Employee Development Day

I admit, I did not look forward today. Especially given my past experiences with such attempts at community building, which often prove to be exercises in forced socialization. Finally, I decided to approach today as an opportunity to get to know new colleagues.

I did not participate in the early morning run/walk/bike ride, which essentially circled the campus.So my first activity of the day was breakfast. Then we went off to our first of two morning sessions, which were intellectual and practical offerings. I chose "Good Reads," offered by Mitzi Budde, the Head Librarian. I like the way she subtitled her handouts, which were annotated bibliographies. "Brought to you by Bishop Payne Library: your library at Virginia Theological Seminary." She presented recent books in a variety of subject areas, all available in the library. The library collection isn't totally theological. Mitzi also led the second session I attended, "Beyond Google: The Deep Web." The great thing about it was learning about several online subscription resources that are available to me as a staff member! So I spent my morning learning about the seminary library. I still need to get my Alexandria Library card, but it was great to start to get to know the seminary library.

Following lunch our sessions were geared toward more fun stuff--recreational activities, cooking, and crafts. Session 3: :Art of Origami" presented by the spouse of one of the staff members. He gave us a very brief presentation on history and notation and then moved on to doing some actual folding. We picked paper and then made cranes followed by another bird. I kept reminding myself to lock my inner perfectionist away. And as it turned out, we learned that origami paper you buy isn't always perfectly square.

Anne Karoly, a former Church Center and now current seminary colleague, led us through "Crafting with Duct Tape" where we created Duct Tape wallets. We had a lot of fun being creative. Although we cut up a large baggie for the clear panel, Anne has also used a double thickness of clear tape--sticky sides together.

The day ended with dinner together. All in all, not a bad way to spend a day.