Contagious Spaces

 

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My name is Tenisha Baca and I am Residential Faculty for the Communication and World Languages Department at Glendale Community College in AZ. I am also the Co-Faculty Developer for the Center for Teaching Learning and Engagement. Welcome to this post!

We’re always encouraging others in higher education, but there are moments when we need it ourselves. When we’re motivated and inspired it impacts everyone we serve. It’s contagious and I’m here to spread it.

One way to stay motivated and inspired is to surround yourself with items that cultivate that feeling within you. The best place to start is the office. We spend a significant amount of time in the office. We should surround ourselves with items that encourage us to be awesome in what we do.

My office is a haven of motivation and inspiration. I’ve included pics below. Here’s a list of some of my top motivating/inspirational items in my space.

1. Purple Heart Award: Award I received after completing chemotherapy. I’ve been a cancer survivor since 2008. It reminds me of what I overcame and it encourages me to encourage others that they can overcome what they are going through.

Purple Heart Award.jpg2. Picture of my husband and I: He strives for excellence in everything he does. It reminds me to strive for the same thing inside and outside of the classroom.

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3. Notes of appreciation on my wall: Over the year’s people have been nice enough to write me such encouraging notes. I keep all of them and it touches me to know I have touched others in my work.

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 4. Wonder Woman: All of my figures inspire me because I love WONDER WOMAN!!! Everything she stands for is something I strive for daily.

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5. Door of Inspiration: Place where I post people, sayings, notes, etc. that encourage me to be the best version of myself every day.

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Cultivating this space and mindset makes a difference. I pass these messages along to my students when they stop by my office and we have conversations about life. I also pass them along in the classroom. One day I asked a student: “Hey, have you found all of this motivational/inspirational stuff we have discussed to be something helpful to you?” He said yes “It makes me realize that I can do anything. And that I can work hard to get there if I put in the work.” That is a great lesson a student learned, not just for the classroom, but in life. Like I said before, motivation and inspiration are contagious and I’m here to spread it. Thank you for reading.