March 9, 2012
Why Change?
“I’ll just have the penne with pesto and a glass of water.” Those
were my first words uttered to a waiter who drastically changed my perception of
service. Meet Sean Johnson, an aspiring television, film, and theater
aficionado. As if this is not unique enough, he graduated from four colleges in
hope of fulfilling his career goals in the performance industry.
Our group of New Student Orientation leaders met Sean at Stardust
Diner in New York City. The diner is great for Sean’s theatrical passion as the
waiting staff sings intermittently between serving food. This entertained us
while we ate our lunch and demonstrated how service could be fun for both the
employee and the customer.
This statement brings up an important point since
the mentality of having fun while working is transferable to the NSO
experience. In speaking to returning orientation leaders, much of the summer working
experience is already fun. But this does not mean we cannot strive for
improvement. One of the tasks of an orientation leader is to keep first year
students busy, even if a session activity is complete. What better way to do
this than partake in a game that is entertaining for both the students and the
orientation leader. To flash back in time, during my interview, Courtney asked
me, “What do you have in mind that could make orientation better?” I was indecisive
and the only thing I could think to say was “doing more fun activities.”
Ironically enough, after meeting Sean at Stardust Diner, the experience made me
realize that the hesitant comment I made several months ago can come true! Sean
emphasized having fun on the job does not impair your work ethic or service, instead
it improves both capabilities. This is evident in several other industries such
as the shoe company, Zappos. But how can this model fit with NSO? With the
empowerment Courtney and Brian have given orientation leaders I have a couple
of ideas worth gambling with. For instance, the game show is always a success each
summer. Why not play mini jeopardy games in small orientation groups. The
jeopardy games would reinforce what students learned in the game show, testing
students on such things as Rutgers’s school history. Addionally, the games
could be used to add flare to less thrilling topics such as the discussion of
campus building locations, dining halls, and facilities. Regardless of the
success of implementing this idea, the key takeaway point is to emphasize the
important role having fun can have while working and learning.
A
big part of being an orientation leader is embracing student diversity. As
humans we have different backgrounds, views, belief systems, morals, and
ambitions. It is the orientation leader’s job to tolerate and embrace these differences. Coincidentally, Sean
illustrates this point. Politically Sean is Republican. What impressed me was
how adementaly he preached the importance of accepting Republican and Democrat
view points. Regardless of his core political beliefs he made it clear that he
respects everyone’s political views. But more importantly, he respects their
individuality. As a great believer in personal responsibility, Sean said it is
essential to hold yourself accountable to the way you present yourselves to
others. This mentality is transferable to the NSO work environment. Of the two
hundred or more first years I transition to Rutgers, I will meet students who
are incredibly different
from their peers or myself. It is my job to comfortablu present myself and
Rutgers so that students feel Rutgers will soon be their home!
When we got the bill and
were ready to leave the diner, Sean left us with a final note. When John Geremy
asked him what was the hardest aspect of his job, Sean paused and told us, “being
the center of attention on bad days.” I started thinking how difficult it would
be to wait tables and sing in front of crowds of people in the diner given this
circumstance. Then, Sean said, “But by the end of the day, I’m always feeling
better.” Why? Because bad things will eventually turn out better! This really
resonated with me because of something Brian and Courtney emphasized in class.
If you are having a bad day as an orientation leader, “fake it ‘till you make
it.” In other words the idea of being resilient is really important as an orientation leader. When you only spend
two days with a group of students one bad day could impact how they view you or
Rutgers University. So the universal message is to keep chugging along because
even on the worst of days things will only get better! And for that as well as
the many other lessons reflected in my visit to Stardust Diner, I thank Sean
for making me see why his job enhances my understanding of the current and
prospective NSO work environment.
Posted by Justin Harnett at 11:00 PM
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