Reflecting on the past couple of weeks, I have personally seen the core values of our institution used consistently in different ways. In most cases, these values were in use subconsciously by all involved, sort of like a director of a Hollywood movie. As your watching the movie, you know that there is someone there secretly directing the action, but no one mentions him or her by name, you never see them, and soon you forget that they were even there. However, when reflecting upon the movie you can see how the director left his or her mark in every scene, in every movement, and in every word.
Last year during orientation, we had a session called, Community of Respect. This session showed students different ways in which they too could be respectful of others in our community and also methods to protect themselves from harmful situations.
From a different perspective I have seen how Clemson University is a community of respect. Not in terms of roommate conflicts among summer residents, but in terms of the respect that all members of the Clemson community has for each other and the job that each person has to do. We completely rely on our custodial staff to maintain the beauty and dignity of our campus. We look to our President and his executive staff to continue to communicate those messages that are so important to us all: "One Clemson"; "Top Twenty Institution"; "Clemson Family"; "Solid Orange". We ask that our staff members be inviting, welcoming, and available to our many parents and new students who will walk our campus in the coming weeks. We trust in our faculty to begin the education of our students not in August but in June. And these "august" members of our community are already busy preparing the life lessons that our students will need to learn. Most importantly, we ask our students that are here with us this summer to help the rest of the community from all of this. From those students who are working on the Residential Facilities paint crew, to the orientation ambassadors who will be front and center come Friday, the 13th.
I think what is so magical about summer orientation, is that it is the simplest interactions that make meaningful relationships. If you remember the community of respect videos, I had lunch with "Jim" from the video last week. If you see Jim on campus, be sure to tell him I said hello. Anyway, I met Jim as he was the orientation ambassador I worked with during those sessions. Throughout this past year, we have kept in touch, called each other when we needed help, and continued to work together. These are the types of interactions we hope all of our students will have this summer.
Always in your service,
Justin Carter
Associate Director, OCES
Posts
