Board Blog: Time to Reset

Ever have one of those years in life that you wish you could redo? 2017 was one of those years for me personally, but the 2017-18 academic year was one of those years for my staff and my first as a student media adviser. From multiple student deaths on a campus where everyone knows each other to staffing problems and everything in between, it’s one of those years that for every step forward we took we would get hit with something that would knock us back two. Like I said, it’s one of those years that we just want a redo.

Steven Hames, CBI Secretary

I’ve struggled and reflected on wanting to redo the year for most of this last semester. However, I can’t redo it, so I’ve had to change my mindset. Now, instead of thinking redo I’m thinking reset.

Many of you who are seasoned advisers have probably been here before, but for those who are in the same boat I am, let’s focus on how we can all reset.

First, as Jamie Lynn Gilbert posted in her most recent blog, we start looking forward to the new year and the new staff. Many of you have your next year’s leadership in place and if they are anything like mine, they are also focused on overcoming the troubles we had this year. They are learning from the difficulties and the mistakes of the past year, and we as advisers can help to encourage and push them in new and exciting ways.

Second, as CBI members, there are a lot of exciting things to look forward to that can help us with our reset. There is the upcoming College Media Megaworkshop. After looking at the different tracks, including CBI’s Radio Management Track, I’m excited about what I will learn and be able to bring back for my students. Then as we get started into the new academic year, there will be the announcements of the finalists for the National Student Production Awards. which will then propel us headlong into the 2018 National Student Electronic Media Convention in Seattle. Some of the ideas that my students, my colleagues and I are talking about has me really looking forward to returning to Seattle.

Lastly, let’s look to the promise of a new day. The future is not written, so the possibilities are wide open. This could be the year that we have the kind of success that we’ve never had before. Our staff could soar to new heights and adventures they haven’t even dreamed of. But, even if we don’t soar to new heights or have undreamed of adventures, there is the hope that we can in a year look back on all the things that really matter over the course of a year and say “That was a good year.”

So, for those who’ve had one of those years like me, let’s not look at what could have been but what can be.