A great networking event idea for your club

I love weddings. Any chance to dress up, see people in love, eat free food, and dance? Yes please! 

And lately I've been noticing something at weddings that reminds me a lot of college. 

When people first arrive, they look slightly uncomfortable, and generally sit with the group of family members they know best. With rare exception, no one goes up to a stranger on the other side of the family and introduces themselves. People stay where they're comfortable, even if they're with their own large extended family. We gravitate towards the people we know.

The same is true in college, and any stage of life. We stay with our 'group.' Why? It's awkward to talk to new people, and we hate awkward. But awkward is the door to opportunity and life-changing relationships. 

And while some of the best relationships just happen naturally, some relationships will never happen if they aren't purposefully encouraged.

Weddings have round tables, food, dancing, and sometimes other fun activities to encourage people to interact.

So if icebreaker activities can help bring families together, then they can also definitely help build a strong campus community. Some of my most treasured relationships in college and as a college staff member came from icebreaker activities and programs, because they force you to talk to people you might not otherwise. Those people will often become some of the most important people in your life. Trust me. 

Below is a great networking event idea I got from speaking for a TRiO program at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio.  

I hope it inspires you as it inspired me to think of creative ways you can help people connect on your campus. 

The steps to create the event are below, and they can be customized for your organization or campus:

1. Reserve a large room at a time when most students and staff might be free

2. Invite students

3. Invite faculty and staff (try to get an advisor or VP involved who can encourage as many faculty/staff as possible to come)

4. Get food. Free lunch (pizza!) or dinner works great

5. Get 2 sets of different colored name-tags. Have faculty/staff wear one color and students wear the other

6. Put students in an inside circle, facing outwards, with faculty/staff on the outer circle, facing them. 

7. Introduce the activity by explaining how their positions are symbolic of your campus community. Students are in a circle to help each other, but they are surrounded my faculty/staff who are there to help too and have a lot of advice to share. 

8. Have a list of questions that students must go around and ask faculty/staff. Choose someone to read each question into a microphone, and then students will walk around and talk to faculty/staff until it's time to move on to another question. I highly recommend some of the questions OLLU had students ask faculty/staff:
a)Why do you believe in me? 
b) What was college like for you and how did it lead to where you are today? 
c) What advice do you have for me? 

I talked to some of the students after the event and they said the event really helped them. A lot of students told me they felt less intimated to talk to faculty/staff in the future. They realized that their professors were just people,  that they too had been through college, and that they were there to help. Many students also walked away with incredible new advice for their lives that they would never have received otherwise. 

Even though campus communities are meant to be close, sometimes people can feel pretty isolated. I hope you'll take a stand to connect your campus, because both faculty/staff and students have so much to gain from really knowing each other. 

If you have ever done an event like this or take this idea and implement it, please let me know. I'd also love to feature any other ideas you have or events you've done to connect your campus. E-mail the exciting things you're doing on your campus to me at isa@communitycollegesuccess.com!

A huge thank you to everyone I met at OLLU who shared this incredible idea with me. You guys are amazing!

Three steps to get out of a slump

I have been working from home since May and while I travel a lot, I've been getting cabin fever. 

I love making my own schedule, traveling to community colleges, and working from my very own home office with my husband. But for the past month or so, I've felt like my apartment walls were closing in on me, and I could tell I was being less productive.

First, I blamed it on this large dark green wall in our place. I had it painted a lighter beige. Ahh.

Then I blamed messiness. Need to clean. Better. But I was still not feeling super energized in my space.

Then I blamed my husband. Because that's what you get to do when you're married ;) But then I realized working with him was awesome. That wasn't the problem. 

I was still feeling oddly sluggish. Why? 

I journaled about it last night and I realized something - I had blamed everything and everyone around me but me. I hadn't been taking responsibility for my own energy and productivity. I realized I needed to stop blaming everything else around me and take action. 

Below are the three steps I took to get me out of my space slump, and more importantly, three steps you can replicate to get out of any kind of slump you may find yourself in. 

Note: my definition of a slump = when you don't feel like you're living up to your full potential and realize there is more you could be doing to get where you want to go in your life. 

1. Reflect on the problem: I got out my journal and started thinking about why I was feeling this way - what was wrong with me? I didn't know at first but I just kept writing. Then, I had a flashback to my college days. In college, I always did my homework and wrote essays in the library. Home was for fun, relaxing, TV, reading, etc - essentially anything but work. I thrived when I did my work outside of where I had my fun. I had never made the connection before.

Journal about the problem you are having and think about who you are. Keep writing until you come up with the real cause of why you are in a slump. Don't let anyone else factor into your cause - think about you. It's vital that you take  responsibility for the cause so that you can find the solution. 

2. Brainstorm solutions: Once I realized what the problem really was, I knew I had to take responsibility. I couldn't just blame my apartment or my wonderful husband. I had been trying quick-fixes and hadn't really tackled the root of the problem. So I started listing any idea I could to think about how I could do more work outside of the apartment when I wasn't traveling.

Brainstorm a list of every possible solution to your slump. Don't judge your answers. When brainstorming, nothing is too outlandish. Just write. The only criteria is that every idea be something within your control, something you can act on. 

3. Take one small step: Next, I took a look at all of my ideas and picked the one I liked best. In my brainstorming, I remembered that when I purchased a business travel app a few months ago I had received a free year-long subscription to business lounges across the country. I decided to take one step right away to look into what this entailed. It turned out there was a business lounge in my area, and I scheduled a tour immediately. 

When you find the solution that seems like the best one, take one small step towards action - right away. Tell someone about your solution to keep you accountable. If the solution turns out not to be the best one, keep your brainstorming list and try another idea. 

Me @ work in my new space

I'm writing to you right now from a business lounge with a beautiful view. I got all dressed up to go to "work" today and it felt great. There are ladies in the reception area who are super sweet and made me feel energized. And I've already been more productive in the first few hours here than I would have been with my laptop on my couch. Slump = vanquished.


I hope this formula will help you crush your slump and continue to move towards your full potential.

P.S. Bonus tip for getting out of a slump? Dressing up for the day always feels good :)

How to overcome setbacks in college

In high school I was on the dance team for two years. Confession: I’m not a great dancer.

A few months before my ninth grade year, I walked into the gym to try out for the dance team. My parents couldn’t afford dance lessons, but I had gotten a taste of dance as part of a Junior Beta talent show in seventh grade, and I loved it.

So with a boldness I can only attribute to middle school, I decided to try out for the freshman dance team.

By a miracle, I made the freshman team. That year, I took every dance elective that was offered at my high school, and my parents and late grandpa will tell you that I didn’t walk around our tile floors – I danced.

One day towards the middle of my freshman year, my dance coach called me out and wanted me to try a split jump (something we were learning about in Dance II class, but not actually doing). A split jump is where you leap into a split and then land flat, in a split. Whaat?! I said to her. I can’t do that.

She told me I could. I hesitated at first, but then, I could tell she really believed I could do it. She wouldn’t tell me I could if I was going to break my legs, right? So I timidly leaped. And I landed. In a split. I did it.

That dance coach continued to push me in a way I had never been pushed in my life, and that next year, I tried out for the Varsity dance team.

I’ll never forget those tryouts. I have a really horrible “movement memory” (that’s the name I made up for not being able to remember dances when I first learn them). For the tryouts, we were quickly shown a routine and expected to perform it. They turned on the music, and I saw the other girls around me effortlessly repeating the moves.

I got maybe the first and the last move right.

The next day the results of who made the team were posted in the locker room. My number was not on that list.

It was posted in a little side category that essentially said, “see me.”

I was crushed with the kind of devastation that you can only feel in high school. I walked out of the locker room and circled around the secluded areas of the school, ugly-crying until the bell rang. I wasn’t good enough. The work I did hadn’t paid off.

I went to see the dance coach during lunch, and she told me that while my tryouts weren’t great because I messed up the routines, she still believed I could do it and wanted me on the team. I made it, just barely.

I was overjoyed. But of course, the work had only just begun. Being on that dance team was the hardest thing I had ever done. I twisted my ankle at the first practice, worked for hours to memorize a dance that others would get in a matter of minutes, and would often feel humiliated being corrected in front of everyone.

But I made the team. I got the backpack with the pink letters. I got to dance next to the girls who had danced their whole lives. I had to work harder, but I did it.

I know many of you are in that same circumstance when it comes to college. I am constantly astounded at the students I meet across the country who are going to college despite incredible obstacles that would threaten to (unfairly) put them behind everyone else: physical disabilities, learning disabilities, financial setbacks, deaths in the family, etc.

So if that describes you, I hope you are incredibly proud of what you have accomplished so far, and that you are willing to continue to put in the hard work to make it in college and make it towards the future you dream of. You have it in you. It is possible.

So below are three tips from my dancing days to help you overcome obstacles when you feel like you’re just barely making it:

1. Figure out what you want: When I danced for the first time I fell in love with it. I still get that feeling when I walk into the locker room of my gym and do my old dancer stretches. It’s hard to even explain why or how much I love dance. 

That’s how you should feel about the major and career you are pursuing (or at the very least, how you should feel about learning in college). The only way to overcome obstacles is to have something you really want, really connect with, and would do almost anything to get. Explore, experiment, and decide on what you truly want.

2. Find your coach: I could never have made the dance without my coach. I still think about her all the time, and realize no one had ever pushed me in my life the way she did. She challenged me to do things I didn’t want to do, things that scared me to death. She saw things in me I couldn’t see in myself. Think about it, all professional athletes have coaches. We can’t always see our own potential. Find mentors and tell them what you want and ask for their advice on how to get there.

3. Practice more than anyone else: When I was on the dance team I danced constantly. I took every dance elective possible (there were four) and I even became an office aide to my dance coach so that I could take an additional two classes. I practiced at home. I asked the better dancers for help and coaching. I bought the songs we were dancing to for football games and did the routines hundreds of times in my room. Are you really dedicating yourself to college? 

Are you studying more than anyone else? Are you getting ahead? Are you going above and beyond? That is what it takes. And while it’s hard work, walking out of exam day knowing you aced them all brings the same exhilaration that comes from nailing a new dance move. 

It’s the feeling that your hard work has paid off, and you’ve grown. Or rather, leaped. 

Dream of pursuing a career in the arts or entertainment? Successful Disney host and voiceover actress Stacey J. Aswad shares her advice

I love the arts. In my book I even mention that if I had unlimited talent and could do anything in the world I would be Belle in Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. Alas, even my car seems to politely tell me that I don’t have career-worthy singing talent (which is why I write instead ;)).

However, some people think working in the entertainment business, or in any creative field, requires talent alone. You either have it or you don’t, right? Well, not quite.

Working in the arts or entertainment is much more competitive than the typical business world, and you must have a certain level of talent to even begin to compete. However – talent alone is not enough. In short, you have to have grit.

If you’ve ever been through the demoralizing process of trying to find a job, you know exactly what I mean. Most people have to go through that self-esteem-crushing job-hunting experience every few years at the most. People in the entertainment business have to go through it daily. It’s called auditioning.

This is why I’ve always been in awe of people who work in entertainment, not only because I love watching movies, listening to music, going to the theater, etc., but because I’m also amazed at what these people endure to make it. The celebrities we know by name get plenty of credit for their work, but for every one of them there are thousands of other people making our world a more beautiful, fun, and interesting place with their artistic talent.

I recently got to interview one of those amazing people, a dynamic actress whom I admire greatly – Stacey J. Aswad.

Before I met her face-to-face, Stacey was a core part of my yearly Disney vacation. She hosts the ‘Must Do Disney’ show on her own channel that plays 24/7 in the Walt Disney World Resort. It’s playing practically 24/7 in my hotel room when I’m there on vacation because I love it so much.

Stacey’s career spans far beyond her role with Disney, though. You’ve probably even seen one of her commercials or heard her voice without even knowing it. You can listen to her reel of voice over acting to see if you recognize her (you’ll also be amazed at her incredible versatility as a voiceover actress).

I recently got to talk with Stacey and asked her to share her advice for students who are thinking about pursuing a career in the entertainment business. Her advice is incredible, and applies to anyone pursuing any kind of creative, artistic, entrepreneurial, or non-traditional career.

Stacey grew up in upstate New York and danced most of her high school life: “I didn’t do a lot of parties and I wasn’t in a clique. I was pretty much dancing 6 days a week.”

Her dedication led to her acceptance to Juilliard. “I was able to do what I loved and be creative, but it also gave me an education,” Stacey said of her choice to go to college for dance.

That education helped Stacey develop the grit and dedication that has led to her success in the entertainment business: “When I was at Juilliard it wasn’t like I walked around saying ‘I’m great I’m at Juilliard.’ You didn’t have that kind of inflation because you had to keep working to stay in. My Freshman class at Juilliard started with I think 28 people. By the end of four years, I think there were only 16 who graduated.” Stacey was one of them.

Going to college for the arts taught Stacey how to manage her time, motivate herself, discipline herself, and collaborate with others effectively. But more than anything else, Stacey says the experience helped her handle rejection: “Juilliard taught me how to handle all kinds of criticism, both the constructive and the not so constructive.”

The petite Stacey spread her arms out as wide as they could go and laughed as she told me if her skin were actually as thick as it has had to be her body would take up the whole screen on my Skype.

So how do you develop that thick skin? When you talk to Stacey, she is about the nicest person you’ll ever meet. She doesn’t appear to be hardened or to have the kind of outward “toughness” or coldness you might think you’d have to develop to withstand such daily blows. However, Stacey has developed something crucial – mental toughness.

“I tell myself that at the end of the day, someone can choose to give you a job or not, but they cannot take away anything from you that truly matters. They can’t take away my self-esteem, my talent, my hope, my faith, my family.”

Stacey is the perfect mix of optimism and reality, a crucial recipe for success. She believes anything is possible, but she is also intelligently aware of the industry around her. When she graduated from Juilliard she became a certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor: “I knew I wanted to dance but I knew I wouldn’t just come right out and get into a company.

“Having creative ability is important, but it won’t always lead to a job. You are the CEO of your own company, and you have to decide if you’re approaching your talent as a hobby or career. If you approach it like a business, there are infinite possibilities.”

From developing a fitness and nutrition program for the Youth Performing Arts school in Kentucky to producing a global web show for the voiceover industry, Stacey is constantly working on the possibilities.

Stacey’s realistic-optimism also helped her succeed as an actress. She knew she wouldn’t just move to LA and “make it,” so before she moved to LA she got her real estate license and built up enough income to last her two years: “When I moved to LA I was able to become completely focused and take classes, go to workshops, network, and audition without having to worry about getting a job right away.

“I saw friends who were so exhausted from waitressing and didn’t have time to take classes, network, or audition.” Stacey’s strategy paid off, and within seven months she had booked two national commercials for Time Warner Cable.

Some people think all you need is a pretty face, supernatural talent, or a “lucky break” to make it in the entertainment business. But Stacey proves that hard work and constant learning are just as necessary to succeed in the entertainment industry, if not more so.

And education, she says, is a great place to start: “I’m a huge fan of education, in traditional forms and just knowledge in general. It gives you the freedom to make choices.

“There’s something to be said for the space between high school and the real world, that space in the middle where you can explore, dream, learn, and focus on becoming brilliant at what you do.”

Stacey also credits college for helping her make it in her career: “At Juilliard I worked with people I never would have met just walking into auditions with a number pinned to me.” Those networking relationships are invaluable, and college is a great place to start building those relationships, as many colleges with creative programs hire people with real-world experience and connections.

So whether you dream of pursuing a career in the entertainment business, the arts, entrepreneurship, or any kind of non-traditional path, Stacey had some great advice to share:

• “You need to know yourself. Are you someone who sees the abundance of a situation or the lack of a situation? The way you frame things will determine how you’re wired and how you’ll handle the inevitable rejection.

• “Let go of the expectations of what you think you should do or what you think should happen. Just be present to what is happening, and be absolutely determined to bring very best to your situation.

• “Journal. I’ve been a big journaler my whole life. When I moved to LA I’d write about who I met and what I booked so I could look every single day at what I did. It’s a great way to keep perspective when you feel like there’s nothing happening. It’s also a great place to vent, consider where you want to go, and keep yourself accountable. When you write stuff on paper it spurs you into action.

• “Channel your excuses into something positive. We can make excuses for our whole life, ‘I don’t have a supportive family, I don’t have the money, I don’t have the right this or that….’ But at some point you need to decide what you want, and take all that energy you’re putting into why this ‘can’t work,’ and channel it into all the reasons why it could work. Then you can say ‘let me at least see if this is possible.’ I think you could be really surprised by what happens. There isn’t a dream that is too big. Just go for it.”

You can subscribe to Stacey’s free web show on the VO Buzz Weekly show website, see her incredible reel on her website, or enjoy her hosting of ‘Must Do Disney’ at any Walt Disney World Resort hotel. You can also keep up with Stacey on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube! Thanks Stacey!! :)

What do you stand for?

Tomorrow will be the first time I'll ever vote. 

Four years ago was the first election in which I was old enough to vote. I registered at a little table outside my college cafeteria, but something went wrong and I never received my voting card and missed my opportunity to vote.

I could have probably done more to figure out what went wrong and voted. I wished I had. 

My family never talked about politics as I grew up. They were more concerned with the debt they were in, my brothers' medical issues, and the other daily struggles of the working and lower-middle classes. 

So when I was younger, it just didn't seem like a big part of my life. Life went on relatively normally no matter who was in office. 

However, as I've grown up, I've become so thankful to live in this country and have the opportunity to vote. When I meet people who would give anything for citizenship to this country, I count myself lucky. 

But it's easy to lose that enthusiasm amidst the negativity. It seems much of the rhetoric is "against". I was listening to my iPod yesterday, and when "Some Nights" by Fun came on, for the first time I noticed this desperate line where he cries: "What do I stand for? What do I stand for? What do I stand for? Most nights, I don't know." 

It got me thinking about how easy it is to get bogged down in being against something, or feeling so disconnected from the world and its happenings that we forget to think about what we really do stand for, and, most importantly, what we can do as individuals, each day, to bring about positive change. 

To me, the best part about living in America is the ability to change our lives, to move up, to bring power to the powerless, to give hope to the hopeless, to make things better, to be creative, and to make change. Voting is a great privilege, and I hope that you take advantage of it tomorrow.

But even more importantly, I hope that you take some time tomorrow to think about what you stand for, and how you can use your education and your talent to do something about it. You are more equipped than you realize to create change in your community and make an impact on the world. 

I'm excited to vote tomorrow and I hope you are too!