First week at Mortenson

Arriving at the Willard Airport at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign was the beginning of my 2022 Mortenson Center Associates experience.

The program started off with introductions by all associates which allowed us get to know each other; country, workplace, personal information, hobbies etc. That was important because we got to learn about each others’ work environments and professional interests. We also reviewed the program and discussed the program theme and other important information required.

Then we had lunch with our library buddies; UIUC Librarians that were to serve as our guide and mentors throughout the program. Over lunch, we got to interact with our library buddies, got to know each other and discussed issues in information science. Then we took a familiarization tour of the campus passing through major areas and landmarks.

The sessions on Everything DISC workplace by Shirley Stelbrink introduced us to workplace profiling, leadership styles, collaboration models, change management, communication among others. Each of us got to learn and understand our individual profiles and how to work effectively with people who have profiles different from ours and still achieve the desired results.

We also visited the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL) where we were introduced to the available technologies and support for teaching and learning at UIUC. This was led by Robert Baird, Ava Wolf and David Favre with other staff.

The week climaxed with a welcome dinner at Barbara’s house for associates, library buddies and Mortenson staff.

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