the perfect that right there.
Speaker: You just, if, if the world can see the way I'm looking right now, like JC is hitting on something that's like,
Speaker: They're striking a nerve that I'm like, oh, my God, that is so true.
Speaker: So true, man.
Speaker: Having the one and only power user is a big issue.
Speaker: And it's where I try to advise people to cross train.
Speaker: You may not have to tell them all 10 things, but you may need to get them up to seven or eight so that they can take care of it if that person gets it.
Speaker: get sick if that person leaves, that somebody else has that skill set to know how to at least get us across until they come back.
Speaker: Yeah, I think sometimes that bad rap, it's not a company problem.
Speaker: It's an interdepartmental problem often.
Speaker: And even when I was in the field, we fell into it to where it was like, okay, we've got certain people that are power users, certain people that are only users
Speaker: to use.
Speaker: But it's like that part that they have to use also is affected by some other things.
Speaker: And they may need to know, at least know about, they may not have to use it, but at least know about these things so that they can understand how this is playing out.
Speaker: And it's getting people to understand it.
Speaker: And sometimes I think that that power user term is a flex to be able to say, oh yeah, I'm the power user, baby.
Speaker: But it's like,
Speaker: I know some power users that just turn the thing on and that's it.
Speaker: I turn it on.
Speaker: I'm good.
Speaker: I turn the power.
Speaker: And so it's being able to understand what you get with it and then and utilizing what you have.
Speaker: And I think that's been a cool part of being in with the company is being able to get people to see.
Speaker: see that part of it and to say, hey, let's get you some more people that can build up to being power users.
Speaker: Because I think that's a good plan for it is you got people that are using it on a certain level, you've got your power users, but what are we doing to build them up to when they make that move to the next job that they can say, hey, I've got these skills with this software that helps them become more marketable as they're moving forward.
Speaker: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker: So before we wrap up, just a couple of miscellaneous questions.
Speaker: What's a book you most frequently share with others?
Speaker: If I would say new book or new-ish book, I would probably say American Gods.
Speaker: I like the TV show, but the book is Amazing American Gods by New
Speaker: Neil Gaiman, awesome show, you know, especially when we think about what we are.
Speaker: I don't want to say worship to that extent, but what we look up to and have let our lives fall into.
Speaker: But also, if I would say classics, I would go with Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies, because I went back and read those actually last year.
Speaker: I went back and reread both of those and they were so relative to what's going on in today's society that it was almost scary.
Speaker: that I was like, this book was written way back then.
Speaker: And I literally could probably change the title of it and give it to somebody and they would think that you wrote it for today.
Speaker: And so those are the books that I definitely kind of constantly recommend those three books, American Gods, Animal Farm, and Lord of the Flies.
Speaker: I love all three of those books, especially Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies.
Speaker: Like I remember reading Lord of the Flies and like I was a grade school or junior high.
Speaker: Wow.
Speaker: And the fact of back then, you know, you're reading and you're trying to understand it.
Speaker: But now that we're older and we really understand it, it's like, whoa.
Speaker: Some heavy stuff right there.
Speaker: But yeah, those are definitely some of my favorite books.
Speaker: And, you know, getting ready to put those to my little niece and everything, my youngest niece and say, hey, here's a book I want you to read.
Speaker: You know, let's sit down and talk about it afterwards.
Speaker: And I think having those discussions with the younger generation of what they get out of it really makes it more impacting because you see how it's going down the line from when it was first written to my generation to the new generation that's coming up.
Speaker: Yeah, I feel like we'd be unpacking the sucks to your asthma or piggy a whole lot more from Lord of the Flies these days.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: So, Adonis, my understanding is you like churros.
Speaker: Like, you don't just like them, but you like them.
Speaker: I'm in love with churros.
Speaker: Like, yeah.
Speaker: Whenever I see churros somewhere, if I'm there at the restaurant, I don't care how full I am, they're ordered.
Speaker: If, you know, when they came out with the churro cereal, got me a couple of these.
Speaker: Egg board was so sweet.
Speaker: Gave me some.
Speaker: I was in love with them.
Speaker: Whenever, I mean, churros are my thing.
Speaker: Like they should be sold everywhere.
Speaker: It should be a holiday.
Speaker: Why is there no national churro day?
Speaker: And if it is, I need to know the day because I'm going to celebrate it to the fullest.
Speaker: Well, we'll look up to see if there is a churro date and put in the show notes just for you.
Speaker: I will.
Speaker: And see the bad part.
Speaker: Now that you said something about it, I actually I have not eaten dinner yet.
Speaker: I do believe I will go somewhere and get some churros.
Speaker: Well, I don't know how much inspiration I provided, but I'm glad to be a part of that decision making.
Speaker: I love it, man.
Speaker: Love it.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: And so my last thing, Adonis, is more on a personal level.
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: I think I shared this with you at TPE, but it was either the conference you were president or the conference you ran for president.
Speaker: But every single one of my direct reports came back from that conference, like completely in love with you.
Speaker: And you were like the greatest person they'd ever met and how like mentoring you were.
Speaker: And they just, I mean, I heard your name.
Speaker: all the time that week afterwards and even afterwards, you know, when I was on executive board, like, oh, how's Adonis doing?
Speaker: Like, they just were enamored with you.
Speaker: So I don't know what it is.
Speaker: I mean, obviously you're a compelling person, but did that happen with other people's staffs or like, you know, the mentoring that you've done over the years?
Speaker: It's funny because I still get to kind of talk to, you know, some of the people that were around during that time frame and just even during my time in Swakuho and
Speaker: I don't know if you remember that, you know, when I did the speech, my goodbye speech.
Speaker: And...
Speaker: I think for me, you know, one thing is I always want to say be authentic.
Speaker: You know, you know, you know, nowadays you'll hear people say keep it 100.
Speaker: You know, and the thing for me was I wanted to go into this as Adonis.
Speaker: I wanted to come out as Adonis.
Speaker: I didn't want to put on airs.
Speaker: I didn't want to be something that I wasn't.
Speaker: I just wanted people to see this genuine guy that just loved his organization and loved the people that he could work with.
Speaker: And I remember at the end of that speech of when I put it there, it was the one part where I asked the audience to stand up.
Speaker: And, you know, and I know how much everybody hates to have to do those type of things.
Speaker: Guilty.
Speaker: I'd ask.
Speaker: I said, you know, I was like, hey, I just need one last thing from you all.
Speaker: And I remember asking everybody to stand up and I told everybody to put one finger up and then point at themselves.
Speaker: And I said, now, you know who I did this for.
Speaker: And that was the thing is that being president wasn't to be able to go out and say, hey, I was SWACUO president.
Speaker: Yeah, look at this.
Speaker: It was because I wanted to serve my region and I want to serve those young professionals coming up and I want to be an inspiration to them.
Speaker: And that was the thing is just I think if you just are authentic and genuine to who you are, hopefully people can receive that well and just be able to be happy with that.
Speaker: And it felt great even this year at, you know, the last Swakuho, you know, in Fort Smith to be able to come back and see people.
Speaker: and receive that love.
Speaker: And I mean, I missed everybody so much.
Speaker: And just to come back and do that, it meant a lot that people still remembered me and my time in that role.
Speaker: And so, you know, I hope that, you know, it has that lasting impression.
Speaker: I hope that it has inspired people to go out and run and to be involved in committees and do things and even just to do more in your life.
Speaker: And so, you know, I've always said I'm open to
Speaker: to communicate with people.
Speaker: I'm just a phone call, Snapchat, Facebook message away.
Speaker: Feel free to, you know, get at me, you know, reach out because I am what I am and that's all I'm going to ever be.
Speaker: Yeah, well, you definitely made an impact on them because they all came back and they all just were like, I bet he's the best boss to work for.
Speaker: Like, you mean the second best boss?
Speaker: I'm like, who else?
Speaker: I'm like, me?
Speaker: They're like, no, he's better.
Speaker: Oh, my goodness.
Speaker: No, man.
Speaker: JC, you've always been somebody I've loved working with.
Speaker: So from working with you at Swaku, I'm pretty sure that working for you is probably fun, too.
Speaker: So, I mean, because that's the thing.
Speaker: We try to keep it, you know, just be who you are and, you know, enjoy it.
Speaker: So if you all get the chance to work with JC, trust me, you are in a good spot.
Speaker: I'm putting my stamp on that.
Speaker: Well, I appreciate that.
Speaker: Adonis, anything else you want to share before we wrap up?
Speaker: I mean, just the biggest thing, you know, one thing is that, you know, it's an honor to be able to do this.
Speaker: And it's just another chance to be able to reach out and touch people from Swakuho.
Speaker: Definitely, you know, love and miss you all.
Speaker: But understand that whenever I get the opportunity to see you, I'm going to definitely show you the same Swakuho love.
Speaker: And just go out there and get involved.
Speaker: Make this organization great by you going out there, putting 110% into it.
Speaker: and understand that what you give, you're going to get back way more than that.
Speaker: And so just take that leap of faith and do it.
Speaker: Well, that concludes this month's episode.
Speaker: Thanks yet again to Adonis Thompson for coming on the show.
Speaker: I'm confident that Adonis' stories and shared experience has been valuable to the Swakuho listeners, especially for a lot of our younger professionals.
Speaker: If you got something from this episode or any episode, please email me at swakuhopodcast at gmail.com or post on the Swakuho social media posts.
Speaker: I'll feature you on an upcoming episode, but be sure to include the episode you listened to, what you did, and what the outcome was.
Speaker: If you don't want your name shared, that's fine too.
Speaker: Just let me know.
Speaker: And don't forget, if you need some professional advice from outside your direct echo chamber, please use the form linked in the show notes to anonymously ask for advice.
Speaker: Next month, I'll be joined by two guests who are going to discuss, wait for it, email management.
Speaker: If that doesn't get you all juiced up and salivating throughout May, I don't know what will.
Speaker: But trust me, it is going to be a real barn burner.
Speaker: I'm going to start by asking my guests their number, the number of emails they have in their inbox, that is.
Speaker: We will be talking salutations, sign-offs, so-called email etiquette, copying bosses, and most importantly, small-scale strategies for effective email management, regardless of if you have zero emails or over 90,000.
Speaker: And with that, I say to you, good day.
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