Higher Ed Social

Episode 23 faces some technical difficulties, but we conquer them! We chat with Kimberly White, Internship Coordinator at Birmingham Southern College for one year and two days. Kimberly has a lot of Birmingham pride, which is evident in her blog. We talk with Kimberly about the Birmingham Bloggers as well as how she balances personal and professional content in her own blog. Kimberly has just begun a "Leadership Fridays" Series on her blog as well, which inspires a discussion about how each of us can contribute to the discussion in our own, strong way. We also talk about Pinterest, even though Lougan doesn't like it very much.

 

Links to cool stuff:

* Kimberly's Blog

* Birmingham Bloggers

* Follow Jackie on Pinterest

* Follow Kimberly on Pinterest

Episode twenty two starts with Jackie trying to be sued by Taylor Swift before introducing new graduate from Slippery Rock University Carly Masiroff and Sue Caulfield, Visual Content Weaver and #suedle creator at the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine at Hofstra University. We spend some time traveling between the past and future, and land on the #SACommits e-series, which began as an idea between Sue and Kristen Abell to continue to recognize mental illness not only during May (Mental Health Awareness Month), but all year round. We talk about the stigma of mental illness and how the series has evolved to "stamp out the stigma" through contributors' stories, some anonymous, and some not. This episode is a special episode, so we hope you enjoy it!

 

Links to cool stuff:

* #SACommits

* #SACommits on Pinterest

* Deb's Story

* I'm Not Ready...Yet. Why I Won't Publicly Own My Depression

* Learn about #SACommits and contributing

* What's a Suedle?

* Another badly timed screenshot of Lougan by Jackie.

 

Episode twenty one congratulates the class of 2015 with James Contratto, Associate Director of Student Activities at the University of South Alabama. James is a lover of higher education, being on five different campuses in the 10+ years he's been involved in the field, or as a student. We chat about what it takes to hold a position in higher education, and as we've learned in other episodes, you can work in higher education with all types of undergraduate degrees under your belt. We also talk about running, specifically higher education and student affairs professionals who connect with #SAFit, #HealthyHigherEd, and #HigherEdRuns (which may not be the best choice of words). We also talk commencement, and how different ceremonies can be.

Links to cool stuff:

* Watch Belmont's May 2015 Commencement Speech

* See what's being said on #SAFit

* Check out Student Affairs Runners on Facebook

The Ice Tower pic:

Episode twenty doesn't have a guest because this week we decided to do an Apple Watch review. We cover everything from the physical feel of the watch to the ways to navigate, touch, swipe, and rotate through notifications. We also talk about the good and bad of notifications on the watch, and the best ways to manage them, including text message notifications and emails. Of course, we talk about the fitness aspect of the Apple Watch, with more gamification than ever before. Both Lougan and Jackie have used different third party fitness and running apps, and we even take a look at FitBit stats to compare with the Apple Watch. We close with the most important and useful feature of all; telling time.

 

Links to cool stuff:

* Reddit thread for heartbeats

* Endomondo app for fitness

* A REALLY in-depth review of the Apple Watch

* This week’s elevator music was composed by Khuskan

Creepy Sadness and Love in one nodding emoji:

In other news, it's Jackie's birthday!  Happy Birthday, Jackie!

 

Episode nineteen is the first, and likely, only time that Jackie and Lougan are in the same place at the same time recording the podcast. We chat with Jeff Stevens, Assistant Web Managers at UF Health, who has been working in Higher Education since Jackie was eight years old. We talk about running and weight loss, which makes sense, considering Jeff's audience at the University of Florida. Uniquely, Jeff and his team have two distinct audiences: students and their parents, like all institutions, but also patients. With this in mind, we talk about social media and knowing your audience to maximize each platform. We end the show by chatting about conferences and what a good listener might actually look like.

Links to cool stuff:

* Student Affairs Runners

* Keynote Tweet

* Jeff's (beautifully designed) presentations

Episode eighteen brings back Ryan and Keith from Valdosta State University, as the conclusion to episode seventeen. We continue the conversation about using social media as a part of admissions' strategy, specifically how it is incorporated in the recruitment process. It can be a challenge for departments, especially when using social media, to determine what is important and timely, and it's quickly determined that there's more than one solution. We re-visit the topic of "class of" Facebook groups, being famous on social media, and how to engage alumni with cliche Instagram photos. We also reveal the history of the Higher Ed Social Podcast, and mock Jackie for being dreadfully behind in pop culture.

 

Links to cool trailers: 

Episode seventeen features Keith Warburg, Social Media and Content Manager and Ryan Hogan, Associate Director of Admissions at Valdosta State University. The guys talk (in southern accents) about their love of southern Georgia. We talk about QR codes and how they can be bad, or so bad they might be good, which leads to a discussion about admissions websites and gathering social media content from students. When it comes to admissions, Yik Yak is seen as a potentially negative platform, but the students at Valdosta turned it around, even providing some information for incoming students.

Links to cool stuff:

* The V-State Admissions Page

* The V-State Virtual Tour

* The V-State Experience on Instagram

Ryan's awesome QR Code profile pic

Where in South Georgia?

Episode sixteen is a great mix of higher ed and being social with Amma Marfo, Assistant Director of Student Activities at Emmanuel College. We discuss the food pyramid, and determine that a combo meal from Burger King hits all the necessary food groups, including vanilla. With warm weather on the horizon, we talk about the fashion of the season; a mix of boots, dresses, and everything in between, leading up to the crunch of the final weeks of the semester before summer time. In the higher ed world, we talk about student organizations, including the Ukulele Club at Emmanuel, which Jackie will likely audition for. We close by chatting about a new series found on Hulu, Resident Advisors, and balancing accuracy for good comedy as it looks at college through the Residence Life lens, something that higher ed professionals rarely encounter.

Links to cool stuff: 

* I Really Really Like You music video

* Resident Advisors Trailer

* Undeclared, Episode 5

* Amma's blog post about Resident Advisors

* This week's elevator music was composed by Khuskan

Episode fifteen starts with a weird pop...or drop, as Lougan attempts to explain the reason for a marble in his drink. We chat with Emma Daitz, Marketing and Web Editor at Nazareth College about an interesting variety of topics, including wearable technology, social media contests, and what types of headphones to wear in all situations. We also discuss the pros and cons of an open office space, determining if it does or does not hinder productivity. We wrap up chatting with Emma about Nazareth's accepted students day, #ExpNaz.

Links to cool stuff:

* Marbles in Ramune Bottles

* New Yorker Article Regarding Open Offices

* Withings Watches

* #ExpNaz Storify

We're back from spring break with episode fourteen and Erin Willis, Assistant Director of Study Abroad at SUNY Fredonia. Although she landed in this position due to fate, Erin is fitting right in. We chat about traveling the world, encouraging our audience of student listeners to do the same. We also hear from Erin's four legged friend on the topic, and meet Lougan's offspring.

Links to cool stuff:

* A really cute picture of Simon during the podcast

* This week's elevator music was composed by Khuskan

* Check out SUNY Fredonia's Study Abroad Program