{"id":697,"date":"2019-08-20T11:11:32","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T15:11:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/grants\/notes\/?p=697"},"modified":"2021-04-12T19:33:02","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T19:33:02","slug":"what-does-joy-look-like-for-our-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/grants\/2019\/08\/what-does-joy-look-like-for-our-students\/","title":{"rendered":"What does joy look like for our students?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Hogwarts
Image from “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” (Warner Bros.)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When my daughter first started preschool, I posted this iconic movie scene on Facebook with a quip:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“First days at school should always feel like this.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I want her school experiences to be as magical as arriving at Hogwarts for the first time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m hoping our students feel like this when they come to Virginia Western. When they arrive on campus, and walk into our classrooms, or log onto their online portal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the summer, I read a Harvard Business Review article<\/a> that argued that all organizations should prioritize joy<\/strong> … to put joy at the center of their missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This HBR article clicked with me like no other in quite some time, and it inspired me to read an armload of books on the topic, all of which revolve around the importance of joy, especially in our jobs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joy shouldn’t be seen as a frivolous side project … but at the heart of what we do. It can improve engagement, retention, and overall satisfaction with our work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our enrollment struggles and gloom and doom in news headlines do not inspire joy. Quite the opposite. We will never thrive if we are working from a place of fear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we start the 2019 academic year, I want to focus on bringing more joy to the students and the communities we serve. To always keep asking ourselves: What does joy look like for our students? How can we design for delight?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn’t to say joy isn’t already happening on our campus. The fantastic work happening in Student Services … and TRiO … and the upcoming Harry Potter-themed open house on Oct. 31 in Brown Library <\/strong>all immediately come to mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I just want more of it … to be more intentional in our joy-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But creating more joy starts with us, and it will radiate out to our students and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I started small, in my own division. I created a “Joy Survey”<\/strong> for the Institutional Advancement team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I asked three simple questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n