NACURH Blog Day 1: Introduction
Since I was a sophomore in college I have had the privilege to attend NACURH related conferences. These conferences will easily be the top thing I will miss most about working in Residence Life, since they encapsulate so much of the other areas I enjoy. These conferences have also helped me learn a lot about who I am and inspired/created so many opportunities for me. For the next week (as I've also lagged as a writer recently) I am going to do a blog a night, writing both about the experience of this conference in its final stage and the Top 8 Memories I've had from conferences (traditionally each conference has Top Program Session # and it usually changes...for the purposes of the week and in honor of that wacky tradition I chose 8 despite there being well over that number).
Before I begin to reminisce a bit, allow me to explain some basics and give a little history of how we as a conference staff got here.
NACURH stands for the National Association of College and University Residence Halls. NACURH Inc. is actually a non-profit leadership organization which does three main things: 1. holds these fantastic conferences which provide leadership opportunities to those students and advisors who work in the residence halls, 2. supports and sponsors the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) a group that recognizes the hard work students do in residence life, 3. maintains a bevy of information called the National Information Center (NIC) where student leaders can request reports from other students about any topic or any student activity.
NACURH is made up of a National Board of Directors (NBD) whom are all students and vote and manage the policy and structure of the organization. They break down into Regional Board of Directors (RBDs) for each of the 8 regions (each region is based upon a geographical section of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Australia). Each school gets a representative to NACURH known as a National Communications Coordinator (NCC). The NCC is also in charge of getting together delegations to attend the conference.
NACURH also corners the market on acronyms if you couldn't tell.
Conferences are usually 3-4 days long, include programming sessions, keynote speakers, roundtable discussions, philanthropy events, entertainment, delegation activities, and an awards ceremony recognizing those schools that have went above and beyond.
Some states/provinces or combination of states/provinces have Sub-Regions. These organizations are not recognized by NACURH but serve in the same function (they have a board, NCCs bring delegations, there are awards, etc.). There are also conferences which just serve as business meetings, thus no delegations are taken, but the NCC attends to represent their school. Sometimes these conferences are referred to as No Frills, but also have other names.
For the sake of reference, as a student/advisor here at UW Oshkosh, we are in GLACURH (Great Lakes Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls), and WURHA (Wisconsin United Residence Hall Association). GLACURH has a No Frills business meeting and WURHA has two business meetings called BLT (Bringing Leaders Together) and French Dip. When I was an advisor at Arizona State, we were in the IACURH (Intermountain Affiliate) and at Mizzou we were in MACURH (Midwest Affiliate).
Lastly, in order to host any of these conferences, a school has to bid for them. This is a two step process. A school writes a bid which contains a mock up, so to say, of what the school would do if they hosted the conference (usually contains a tentative schedule, theme, general idea of how to run things, and a budget). The school also provides a bid team of anywhere from 2 to 25 students who present the written bid, allowing a board, or group of NCCs, to ask questions to help determine if that school will receive the bid.
Over three years ago, some students were interested in bidding for NACURH to come to UW Oshkosh. After working on a bid for two years, an initial bid team traveled to Syracuse to present the bid. At the time three other schools bid as well. That year, UC Berkeley was chosen to host. Last year, some of those same students with many new ones bid again, and received the bid. Since then, those students, many advisors, and other constituents in and outside our university have helped plan this four day event (starting Friday the 1st, ending Monday the 4th).
Phew! There will be a quiz on this starting tomorrow.
My own involvement in NACURH has been as a delegate, NCC, RBD Member, Advisor, Alumni, and now Conference Advisor. NACURH 2007 marks my 25th conference overall (not including business conferences). I've been blessed to experience many different aspects of the conference and NACURH. And I've met a number of great people along the way. Coming up with 8 great memories (in no particular order) is tough but also fun to look back on a wild and exciting journey.
#8: GLACURH 1996
With so many great conferences and memories, it's difficult to choose which have had the most impact on my life and are the fondest memories. Also noticing that I've written a lot, my first favorite moment was attending my first conference GLACURH 1997. The theme was Makin' Waves and the University of Evansville (Indiana) was the host.
From the start of our delegation meetings I had no idea what I was getting into. I know that I was learning cheers, and we were trying to do a lot of coordinating. I know that we had to leave at 4 in the morning. I know that the van ride there and back was ridiculously long. I know that when we got there, there was miscommunication with the hotel staff, and we didn't have our rooms ready. The hospitality rooms (places where delegates can get free food) ran out of food before 9pm. I know that during breakfast every other delegation was cheering REALLY LOUDLY and it was kinda annoying. I know that I was tired from getting little sleep and not eating the best.
I know that when I left the conference I was so excited to attend another one, because the spirit and mood of those who attended the conference, was so positive (no matter what the obstacles), that I wanted to share in that experience again. I understand now, as a conference advisor, that you plan for things you hope will work out. And sometimes they don't. But the joy of these conferences is that students are happy to support each other and recognize each other, that as long as you have place for them to sleep, eat, present programs, and have some fun, the bad stuff is not as big to them.
That conference, perfect or not, got me hooked on attending more. Got me thinking about how I could get more involved. And got me to believe in the power of people who think positively and believe they can help the world. Thank you Evansville staff for a lasting experience!
I know were not going to have everything covered for NACURH 2007. It would be nice not to have one thing go wrong. But as we've planned this conference, stuff has not worked out. Some things have been last minute. And people do get stressed. I want us to put our best foot forward. And I know that the conference staff, advisors, and volunteers are ready.
I'm content if a delegate walks away from NACURH 2007 and considers it their GLACURH 1996. Because that means that the conference spark is still alive and well. And that means that another delegate will be inspired to return.
pb
Before I begin to reminisce a bit, allow me to explain some basics and give a little history of how we as a conference staff got here.
NACURH stands for the National Association of College and University Residence Halls. NACURH Inc. is actually a non-profit leadership organization which does three main things: 1. holds these fantastic conferences which provide leadership opportunities to those students and advisors who work in the residence halls, 2. supports and sponsors the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) a group that recognizes the hard work students do in residence life, 3. maintains a bevy of information called the National Information Center (NIC) where student leaders can request reports from other students about any topic or any student activity.
NACURH is made up of a National Board of Directors (NBD) whom are all students and vote and manage the policy and structure of the organization. They break down into Regional Board of Directors (RBDs) for each of the 8 regions (each region is based upon a geographical section of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Australia). Each school gets a representative to NACURH known as a National Communications Coordinator (NCC). The NCC is also in charge of getting together delegations to attend the conference.
NACURH also corners the market on acronyms if you couldn't tell.
Conferences are usually 3-4 days long, include programming sessions, keynote speakers, roundtable discussions, philanthropy events, entertainment, delegation activities, and an awards ceremony recognizing those schools that have went above and beyond.
Some states/provinces or combination of states/provinces have Sub-Regions. These organizations are not recognized by NACURH but serve in the same function (they have a board, NCCs bring delegations, there are awards, etc.). There are also conferences which just serve as business meetings, thus no delegations are taken, but the NCC attends to represent their school. Sometimes these conferences are referred to as No Frills, but also have other names.
For the sake of reference, as a student/advisor here at UW Oshkosh, we are in GLACURH (Great Lakes Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls), and WURHA (Wisconsin United Residence Hall Association). GLACURH has a No Frills business meeting and WURHA has two business meetings called BLT (Bringing Leaders Together) and French Dip. When I was an advisor at Arizona State, we were in the IACURH (Intermountain Affiliate) and at Mizzou we were in MACURH (Midwest Affiliate).
Lastly, in order to host any of these conferences, a school has to bid for them. This is a two step process. A school writes a bid which contains a mock up, so to say, of what the school would do if they hosted the conference (usually contains a tentative schedule, theme, general idea of how to run things, and a budget). The school also provides a bid team of anywhere from 2 to 25 students who present the written bid, allowing a board, or group of NCCs, to ask questions to help determine if that school will receive the bid.
Over three years ago, some students were interested in bidding for NACURH to come to UW Oshkosh. After working on a bid for two years, an initial bid team traveled to Syracuse to present the bid. At the time three other schools bid as well. That year, UC Berkeley was chosen to host. Last year, some of those same students with many new ones bid again, and received the bid. Since then, those students, many advisors, and other constituents in and outside our university have helped plan this four day event (starting Friday the 1st, ending Monday the 4th).
Phew! There will be a quiz on this starting tomorrow.
My own involvement in NACURH has been as a delegate, NCC, RBD Member, Advisor, Alumni, and now Conference Advisor. NACURH 2007 marks my 25th conference overall (not including business conferences). I've been blessed to experience many different aspects of the conference and NACURH. And I've met a number of great people along the way. Coming up with 8 great memories (in no particular order) is tough but also fun to look back on a wild and exciting journey.
#8: GLACURH 1996
With so many great conferences and memories, it's difficult to choose which have had the most impact on my life and are the fondest memories. Also noticing that I've written a lot, my first favorite moment was attending my first conference GLACURH 1997. The theme was Makin' Waves and the University of Evansville (Indiana) was the host.
From the start of our delegation meetings I had no idea what I was getting into. I know that I was learning cheers, and we were trying to do a lot of coordinating. I know that we had to leave at 4 in the morning. I know that the van ride there and back was ridiculously long. I know that when we got there, there was miscommunication with the hotel staff, and we didn't have our rooms ready. The hospitality rooms (places where delegates can get free food) ran out of food before 9pm. I know that during breakfast every other delegation was cheering REALLY LOUDLY and it was kinda annoying. I know that I was tired from getting little sleep and not eating the best.
I know that when I left the conference I was so excited to attend another one, because the spirit and mood of those who attended the conference, was so positive (no matter what the obstacles), that I wanted to share in that experience again. I understand now, as a conference advisor, that you plan for things you hope will work out. And sometimes they don't. But the joy of these conferences is that students are happy to support each other and recognize each other, that as long as you have place for them to sleep, eat, present programs, and have some fun, the bad stuff is not as big to them.
That conference, perfect or not, got me hooked on attending more. Got me thinking about how I could get more involved. And got me to believe in the power of people who think positively and believe they can help the world. Thank you Evansville staff for a lasting experience!
I know were not going to have everything covered for NACURH 2007. It would be nice not to have one thing go wrong. But as we've planned this conference, stuff has not worked out. Some things have been last minute. And people do get stressed. I want us to put our best foot forward. And I know that the conference staff, advisors, and volunteers are ready.
I'm content if a delegate walks away from NACURH 2007 and considers it their GLACURH 1996. Because that means that the conference spark is still alive and well. And that means that another delegate will be inspired to return.
pb
posted by Peter Brooks at 12:00 AM
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