Today I met with Travis Yoder, the RD over in Eagle. He interviewed me for RA in January and I just met with him to ask about our interview and what to do better. Let me just say right off the bat, just as he said to me, this is in no way meant to be insulting (if something questionable comes up) nor am I mad. I just met with him and I don't want to forget what he said but also I want to unpack it. I also just want to know what my friends think, if what he said is true.
First things first, Travis asked me to have coffee with him. I do not drink coffee. I told him we could meet, but I wouldn't drink coffee and he said it would be on him. Um...I only know 1 think on the menu and don't like really trying new food so I got a Chai Chiller. It was $3.50!!! He got a coffee and it was $1.40. I felt SOOOO bad. But I didn't want to act like I was an unsure person or whatever so I just went with it. Just thought I would share that.
So apparently NONE of the mannerisms that I thought BLEW it for me in the interview actually meant ANYTHING. Travis said that I was ":hesitation: Too intense" in the interview. He said that this showed I was excited and eager for the job and this is great for an RA at the beginning of the year. However, he thought that I would burn out around Christmas time and after the beginning, I may not know what to do. Also, older students (Junior and Seniors) would not take kindly to an intense Sophomore RA very well. I can't disagree. The way I was intense apparently was the fact that I went "here, then over here, then over there, and gave the package of [my] answer." Thinking back, he is TOTALLY right.
Another thing he saw in me is that I may have trouble with authority. When he said this I thought 2 things. 1) How on EARTH did he figure that out because I really don't and 2) Dad is gonna be TICKED when he hears that. Anyway, in the interview the RDs asked about the hardest thing in my life and I talked about my trail to Eagle. From a few situations he said, it seemed as if I had problem with people above me and an RD does not want an RA who they will have problems with. Ok, I give him that. I honestly do not have problems with authority but I can see how he thought that. Like we both agreed on, the RA process is not perfect and the RDs don't really get to know the applicants perfectly well.
Travis saw that I understood "X,Y, and Z" about being an RA and how they fit in the pie. He said to me though that X,Y, and Z are only a small portion of that big pie and he thought I didn't truly understand the real job of what an RA is or does. We talked about what the other parts of the pie are and I thought to my self "Yeah...I knew all of that." Again though, through the questions and the faulty process, sometimes you can't get that across.
Travis also said that he thought I needed another year of maturation. With watching my RA and getting involved next year, I can grow more and become a better RA my junior year. He said that with what he did and his thought, he's willing to give me up for one year to hopefully get me for two. He had thoughts that maybe if I was an RA next year I would burn out. But with maturation, I can also find out the other pieces of the pie I just talked about that I am missing.
One last thing Travis said in which I honestly think he was wrong about me. He told me to answer honestly next year. He said that when I answer honestly next time that they can see ME. He said that the interview isn't necessarily about how I answer the questions but is more about finding out who I am. I agree with that for the interview process. But...Travis told me to be honest. That hurt. Because he told me to be honest "next time" to me that means he thought I wasn't honest this time. And...honesty is probably one of the biggest things about me. I want honesty 24/7 even if it hurts someone right then. That's why I asked Travis to tell me the bad things because I wanted to hear the truth.
In all, Travis told me that he liked how I came to him and asked to hear all of that. He said it shows maturity and he hopes to see me in the application process again next year. That made me feel REALLY good. Well Travis, you better believe that I'll see you next year. Now, it's time for me to go on a run.
Talk to you later world,
Michael Leather
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