I have to say that I LOVE this time of year.  Things are about to cool off (we are consistently in the low-mid 80s), and I can just smell autumn in the air!  I call it football weather. 

I remember when I was the Hall Director at Kays Hall here at Arkansas State University.  Kays has huge windows that surround the main lobby.  Each fall, I would paint the windows to support our sports teams (all of them, not just football).  As October hit, I would clean the windows and paint Fall related pictures.  Pumpkins, leaves, haunted houses, ghosts, etc.  This was in preparation for the Annual Kays Hall Fall Festival. 

The Fall Festival was a program that started before I was the director, but really became huge due to my efforts and the efforts of my staff.  Children of faculty, staff, and students would come to our building on Halloween to play games in the lobby and trick or treat in the building.  It was wildly successful every year and by the time I left, people would begin calling in August to find out when it was going to be held.  Sadly, Kays no longer hosts the festival.  That makes me sad because it was the campus event that everyone  could participate in for Halloween.

Anyway, the feeling in the air always reminds me of this.  I love the smells, colors, feelings of Autumn.  Especially before it gets too cold.  High 50s to low 70s is wonderful in my opinion.

So, here is some info on my new job.  I will be an Area Coordinator with Residence Life at Arkansas State University.  I will supervise Graduate Hall Directors, and be responsible for the First Year Experience Residence Halls.  I am really looking forward to this opportunity.  I love the department, and already have had a great working relationship with all of my co-workers and the administration.  In fact, my interviews were a lot of fun.  When I met with the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs (Dr. Rick), we mostly just talked about fun stuff.  Dr. Rick is one of the directors of the CSPS Masters pr0gram, and since I was in the inaugural class for this program we worked together and he was one of my professors.  We talked about the program and how things have changed in the past 4 years since I left ASU. 

All of my interviews were with people I already knew (I only didn't know 2 of the dozen people I interviewed with).  That made my a bit more relaxed.  I was still really tense about the position though because I didn't know if they would hire me or not.  Well--they did and I am really excited to start!