2026 Student Life Professional Development Conference View Other Sessions

University staff play a pivotal role in shaping students’ career journeys, often serving as their first stop for career advice. Research has shown that students will most often talk with a trusted faculty or staff member first, rather than a career coach. Because of this, career education is everyone's work- not just that of the university's career centers. In this session, staff can learn how to handle the basics of career conversations. You don't have to be an expert to get the conversation started! We'll talk through a few key theories and approaches to guide your work and get you connected to the resources your students need. By attending, participants will strengthen their ability to influence students’ career readiness and success, becoming trusted voices who help bridge the gap between college and career.

Ever wonder how you can advise and motivate student organizations to build a vision for their future grounded in their purpose? This interactive session will explore just that! Attendees will walk away with techniques and tools to advise student organizations to build, re-visit, or define their purpose, vision, and create a membership experience that will support their sustainable success. 

Leaders and middle managers do their best work when they can include the voices of others. Duoethnography is a dialogic research technique that can be applied to leadership and management to increase the voices that are included in decisions and celebrate the diversity of thought amongst your staff and students. In the words of the founders of this methodology, what if we replaced "oh we have so much in common" with "oh we have so much in difference"? This session explores the ways duoethography can be taken out of the research world, made more practical, and used in the workplace to increase conversation and connection among staff. The presentation includes a theoretical introduction, practical instructions for using these techniques with staff and students, and short practice sessions with other participants.

Our lives are often moving quickly, whether it’s solving problems, consuming information, or meeting urgent needs and deadlines. This session explores birding from the perspective of a staff member who unexpectedly discovered it and now practices it as a method of intentional pause. 

From a lens of curiosity and reflection, participants will explore how birding supports mindfulness and enhances well-being, identify strategies to make birding more equitable and accessible, and challenge myths about what it means to "be a birder.”

This session will also introduce social prescribing, a growing health-promoting approach that connects people with nature, arts, movement, and other community experiences to support overall well-being. Participants will learn about existing U of M resources, such as Nature Rx, and consider how birding and other nature-based experiences can inspire both personal renewal and creative approaches to student support.

No prior birding experience is needed!

Supporting a student after they experience a difficult situation  can be deeply meaningful, and deeply draining. Staff members who support students through challenging events face constant exposure to emotionally demanding situations, which can lead to burnout if not managed proactively. Balancing the emotional labor of supporting students with personal wellbeing and professional effectiveness requires resilience, emotional intelligence, and intentional work-life integration. 

This interactive session will equip staff members with strategies to build personal resilience, enhance emotional intelligence, and achieve better work-life integration. The session will provide frameworks, tools, and reflection to help staff members stay grounded, connected, and effective while preventing compassion fatigue and burnout. 

Support for college students in Flint has evolved.  One program currently housed within the Office of Educational Opportunity Initiatives is driven by students.  The decision to scale from 2 to 15 student staff members has reaped more benefits than expected.  Paid student staff members are now managing several projects within the “FAM” at UM-Flint, focusing on support, growth, and community.  We engage students through coaching, mentoring, and a safe environment to study.  We reach students online through informative YouTube and podcast episodes.  Most of the FAM members are first-generation college students.  Their creativity and brilliance shine brightly through their work and accomplishments.  This showcase will describe the journey, model, and contributions that make FAM successful.