SAHE Bears take Albuquerque by storm! Recently, a group of students and faculty from the Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE) Master’s program here at Missouri State University attended the Annual NASPA IV-West Conference. The conference was held in beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico between November 10th-14th 2014. Missouri State’s SAHE program had a wonderful showing while in attendance. The conference, themed Reaching New Heights and Lighting the Future, offered numerous networking and professional development opportunities for attendees. One of these such opportunities included a case study competition.
This competition, occurring over a two-day period, fostered a competitive, yet friendly, spirit in participants. Specifically, participants, who competed in teams, were asked to apply student development theories to a particular case study. Three Missouri State teams competed in the case study competition and the team of Spencer Orr (Hall Director within Residence Life), Jasmyne Channel (Graduate Assistant for Computer Services), and Kari Jo Freudigmann (Graduate Assistant for Plaster Student Union) placed second. In addition, Spencer also received the Rising Graduate Star Award for the State of Missouri. Congrats to all our winners! The faculty sponsors also represented MSU exceptionally well. Dr. Michele Smith and Dr. Belinda McCarthy presented a well-received presentation discussing the efforts of a Master’s comprehensive university to utilize professional competencies to enhance student affairs graduate curriculum and address challenges and opportunities confronting the student affairs field. Lastly, Dr. Earle Doman and Dr. Thomas Lane served on the conference awards committee and helped determine numerous award recipients.
Throughout the entirety of the conference, students attended sessions, explored Albuquerque and the University of New Mexico, networked with professionals, and bonded as a program. A unique feature of the conference included the Mentor/Mentee program. This program allowed graduate students the opportunity to interact with and learn from a specific, experienced student affairs professional. As a result of this interaction, students formed a positive relationship with a life-long professional mentor. Overall, the entire conference was a huge success! A list of all attendees can be seen below.
Liv Parks (Office of Student Engagement)
Spencer Orr (Residence Life)
Kari Jo Freudigmann (Plaster Student Union)
Amanda Gabbard (Community Involvement and Service)
Jasmyne Channel (Computer Services)
Kelly Donaldson (Residence Life)
Nick Elliot (Office of Student Engagement)
Katie Brady (Office of Student Engagement)
Becket Duncan (Student Conduct)
Dacoda Scarlett (Office of Student Affairs)
Kevin Sikes (Office of Student Engagement)
Dr. Earle Doman, Emeriti
Dr. Thomas Lane (Asst. Vice President for Student Life)
Dr. Belinda McCarthy (Professor, Student Affairs in Higher Education)
Dr. Michele Smith (Asst. Professor, Student Affairs in Higher Education)