So I never realized how many supplies it takes to run an office!!! This week, I was mainly an assistant to one of the counselors in the office who had the lovely task of ordering every single office supply needed for the upcoming academic year. We spent countless hours making lists, searching for good prices online, placing orders, looking up skew numbers, mailing orders, receiving orders, going through received orders, checking off what's been received, taking inventory, recycling used boxes, and finally...putting everything away!!! From paper clips, to copy paper, binder clips, to binders, message books, staples, tape refills, sheet protectors, and on and on and on and on....(sigh). Anyways, with each looooong order, I just kept reminding myself that these supplies are necessary to keep this office running, and without this office, hundreds of students would not be able to complete their years of higher education.
Apart from ordering supplies, I realized how hard it can be to have to "order around" difficult students. Although I truly enjoy my service here at the Office for Students with Disabilities, things aren't always peachy. There occasional difficult student does happen every now and then. One student in particular constantly abuses our policy of making free apointments with counselors as well as being difficult when told to leave the office if he's being too loud. I realized that some disabled students might not realize the extent of their behavior and it requires patience on our part to deal with these students in a respectful, calm, yet professional manner. The task of dealing with these students is often very difficult for myself in particular, because I have the type of personality where I want to be extremely outgoing and friendly with everyone. Unfortunately, with some of our students, being too friendly can lead to difficult behavior. Thanks to the support and instruction of the counselors at this office, I have learned how to professionaly deal with these students while still holding true to my outgoing personality.
On a happier note, I've figured out a very concise way to take notes for my disabled student in the Film and Documentary class that I volunteer for. The professor asks a series of discussion questions on the beginning of each lecture, but since I am not a film student myself, some of the names and terms he was saying seemed like a foreign language to me. Thankfully, he agreed to type up a list of the questions for me to have at the beginning of each class, so I can organize a section of question and answer notes for my student to more easily understand and study from. After every class, I put the notes in her folder, put the folder in her backpack that's attached to her wheelchair, ask if she has any questions about the notes, and hold the door open for her as we leave the class. She's such a joyful person and really lifts me up if I'm having a down kind of day. I know I've said this in pretty much every post thus far, but the students that I volunteer with honestly do so much more for me than I feel I could ever do for them. I'm so thankful for this opportunity, and look forward to every day I come in the office and/or classroom. This truly is NOT work, but rather supporting my second family.
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