Call Me "Dean Berger"

Call me Dean Berger. Haha, I figured that was an epic and thoroughly appropriate way to start my first blog entry. (Which is an intimidating process, by the way! Who will read this? Will it be any good? Will it be a total fail? An embarrassment? What if I neglect it too often? We shall see.)

Every few days, I have an epiphany, “AH! This would be an awesome thing to blog about!” or, “Think of the pictures I’d post today!!” Musings of a true artist:) However, they are promptly and always followed by, “Too bad I don’t have a blog yet.” The first entry has to be somewhat significant!! Pressure.

Let me just start by introducing myself, briefly: I am Allison, or “Dean Berger” this year at Gem State Adventist Academy in Caldwell, Idaho, where I am serving as an Assistant Dean for dorm students. There are 54 students this year, 28 in our care in the dorm—both guys and girls (properly separated and monitored, don’t freak out! Nothing new). GSAA is a beautiful campus, filled with positive people! I felt so welcome from the very beginning. This is a wonderful staff.

I recently graduated college after four years at Walla Walla University, with my art degree in hand (so to speak)!  “Bachelor of Arts with a degree in Commercial Art.” And a minor in History. summa cum laude. [Anyone can paint, right? :)] I AM proud, and I AM happy to be done. I’m just simply not a person who adheres to transitions and goodbyes as easily as most. I am training myself to NOT say “Just Art” when people ask what I majored in.

“I AM AN ART MAJOR AND PROUD OF IT!” Even if I DON’T know what I’ll be doing with my whole life!! Having fun, that’s what.

Being a DEAN is fun, for instance! I truly love it. After growing up babysitting, counseling at camp, and being an RA for a (FANTASTIC!) freshman hall at WWU, I believe I was cut out for deaning, in many ways. It can drag at times, but that’s just the nature of the schedule and the role. It can also be super intense and really over-my-head with discipline issues. And you get a TON of keys the first day.

Being a dean is a lot of office time, a lot of screen-time, a lot of sitting time—if you let it be. I find myself thinking about my own deans in college… did they really just browse Facebook and check all four emails as often as I do?? Is that the extent of this job?? Best-kept secret of the world!!! :D (Pandora is my best friend these days) Meanwhile, sitting in that desk, “I’ve got the power!” and “The buck stops here, Don’t you forget it!” Which is mightily frightening, I might add. When you are dean, no one else is going to clean up vomit for you (Shoot. Happened.), or address mean-girl issues, or hygiene issues for you, or go to the ER with a student with a twisted ankle for you. You are the one who unlocks doors and turns on the lights in the morning, or does the same in reverse late at night after everyone has already gone to bed. You decide who’s in trouble and who needs to shape up their act. You grade room checks and lead out RA meetings. You give worships. You are a constant role model. You listen to ramblings about crushes and grades and volleyball and nail polish colors (and you enjoy half of it!). You have to use the intercom for friendly and unfriendly dorm announcements (nailed it!). There is a lot of room for mistakes, and believe me, I’ve discovered MANY. So frustrating... The girls’ hall fire-escape door is NOT my friend, for example.

But it’s SUCH a good place to be this year! I am not too old to relate to these kids, and I have nothing else PENDING in my life that gets in the way of this experience. I learn as much from them as I hope they begin to do from me! It’s nice to enjoy quite a bit of "free time," a first in a LONG time-- Senior Year for me was an explosion of intensity, for-the-last-time college stuff, involvement and obligations, my senior art show, work, homework, friends, and finished with more goodbyes. In other words, I was not one of those "oh, I think I'll take GOLF this quarter" seniors.
Here, it’s a fresh start. I have a cute room, I get to explore Idaho, and I super love working with the dean team. I am grateful to have Dean Suppe to connect with. We are getting used to our last names. First steps!!!

If you’d like, you can follow along for a few more. I’ll try to relate some stories and experiences as I see fit. Pictures included, OF COURSE! Thank you, friends and family, for your support.