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News at OACUHO > January 2024 OACUHO Newsletter

January 2024 OACUHO Newsletter

posted on 8:18 AM, January 30, 2024
Click to read the January 2024 OACUHO Newsletter!

President's Message

Happy New Year, OACUHO!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and a well-deserved break. As we begin the new year, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your amazing work in 2023. I hope you have taken time to reflect on the resilience, adaptability, and excellence in supporting our students and operations you have demonstrated.

As we resume our normal operations, many of us are welcoming new students who are joining for the winter term. This is an opportunity for our communities to expand and create new connections and help create lifelong friendships!

I also want to acknowledge that January often is the start of the student staff hiring cycle. This is a crucial process across our association, as we seek to recruit, train, and retain the talent for our teams. Student staff members are integral across many functional areas in Housing. I encourage you to share your experiences and insights with each other and how we can collectively improve our application and selection processes. I am encouraged by the conversations happening at various levels and through various avenues. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out across the association!

As we embark on a new year, I invite you to reflect on your goals and aspirations for 2024. What do you want to achieve, learn, or improve in your role? How can you contribute to the vision and mission of OACUHO? How can we work together to enhance the quality and impact of our work?

I am confident that 2024 will be a great year for OACUHO, as we continue to grow, innovate, and collaborate. I am proud of the work we have done so far and I look forward to continue working with you in the coming months.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish you all the best in 2024!


Sincerely, 

 

Parmveer Mundi 
President, OACUHO

 

2024 Spring Conference

Please save the date for this year’s OACUHO Spring Conference from June 17th – 20th 2024, hosted at Wilfrid Laurier University.

The learning experience proposal submission form is currently open. Members interested in presenting at this year’s conference are encouraged to submit a proposal. 

The deadline to submit a learning experience for this year’s conference will be on Monday, February 19th, 2024. Members can submit a conference proposal by filling out this form.

Should you have any questions, please reach out to the Laurier team at OACUHO2024@wlu.ca.


Sincerely,
The Laurier Team & The Spring Conference Learning Experience Committee
 

 

PD Opportunities Highlight

Don’t miss your chance to register for our four session webinar on Indigenizing & Decolonization in the Canadian Student Housing Profession. Student Affairs professionals Rachel Barreca and Nadia Rosemond, will take this cohort through a discussion and reflection on the impacts of colonization and what we can do to help to create just and equitable changes in our housing systems.

If the session is full, we encourage you to join the waitlist to help us gauge interest for future similar PD opportunities. 

Webinar Series: Indigenizing & Decolonization in the Canadian Student Housing Profession

Information and Registration: Access here (oacuho.com)

Learn from Rachel Barreca and Nadia Rosemond about the truth about the impacts of colonization both past and present. As student affairs and housing professionals, it can be challenging to figure out what we can do to help, especially when our day-to-day work is intense. But it doesn't have to be so overwhelming.

In this series, we will create a community of learning that helps us understand the history of our field and its connections to colonization, examine the current state of student housing and student affairs through an Indigenized and decolonized lens, and think about the actions we can take to create just and equitable changes in our housing systems.

Dates:

  • Mon. January 29, 2024
  • Mon. February 26, 2024
  • Mon. March 25, 2024
  • Mon. April 22, 2024

All sessions are 12:00 - 1:15 pm ET

Registration is now open on our website. Spots are limited so take advantage while you can!

Register Now!
 

Membership Engagement Highlights

OACUHO Connect Program - January Connection 

Hello OACUHO Connect Participants,

I trust you had a relaxing break and you're just as excited as I am for the new term to begin!  

On behalf of the Membership Engagement Committee, we hope you have enjoyed being part of the OACUHO Connect Program thus far and we want to thank you for your continued engagement. If you have not had the opportunity to connect with your assigned OACUHO Connect partner last term, we strongly encourage you to do so this month!

As promised in our initial pairing e-mail, we are excited to pass along some conversation topics as you reflect on the term and look ahead to the term ahead:

  • How has your semester gone overall?
  • What are you proud of?
  • What is your self-care plan for the winter break and how are you going to commit to it?
  • What are you looking forward to for next term?
  • What are you looking to challenge yourself with for the next semester?

We look forward to hearing from you and are excited to hear about your connections! If your OACUHO Connect pairing is exceeding your expectations and you are gaining value from this program, please feel free to reach out to us and share. We would be happy to feature the connection in an upcoming newsletter. 

Take care,
The Membership Engagement Committee


Communities of Practice 

Still looking to get involved in OACUHO? Keep an eye out for the Communities of Practices this term. Our CoP’s meet regularly to engage in respectful opportunities for dialogue surrounding a particular focus area.

Interested in learning more about our CoP’s? Join a Community of Practice here.
 

 

BIPOC Network Highlights

Date and Time: 5:00 PM EST | February 12, 2024
Location: Virtual via Zoom (register for link)

Join the Pathways Program hosted by the BIPOC Network of OACUHO! This virtual panel focuses on supporting BIPOC student staff members in exploring professional careers in Housing or Student Affairs. Student staff will learn about the realm of Housing, address common questions, gain resources to pursue a career, and engage with diverse panelists sharing insights from their unique paths in the field.

Updates and panelist information will be shared on the OACUHO Instagram (@oacuho) leading up to the event.

We ask that members share this information with your student staff that might be interested in this event. If you would like a physical poster to print or to share digitally with your student staff, you can access them in this folder: Link (Google Drive).

Victoria Parkins and Alaké Mills
Co-Chairs, BIPOC Network