Health and Human Services Professional Development

Should I be friends with my boss?  by  Jori Brownfield, Guest Author   on   October 24, 2013   I have had summer camp jobs and university student jobs and have started to wonder what is appropriate for relationships between employers and employees. My work history has been in relatively relaxed settings, where many of my co-workers (mostly high school and college students) seem to be friends with their supervisors. Is this how the ‘real world’ works? For me, work is where I spend the majority of my time outside of classes, and it makes it more enjoyable to work with people I appreciate being around. It seems to make the time go by faster. And, when working with and for people I am friends with, I have fun when completing my tasks or fulfilling responsibilities rather than drag through them, watching the clock.  There have been times, however, that I have wondered, “what are the professional boundaries?” and “are there consequences to employee-sup...

Whether or not to attend your own graduation ceremony by   Jori Brownfield, Guest Author   on   May 12, 2014   With graduation quickly approaching, whether or not to walk has been a popular conversation among my friends and I. Some of friends are walking across the stage, and some are not. I ultimately decided to, and here are some things I considered… Are you being recognized?  Yes, many of us want to be modest, but you worked hard if you are given special recognition at graduation. It is important to be proud of your accomplishments. Even if there is no special recognition, it is a big accomplishment to earn a degree. It’s your weekend, and others are there to celebrate you.  The people who have been your support system are proud of you and may want to see you walk. Tickets can be scarce.  For many individual college commencements, each graduate gets a very limited number of tickets. It may be possible to get extra tickets from peer...