Week Glance 

Monday - 

9 AM: Give student staff their instructions for the day. 

9:10 AM: Meeting with my team about the upcoming week's agenda. 

9:30 AM - 12 PM: Assist front desk student staff & respond to cleaning staff questions. 

12 PM - 1 PM: Lunch

1 - 5 PM: Assist front desk student staff & respond to cleaning staff questions.

5:15 - 6 PM: Lead student staff weekly meeting. 

Tuesday - 

8 AM: Create student staff cleaning objectives for the day. 

9 AM: Give student staff their instructions for the day.

9 AM - 12 PM: Assist front desk student staff & respond to cleaning staff questions. 

12 PM - 1 PM: Lunch

1 PM: Work on Student Guest Housing Handbook

2 PM: Do quality assurance checks on rooms claimed as done by student staff. 

3 - 5 PM: Assist front desk student staff & respond to cleaning staff questions.

Wednesday - 

8 AM: Create student staff cleaning objectives for the day. 

9 AM: Give student staff their instructions for the day.

9:30 AM - 12 PM: Assist front desk student staff & respond to cleaning staff questions. 

12 PM - 1 PM: Lunch

1 PM: Work on Student Guest Housing Handbook

2 PM: Run to Costco to stock up on Guest Housing supplies. 

4 - 5 PM: Assist front desk student staff & respond to cleaning staff questions.

Thursday - 

8 AM: Create student staff cleaning objectives for the day. 

9 AM: Give student staff their instructions for the day.

9:30 AM - 11 AM: Assist front desk student staff & respond to cleaning staff questions.

11 AM - 12 PM: Bi-weekly pro-staff meeting. 

12 PM - 1 PM: Lunch

1 PM: Work on Student Guest Housing Handbook

2 - 5 PM: Assist front desk student staff & respond to cleaning staff questions.

Friday - 

8 AM - 12 PM: Assist front desk student staff. 

12 PM - 1 PM: Lunch

1 PM: Do quality assurance checks on rooms claimed as done by student staff. 

2 - 5 PM: Assist front desk student staff. 

Week: Unpacked

An entire dormitory was being checked out of and I was in charge of the entire process: scheduling student staff cleaning schedule, making sure keys were accounted for, room quality inspections, obtaining the university work truck for hauling linens, and scheduling laundry services. As overwhelming as that sounds, everything went according to plan and the student staff did most of the heavy lifting. I also frequently do room quality inspections to ensure the guests did not cause any damage, and to double-check the quality of cleanliness our students are doing before the next guest checks in. 

Additionally, I have been put in charge of creating the Summer Guest Housing Handbook. This handbook includes all the details our student staff could need while working in Summer Guest Housing. It talks about room cleaning procedures, front desk etiquette, on-call duty expectations, and how to prepare a guest housing room. 

Lastly, we host weekly Monday meetings with our student staff to update them on what the week will look like and give them instructions on things that need improvement on their end. These meetings occur to make sure our student staff is on the same page as our professional staff and carry out expectations of guest housing. I am usually in charge of running these meetings, and I must say, it is a different feeling being seen as a person in charge. In addition to these meetings, we also have bi-weekly professional staff meetings on Thursdays to update everyone in the department on our projects. 

Observations

The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is a very relaxed work environment, every day feels like a casual Friday, and the people are very friendly and go with the flow. My supervisors are all very understanding and kind, and the student staff are humorous and well-bonded. My work environment is welcoming and energetic, and it feels like my coworkers have adopted me as one of their own. I have never doubted whether or not they like having me around, and it's a reassuring feeling.  

The one downside of working at UAF during the summer is the lack of air conditioning units on campus. I think the main office I work out of steadies at around 85 degrees Fahrenheit. They gave me a personal office, and it is much cooler in there, however, it's tucked away in the back of the building, making me less accessible to both the student and professional staff. 

Additionally, Alaska sometimes refers to the summer season as "wildfire season". We already have two massive wildfires located less than 50 miles from the university. These two fires have been affecting Fairbanks' air quality tremendously (a picture is included on the observations page). This is a new experience because though last summer Grand Rapids suffered from poor air quality due to the wildfires in Canada, I have never been this close to a genuine wildfire and acted like its a normal day.