Training Day

Today I spent all day facilitating training for 20 student leaders on how to handle various situations they may never see. There is a small chance they may encounter one or more of the situations I spent 8 hours preparing them to handle, and honestly, I hope they don't have to deal with it. The situations include suicidal thoughts or attempts; fighting with parents/loved ones; alcohol abuse; racist bigotry; drug use; homophobia; and general conflict. Not a light day of training, but in the end, I think the group did a great job in picking up the essentials in how to initially inquire, and find an opportunity to refer to a professional staff member or at a minimum, a student staff member who has had much more extensive training (i.e., one of my regular student staff members who are trained to be prepared to deal with these types of things 9 months out of the year).

At the end of the training day, there are multiple scenarios we act out and have the participants take turn confronting in small groups. This is very scary for them, and you can just see the nervous hesitation in their eyes about being able to remember to say and do the right thing. I am always very adamant with my staff that this training should be something that focuses on the positives and not on the negatives; gives advice for how to confront difficult statements/behaviors while not making the participants feel like they messed up; and provides suggestions for the multiple opportunities and methods for which they can turn it over to a more trained person, if they feel they are over their head. As difficult as this training may be, this training is something they report to appreciate learning after they have completed it. In some ways, it probably feels like some sort of rite of passage, even though it is not meant to be. The trainees feel very proud of themselves once they are done, and you can see the confidence exuding from each of them. The energy coming off of the group after this training is completed is one of my favorite moments of the training.

The time spent building people up to confront situations they may never face may seem like a pointless task to some, but it actually a very beneficial process in their development as a young staff member. I would rather develop skills in people they may not end up confronting, and have them feel confident and capable of handling these if they do find themselves in these situations, versus have them find themselves involved with a situation and feel like they are in it alone, and not know how to help the other person.

I was really proud of the new student leaders for their enthusiasm and positive attitudes today. And I was really proud of my Residence Life staff for all the assistance they gave in making the training today happen so seamlessly and for being so encouraging to the students on the participant end. They are truly amazing individuals, working with seriously difficult issues faced by our college students today, getting paid way less than they deserve, and caring about the betterment of those around them. Bravo!