My Freshman Year (Reflective Reading)

I am enjoying My Freshman Year a great deal. I am really engrossed in the detail of the book on multiple levels. The story itself is engrossing; the idea of a university insider (faculty) taking on the role of a student and experiencing the student view is enviable. The author details many things that only a student knows and is able to share the wisdom as a valuable resource. As a housing person the information regarding the workings of the "freshman dorms" makes me blush in the many ways my own work in non-original yet provides inspiration at the same time because of the new knowledge discovered by the researcher.

The qualitative research example provided through the author's writing is useful and allows me to see qualitative work taking place and being documented in a way that is entertaining and engaging. I think the engagement is not simply because the university environment is my "turf" but because I'm learning that qualitative work is simply engaging. I am beginning to realize qualitative work is like "emotional intelligence" of research. It's inspiring stories that capture my attention and leave me with a feeling of thorough understanding.

One of the first things that captured my attention is the documenting of the Preview experience. The researcher notes that the students were placed in a "premier freshman dorm" (p. 7). At my own institution's summer premier event, the students are placed in the best facility as well. As a housing administrator I am the recipient of the complaints in August when the students return to campus and move into their less than premier facility. Thus I have questioned the placement of all students in the best facility and requested that we place the students in the more likely facility. However, to date, this has not been approved.

I have most enjoyed the way the researcher has so effortlessly woven the qualitative research details into the story. The author's transitions are seamless, in my opinion, and provide details regarding the research without taking away from the story itself. The author notes the paradigms used to view the data in nothing "As a new student, I was overwhelmed; as a professor, I was surprised...as an anthropologist, I was humbled to see how little I, as a professor, knew of my student's academic world" (p. 8). Without even realizing it, the author has put her biases on the table and informed the reader of the various lens she uses to interpret the data.

Will I ever be able to write so easily?  This takes skill that I believe exceeds the formula quantitative research takes.  *shhh* don't tell!