Meeting and Greeting

Yesterday at work, we had a new student meet and greet, where students beginning the school in January of 2017 would come to campus.  I was surprised by how many new students actually came.  They went from office to office, meeting us all and being welcomed.  I thought it was cool, but I must confess that I didn't get much actual work done in the brief minutes where I wasn't meeting and greeting.

 

I have hopes that these kinds of efforts will keep students engaged and determined to complete their degrees.  There aren't many things I know for sure, but a degree finished along with debt accumulation leaves students better off than an unfinished degree with a mountain of debt.

 

And it's neat to be at a place that's small enough where we can undertake these efforts.  My last school was getting to be that small, but the mindset of many people was still the mindset of a school that had 3000 + students.  Not good for figuring out a new way forward.

 

I spent much of late yesterday afternoon with an HR person trying to figure out why I couldn't log onto the ADP system, which is the financial portal, which is where I will need to make my insurance choices.  Grr.  The most difficult part was in convincing the HR person that there really was a problem, that I wasn't just some stupid person who couldn't follow instructions.  We got it sorted out, but I'm still tired.

 

The good news is that we will be covered by insurance on the new job on Jan. 1.  The bad news, it will cost more, almost double.  As with every health insurance policy I've ever had, I find it impossible to know how much I'll pay out of pocket for health costs that may or my not be covered.

 

I have been working at jobs that are increasingly better, in terms of salary, in terms of title, in terms of responsibilities.  I have stayed healthy--but my health insurance has gotten more and more ghastly expensive.

 

And yes, I know that I am lucky to have it available and to have the money to pay for it.  Many do not.

 

I am tired--that's how I feel today, for a variety of reasons.  I don't understand why exactly.  It's not like I'm driving across 3 counties being an adjunct.  I drive to the office and sit there for 9-10 hours. 

 

But I forget how it is unexpectedly tiring to start at a new place, to meet and greet, to understand a new variety of systems with new log-ins and new procedures--full of welcome changes and challenges, but tiring nonetheless.