ASUW Transition Website

OVO Director

OOI Director 

Mission/Vision

This year, we really focused on enriching the volunteer experience in order to increase retention. We also dedicated a lot of time and resources to the Ambassador Program; there is a lot of potential with this program and believe it can be a real asset to the ASUW and will grow to become a legacy program. Moving into the future, we hope to see OOI grow it’s social media following as a way to outreach, as well as continue to diversify and expand outreach efforts. 

 

Letter to Successor

CONGRATULATION JULIA!! You are the most perfect human for this job and I am so glad you get to be at the helm of OOI next year! I have to be honest with you, I’ve been putting off writing this letter, because change is hard and scary and OOI has been my home since my first week at UW, and compiling these notes has been emotional (in all the good, nostalgia-inducing ways!). I feel so much comfort knowing that you will be taking over this role, and knowing that you will be able to take OOI to levels that I couldn’t and outreach to communities that I failed to engage. I am so proud to know you, and so proud of you! 

So anyway, I think I’m supposed to talk about the job now? It’s great, it’s so freaking great. You are going to talk with a million and three students, calm the nerves of a LOT of first years, and be a source of wisdom for this whole office, really. I wish that I could write you this letter knowing more about what the Fall holds for you, but I can’t, so I won’t. All I can tell you is that you have everything you need to thrive; you are kind, brilliant, empathetic, and an absolute boss. Enjoy every single second of this job; enjoy the best days and learn from the worst days, appreciate getting to spend hours in 131J, and the rotating door of coworkers who come in looking for snacks and someone to talk to. Enjoy the stuff you aren’t supposed to; lean into staff meetings and slack channels and email-sending and volunteer-application making. These are the things I realize I’m missing most now; when you host all the big stuff, like Friendsgiving and the Volunteer Retreat you know it will end and so you soak them up; I took for granted all of the mundane aspects of this job and forgot that they weren’t guaranteed. 

OOI is built on everyday magic; we lead with enthusiasm, compassion, and resilience in order to inspire change. Sometimes people will forget about OOI; we work quietly and efficiently and the outputs of our office are not big concerts or impressive displays; it’s the smiles on volunteer’s faces, the friends that they make, the passions they find, and the growth they experience. You probably won’t ever know the impact you make on these students, but just know that what you’re doing is much more than giving someone an internship- you could be giving someone a family when they feel so homesick they can hardly breathe or helping someone unlock a piece of themselves that sparks a change in profession.

So anyway, just enjoy this. That’s what I wish I could have told myself at the start of this job. I wish I had some sort of earth-shatteringly brilliant advice, but I’m writing this in quarantine and I’m realizing that I took too much for granted. I’m so excited for you, I believe in you, and I’ll be here for you if you ever need anything! 

Good luck! 

Sophie 

 

Logins/Passwords

Email/Drive: asuwovop@uw.edu, dawg_volunteer

Website: volunteer.asuw.org/wp-admin (login netid)

Netid/password: asuwovop, dawg_volunteer

Print Code: volunteer-prince

Slack password: asuwooi2020

Canva: just use gmail account 

The OOI Website/Posting an Application: https://volunteer.asuw.org/wp-admin/ -> pages -> search “volunteer” -> volunteer positions -> type in title and hyperlink application -> “UPDATE”

*The HUBRES username and password are in my desk so I can’t access it and I don’t remember it v sorry I’m the worst but also I’m cashing in the “COVID” excuse card on this one. Talk to the RSO Center! They are very kind and will help you. 

**If you can, try to change the email address to “asuwooi”

Quarterly Goals

This is an easy way to outline how to do the job quarter-by-quarter.

 

Summer/Autumn Quarter

Summer

  • Hire Interns
  • Meet with interns and the whole team
  • Meet with your AD
  • Create Presentation for Dawg Daze ASUW 101 Sessions/Present at Dawg Daze  
  • Work with VP to put on the ASUW Open House 
  • Request marketing material for Dawg Daze sessions and the ASUW Open House from OComm, promote events on FB
  • Schedule the ASUW Open House and ASUW 101 presentations for Dawg Daze. You can look at our Facebook page to see what days we hosted those/how many of them we hosted
  • Plan an outreach strategy, think about virtual strategies, get creative!
  • Make your presentation for Orientation, I used Canva
  • Get ready for the OOI Policy Quiz (make employees take it at Orientation, in front of you)

Autumn

  • Present during Orientation 
    • Have people take the volunteer policy quiz in-person at orientation and request volunteers immediately after to ensure they know the rules and that they don’t request too many volunteers 
  • Present at RSO Fair for Ambassador Program
  • Order business cards 
  • Recruit Ambassadors 
  • Create and volunteer/intern/committee applications by the first day of school 
  • Build volunteer database
  • Have 1:1 with PD/FBD/Board Liaison by October 3rd.
  • FRIENDSGIVING 
    • Prepare Volunteer Policy presentation and quiz 
    • We made our own decorations to cut costs 
    • We just ordered pie and cider so it was cheaper 

Winter Quarter

  • Submit your personnel change request in January
  • Send out weekly Volunteer Newsletter 
  • Submit Budget Request in January
  • Host Volunteer Retreat in February 
  • Reach out to FYP and the Admissions Office by March to join Admitted Student Preview Days Resource Fair (Tamara Long is the contact for this) 
  • Finalize Volunteer Database in March 

Spring Quarter

  • Sit on a hiring committee!
  • Spread word about job applications!
  • Admitted Students Preview Day 
  • Jobs Fair and Career Fair 
  • Volunteer Appreciation Day 
  • End of the Year Celebration 

Budget

  • Typically, we spend about $150 for a room rental during Friendsgiving, $50 on decorations, and get food from Justin. You can find the food budgets from previous years in the Google Drive
  • For the Volunteer Retreat, we had the Shellhouse facility and food donated. We spent like $40 on decorations
  • We cut back our budget because we just don’t spend much as an office and have been able to get most things donated 

Weekly To-Do List

  • Sunday: Submit your office hours before 10pm!
  • Monday: Check in with the Volunteer page and see if anything needs to be removed/added 
  • Tuesday: Ambassador Meeting (try to attend these!) 
  • Wednesday: Write and send out Weekly Volunteer Newsletter 
  • Thursday: Take the day off? IDK! 
  • Friday: Meeting with VP and Jennifer 

Contacts/Meetings

  • Board Liaison; VP 
  • SAO Adviser: Jennifer 
  • OOI Assistant Director 
  • OComm Director 

Loose Ends

  • We got a new logo this year, but it took 9 months and I haven’t seen it, make sure you get it from OComm 
  • Kiran and I revised the OOI Policy; be strict and follow it, it will make your life easier in the fall! 
  • If you host an event at the Shellhouse, here are some things to think about: 
    • It’s really f*cking cold; it may not be the best for a winter event 
    • Use Nicole Klein as a contact; she gave us the space for free 

 

Additional Notes

Use your position and voice! 

  • I let way too much slide. By the end of the year, SHC had like half of the student body as interns. It’s important to limit the number of volunteers an office has, in order to ensure a quality experience. With that being said, if an office has a valid and reasonable reason for having more volunteers, sometimes that can be really valuable! For example, SDC had lots of volunteers because they were representing a lot of different communities and identities and they could provide evidence that their volunteers were in constant communication with office leadership and were having a good time! 
  • You’ll get lots of fun emails from people not from ASUW or UW. It is not OOI’s job to volunteer-staff a middle school science fair, or provide people to line the sidewalk of the Seattle Marathon (real requests!) OOI is only responsible for placing UW students into ASUW positions or helping them find positions across campus/potentially around Seattle; we are not the career center or Key Club 

 

Hosting an Event at the ASUW Shellhouse…

  • It’s super hard for food delivery to find the building. For example, we ordered Jimmy John’s. The delivery man was on a bike. It was raining. He fell off his bike with like 70 sandwiches. He crushed the sandwiches. This man is an absolute hero, and when he found us, 70 minutes later, we couldn’t tip him because we pre-paid. I have never felt so much guilt in my life. Sometimes I still think about it. We might be on some kind of “Do Not Serve” list at Jimmy John’s now. Anyways, good luck next year. 
  • It’s really f*cking cold; maybe not the best place for a WINTER event
  • Remember to figure out a way to get everyone and everything down there. Betty, Kevin and I had to take a Uber from the Hub the morning of because we hadn’t thought to rent a UCar

 

The RSO Center

  • These people are earth angels and the kindest hubbers. After two years I always assume I have learned how to print but still need help every single time. They know me, and also the look on my face when things have gone awry. Printing handbills with 4 per page is an advanced maneuver but it’s a token move for OOI tabling events, so ask them for help!  
  • They don’t do balloons anymore or helium so don’t use them during events 
  • One time I took too much paper and they called me out on it, so then I had to spend 20 minutes bargaining. We forfeited our paper rights for 3 weeks which was a big bummer. Follow the rules! The people at the front desk ARE paying attention to what you take out of there. Except for the glue sticks, we have commandeered a lot of RSO glue sticks. 
  • Use their paper and printing to DIY event decor if you want to save money! We enlisted the interns and Ambassadors to help! It was a super fun bonding experience! 

 

Stay connected

  • This position is more meaningful if you are involved across the ASUW/UW; being connected across campus helps you be better and more informed OOI Director. Make an effort to go to ASUW events, Senate Meetings, read the Board Meeting Minutes, help table when you can, and ask other campus partners if you can promote ASUW at their events! 
  • If you have another major life event going on in the midst of this job talk to your Personnel Director. During my time as Assistant Director, I had a relative pass away, became a primary caregiver for a sibling, and was going through a roommate-nightmare; I didn’t tell a single sole, carried that weight by myself, didn’t ask for more remote hours and was turning out sub-par work with no explanation. DON’T DO THIS!! (I’m sparing you like 13 more exclamation points but seriously don’t do this) This year, I had learned my lesson and when I had to spend all of Fall applying for grad school (which took up about 20 hours each week); I told Kiran, Kevin, Jennifer, Betty, and my intern right from the start that I had a lot on my plate. This was great because not only did this allow me to flex hours and delegate responsibilities, it also gave me this super amazing support system who shared in my stresses and struggles throughout Fall quarter!
  • Your Intern: Pick a good one, pick someone reliable, and delegate things to them!!!!