So what do I do??

I find myself so often trying to explain what student affairs is, why I chose to go to grad school for it and what I want to do when I ‘grow up.

Administration is something I never dreamed about going into. You just don’t grow up saying “I want to go into Student Affairs.” The whole field kind of fell into my lap during the summer of 2006. Former Director of Orientation Beth Ann Pretty sent out her annual request for student workers in the Dean of Students Office for the summer. I knew I would be here and could use the money, so I signed up. Over the course of that summer, I realized there was so much more that went on in the Campus Center than Sam’s emails and the Marketplace.

As fall approached and my tenure as packet stuffer came to a close, the new Director Mark Sikes offered me a position as his assistant. It was then that I realized people actually do this for a living. The Dean of Students Office for me became much more than a principal’s office and more of a support center for students. I really began to see that Student Affairs was something I wanted to pursue.

I had a hard time balancing between Student Affairs or Hispanic Studies and staying or leaving. I then realized that the reasons I wanted to go after graduate work in Hispanic Studies were so I would be able to work with college students and have an impact on their lives. Hello, Student Affairs. That’s what we do. The program at WM was a perfect fit for me and I really see myself sticking with this for a good long while.