What is this blog?

The RutgersZone is a revolutionary new space located in the Livingston Student Center on the Livingston Campus of Rutgers University. The space includes games like Skee-Ball and Pool, an array of HD Satellite televisions and a full-service ice cream/soda shop.

In addition to creating a unique experience on campus for Rutgers students, the RutgersZone also aims to develop life and leadership skills of the staff members working in the space.

This blog, the RutgersZone Experiment, is a chronicle of this ground-breaking experience being shared by seven undergraduate student managers and one professional staff general manager. These students are being tasked with working as a team to create an unmatched on-campus experience for our guests, learning to become effective managers and constantly "pushing the envelope" for what is expected on a college campus. As a part of their employment experience, each student manager is asked to blog at least once per week about the processes associated with opening this space or developing as a manger.

Welcome to the RutgersZone Experiment!





Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The RutgersZone (Training) Experiment

First off, thanks for tuning in!  When I decided to make blogging a part of the experience for my student staff, I knew it would be a good way for them to process and record information about their experience...but I am secretly hoping that people will be interested in the journey we are embarking on with these people in this space.

Right off the bat, this is a revolutionary space that challenges what students expect to see on a college campus.  You will be able to see that from many of the pictures in this blog and on our website zone.rutgers.edu

In addition, this is a revolutionary experience in that seven student managers and one professional staff member (that's me) are quite literally diving into the restaurant/arcade/entertainment industry.  For many of the students, this position represents their first management experience.  As an educator in an educational institution, I wanted these student managers to get more out of this experience than money.  At the end of the year, it is my goal that each student manager will be confident in his/her leadership skills and equipped for the "real world" with many practical life skills.

With all of this revolutionizing happening, I knew that I couldn't plan just any training program for this staff.  Training doesn't have to be boring and it definitely doesn't have to be conventional.  My approach to training was to inspire the students through some unique experiences and provide them with a toolset for success including both operational and management theory training sessions.

Overall, I'm pleased with the product...but I will refrain from judging the success of the training without input from the students (which you should be reading about soon...)  At the end of the day, the "proof is in the pudding."  The success of this training will be evident from the success of this space over the next few months.

Interested in what we did during training or how we are doing through out the year?  Check back often!

Happy Reading and GO RU!

No comments:

Post a Comment