While you can succeed without a Bachelor's degree, it is becoming more and more rare. The timeline these days, or so it seems is:
Graduate high school (age 17-18)
Enter college (age 17-18)
Graduate college (21-25)
Enter work force (21-25) for the rest of your life (with the possibility of continuing education somewhere in there.)
Do you think we are asking too much of our 17-18 year olds? When I was in middle school, I had to take a careers course. We met various people from different fields, asking questions and learning about various field. We never talked about careers again. I asked some of my college students today if they took a careers course, the answer was no.
How do we expect our students to know what their career options are if we aren't giving them the resources to make these choices? I see students change majors three or four times before they settle on something - and then they go back to Grad School for yet another different career path. I also have seen students enter the work force for one year and then run to Grad School because the career path they thought they wanted (the one they decided when they were 17 years old) turned out to not be what they wanted.
I had a student walk into my office today in crisis mode. She changed her major between her first and second semester and, one and a half semesters into her second major, she thinks she is miserable. She doesn't really know what she wants to do, but she thinks she really likes what I do for a living.
I absolutely value what we as educators and professionals offer students entering college, but I wonder what we can do to help them with these decisions. As someone who went straight from my Bachelor's into my Master's, I understand being unhappy with a degree path.
What does your institution do to help the undecided or questioning students? What resources, courses, programs or offerings are out there to help guide the young souls who may not feel comfortable making such a life changing decision at such a young age?
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
It's just Alex (and other easy answers.)
Welcome to my blog. My name is Alex Garrett, and I'm a female student affairs professional with a short first name. I welcome you by explaining a few of the most frustrating answers I give on an almost daily basis...
Is your name really just Alex?
I understand that many people use nicknames (my mother is Kristin, goes by Kris; father is Richard, goes by Rich.) I, however, I have a VERY short first name. It's four letters, and that's it. Unfortunately, my middle name is Andrea, so this leads to a lot of confusion (especially with insurance companies, for some reason.) This also leads to my next problem. But yes, my name is just Alex. My advice for you: accept the terms that people use to describe them. From gender pronouns to names, if that's how they introduce themselves, use it.
Are you sure this is Alex? (This is generally followed up by a number of security questions, every time I speak to someone about my account.)
I thoroughly enjoy my name. When I was younger, I wished my mother had named me something glamorous (like Alexandra Anastasia). For awhile, I added a z to the end of my name (Alexz. Why? I have no idea.) But, I'm at a point where I like my name. However, on paper, everyone assumes that Alex Garrett is a boy. Whenever my partner calls to ask questions about our cable account (that is in my name,) he encounters no security questions in addition to address and phone number (while pretending to be me.) When I call, I get everything from our security code (which I can never remember,) to my social security number. In answer, yes, this is Alex. My advice for you: don't judge a name just by what you know. I have more female Jordan & Taylor friends than I do male friends. Names that are solely for one sex or the other are kind of going away, and as a society we need to be ready to accept that and get rid of our gendered assumptions.
Oh, you work at a college. What do you teach? (Enter brief explanation.) Okay. You just plan parties. That must be awesome.
I will admit it - when I entered college, I had no idea what Student Affairs was. However, I was super involved in orientation, first year experience, and a number of student organizations and I slowly figured it out. I hold a Master's degree in Educational Leadership: Higher Education and Student Affairs, and that also helped figure it out. However, it didn't really help in the explaining what I do (at least not a short answer.) So I'll give you the long answer...
I'm a Coordinator in the Office of Campus Life. I work to develop a non-class-based program for our freshmen and transfer students (helping to ease their transition to our institution through a peer mentor program, event support, and providing connections to other offices;) I support 1/3rd of our student organizations in their attendance at conferences, programs on campus, and their development as student leaders; I supervise my office's 8 student workers (without whom our office would be lost); I work with our GLBT population, coordination our Safe on Campus program as well as providing other programming efforts and resources; I advise our student programming board while helping them develop as a student organization and planning awesome campus events; and I support the efforts of my coworkers, which includes being present during orientations.
So, yes, I do plan SOME parties, and I'll agree - my job is awesome. But my job is also challenging, both on a professional level and sometimes a personal level, and I know that some of my students would not succeed as they do if it wasn't for the support that my office provides them. While we're not an academic support, we are a support.
I hope you enjoy my blog. It will be a mix of personal things (most likely about animals, food, and the city of Chicago) and my professional life, but I hope there will never be a dull moment. Welcome!
Is your name really just Alex?
I understand that many people use nicknames (my mother is Kristin, goes by Kris; father is Richard, goes by Rich.) I, however, I have a VERY short first name. It's four letters, and that's it. Unfortunately, my middle name is Andrea, so this leads to a lot of confusion (especially with insurance companies, for some reason.) This also leads to my next problem. But yes, my name is just Alex. My advice for you: accept the terms that people use to describe them. From gender pronouns to names, if that's how they introduce themselves, use it.
Are you sure this is Alex? (This is generally followed up by a number of security questions, every time I speak to someone about my account.)
I thoroughly enjoy my name. When I was younger, I wished my mother had named me something glamorous (like Alexandra Anastasia). For awhile, I added a z to the end of my name (Alexz. Why? I have no idea.) But, I'm at a point where I like my name. However, on paper, everyone assumes that Alex Garrett is a boy. Whenever my partner calls to ask questions about our cable account (that is in my name,) he encounters no security questions in addition to address and phone number (while pretending to be me.) When I call, I get everything from our security code (which I can never remember,) to my social security number. In answer, yes, this is Alex. My advice for you: don't judge a name just by what you know. I have more female Jordan & Taylor friends than I do male friends. Names that are solely for one sex or the other are kind of going away, and as a society we need to be ready to accept that and get rid of our gendered assumptions.
Oh, you work at a college. What do you teach? (Enter brief explanation.) Okay. You just plan parties. That must be awesome.
I will admit it - when I entered college, I had no idea what Student Affairs was. However, I was super involved in orientation, first year experience, and a number of student organizations and I slowly figured it out. I hold a Master's degree in Educational Leadership: Higher Education and Student Affairs, and that also helped figure it out. However, it didn't really help in the explaining what I do (at least not a short answer.) So I'll give you the long answer...
I'm a Coordinator in the Office of Campus Life. I work to develop a non-class-based program for our freshmen and transfer students (helping to ease their transition to our institution through a peer mentor program, event support, and providing connections to other offices;) I support 1/3rd of our student organizations in their attendance at conferences, programs on campus, and their development as student leaders; I supervise my office's 8 student workers (without whom our office would be lost); I work with our GLBT population, coordination our Safe on Campus program as well as providing other programming efforts and resources; I advise our student programming board while helping them develop as a student organization and planning awesome campus events; and I support the efforts of my coworkers, which includes being present during orientations.
So, yes, I do plan SOME parties, and I'll agree - my job is awesome. But my job is also challenging, both on a professional level and sometimes a personal level, and I know that some of my students would not succeed as they do if it wasn't for the support that my office provides them. While we're not an academic support, we are a support.
I hope you enjoy my blog. It will be a mix of personal things (most likely about animals, food, and the city of Chicago) and my professional life, but I hope there will never be a dull moment. Welcome!
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