May 13: Ginny & Michigan

Ginny got a job as a faculty member at Michigan State University.  She will be up there with some great people in the field, and some great friends including Christa (from our cohort) and Alex (recent master's graduate).  She'll be up there for at least two years, as that's her appointment, and I plan on visiting at some point.  Preferably when it's hot in Texas and nice in Michigan.  Or in the fall or spring; but I will avoid that winter-mess.  No, this isn't Ginny's car, I just saw the Michigan plate and thought of her!

May 10: GA Bucket List

Although I've known I was leaving Georgia for awhile, I hadn't put together a bucket list.  So I started one at the urging of my sister.  Stone Mountain park is a large...stone mountain (original name, I know) and they have a laser light show at night.  I've always wanted to go, so we did.  What I didn't know was how many other things there were to do at the park.  They have a train ride, putt putt golf, touring of antebellum homes, and more.  It began raining in the evening and literally rained until 2 minutes before the light show started (and they didn't cancel it).  We just kept waiting to see if it would really happen, and it did.  The lasers were pretty neat; it's amazing what you can do with lights projected onto a big slab of rock.

April 25: Last Coffee Hour

It was the last coffee hour of the year!

I love when the flags are hung like this!

April 14: Dr. Mullendore's Farewell

Today we celebrated Dr. Mullendore's farewell to the profession and to CSAA faculty.  He has been counting down the days to retirement since I started ;)  Unfortunately, the cake from publix didn't turn out quite like a golf course. Ha!

Dr. Mullendore right before he was the VP for Student Affairs at UGA.

Shannon R. Dean

April 7: Dissertation Defense

Today I successfully defended my dissertation and became Dr. Dean.  It's strange, but glorious.  It's been a long four years filled with a lot of fun and learning, but also a lot of tears and grief.  Today was a good day.  My defense went well, obviously, and my committee offered great feedback into ways I can strengthen some sections of my dissertation (read: more edits) and publications that can come out of my dissertation.  Dr. Cooper was really proud of the work I did, and I could not have made it through this process without her!

She also really, really loved the gift of a Texas State University mug and the tea from South Africa.  After the defense, I celebrated with some friends at the capital room with drinks and appetizers.

January 6: Applied for Graduation

This is the first of many, many, forms and such I have to fill out in order to graduate in Spring.  Ohh, and I have to finish and defend my dissertation.  No big deal.

January 4: Young Adult Literature

I LOVE reading.  I read all the time, and lots of stuff.  Blogs, articles, books, you name it.  Although I did some productive (i.e., work & school) things, I spent many hours reading this new book, Legend.  Actually, I finished it in the wee hours of the morning.  It was a recommendation because I liked the Divergent series.  I got sucked into the novel and started (and finished) it today.  It's part of a trilogy…which could be dangerous, only, I don't own the second one yet (phew).  If only I was getting my PhD in young adult literature.

December 22: Semester Sniffles

I can usually tell it's the end of a semester by a cold.  Yep, this semester was no different.  I think part of it is that my body goes & goes all semester and when it has a chance to take a break it shuts down.  I'm hoping this cold and head congestion decides it wants to leave me before Christmas. 

December 17: Yuzhi Hu

Today we celebrated the life of a young woman who left this world far too early.  Yuzhi was a Chinese international student in a PhD program studying cellular biology.  I could talk about her short but joy filled life or how heartbroken I am for the loss of her parents only child, but I'd rather mention how impressed I was at the UGA community that came together to support her family and celebrate her life.  From support services, to the VPs office, to other administrators on campus, to our Chinese student association, to the cellular biology department, people's generosity and willingness to help in many fashions was overwhelming for me, the students, and her family. 

The service was beautiful, Yuzhi will be missed.

December 13: Fall Graduation

Today was the fall graduation ceremony, Friday the 13th.  Although some think it's an unlucky day, for Dr. Nikki Tobias it was not a very unlucky day.  Watching her get hooded made me excited, anxious, and a little stressed.  Graduation is five months away.  That means I have to turn everything in during April, which means I have to defend by beginning/mid April at the latest and that means my stuff have to be to my committee weeks before I defend.  The timeline keeps backing up...data collection in January, write-write-write in February, revise w/chair & committee in March...yikes.  

Anyway, today was a great celebration as one of my cohort graduated.  Only four more in my cohort to go.  Ginny & I will graduate in May, then our part-timers Zoe and Megan will come later (and we will be cheering them on).  No cohort member left behind :) 

December 11: Last Semester Registration

Today I registered for my last semester of classes at The University of Georgia (Lord willing).  I used this outdated system from the 1970s only FINAL time to register for 18 credit hours.  I'm not convinced these are the last classes I will ever take.  However, this is the last semester of classes I intend to take seeking a degree!  What a wonderful feeling.  Graduation count down begins.  Yikes!

It's over!

Well, another academic year has come to a close. In the last week, I've done over 300 walk-thru's, lowered 62 beds, charged students for damages, moved mattresses, and...it's over.


My last CL (community leader) checked out today. It's bitter sweet to see the students leave. I love what I do. I love the relationships that I build. I love that I can challenge students, encourage and develop them, and foster learning, but I love that there are seasons to what I do. As I've just finished one of the craziest seasons, I'm looking forward to summer! And I love that my work has a fairly distinct beginning and end to it every year.


Below are two videos I created for end of year celebrations. The first is/was for my staff of Allen/Dawson 2008-2009. :)




This next video is one I created for the end of year celebration for ALL the CLs, chaplains, and hall directors. Megan helped me pick out the music. It was a hoot and most people really enjoyed it. You probably won't understand all the music selections but each was chosen with the specific staff in mind. Enjoy!





It's been a good year, and it's bitter sweet to see it end. However, I am looking forward to some much needed rest! Summer, here I come! woohoo! :)