A Millennial's Perspective on the Work Life Balance

When I started my higher education career, I was 20 years old. I was younger than many of my students and I lived in the college town. I wanted my students to respect me and to know that I was professional at all times. Therefore, I never wore anything that resembled "student wear" anywhere in town (the grocery store, Wal-Mart, local restaurants, etc.). For a long time, I did not wear tennis shoes or indulge myself by walking around the neighborhood to exercise.

This personal/professional decision worked well for my career, but was devastating to my life outside of work. I felt like I was always on display, because I wanted to represent the university well. As a result, I made a conscious decision to move to a city that was closer to the metropolitan area. This was one of the BEST moves that I have EVER made.

I was happier because I could be ME. If I wanted to go to the grocery store in workout clothes, I could. If I wanted to peruse SAM's or Target, I did. If I wanted to spend my entire day in the Barnes and Noble bookstore without seeing my students, I could.

This was one of the highlights of my student services career. I was more productive because I could leave my university work in my office. When I lived in the college town, I took most of my work home and I made trips back to the office on weekends. When I moved, I made my five trips to the office a week and that was it. In addition, my students loved my commute. When they did something extraordinary, I would stop by SAM's and pick up a cheesecake factory cheesecake, an entire sheet cake, or vegetable/fruit tray and I would bring it to work to reward their efforts. When I made the transition to academia, I would often bring the same treats to the classroom.

Thank goodness for the work/life balance!

I am happier now than I have ever been before. I can seek grant money to write about topics that I am very interested in. I teach millennial college students about the importance of professionalism and about life in general. This is my life's passion.

What is your life's passion?

MP

Even a clock that does not work is right twice a day.
Polish Proverb

The Reason I Left Student Services...

In the past three years, I have heard numerous sources attest to the claim "student services personnel can be sued for negligence while attempting to perform their jobs". THIS CLAIM IS TRUE!

According to the June 13th edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education, "[A] state [Texas] appeals court has ruled that administrators can be sued as individuals, even through they were performing university duties and the doctrine of sovereign immunity protects the university from suits".

In my past life, I was a greek advisor and I spent many sleepless nights hoping that the students would not make the newspaper the next morning. In addition, I advised many other student organization and I took the student to various conferences across the state. During these functions, I dreaded the nightly activities, because I knew that I would be held personally responsible for any bad decision that my students had that night. As a professor, for the first time in my life, I have slept soundly EVERY WEEKEND for the past year! Thank God for academic affairs!

I will continually pray for the individuals in student affairs and that their students make sound decisions and become accountable for their own actions.

Until next time...

MP

A Former African-American Doctoral Student: Relections Abound

Don't feel entitled to anything you didn't sweat and struggle for.
Marian Wright Edelman

The title of Maya Angelou’s book, “Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now” describes my experiences during the doctoral program and after receiving my degree. I started the doctoral program while I was working full-time at the university in student services. At first, I was the only African American female and at [between 22 - 25], the youngest member of my doctoral cohort. After the first semester another African American female joined the cohort and we began our journey of “African American Accountability”. This level of accountability involves helping each other persist through the classes and the comprehensive exams.

The initial part of my journey involves taking advantage of opportunities when they arise. When I began the program, my career goals were centered on the student services field and I wanted to become a Vice President of Student Services. However, through the doctoral classes and constant mentoring that I received from the doctoral faculty, I realized that functioning as a staff member in the university environment was not my life’s calling. After the comprehensive exams, I began teaching in the community college and university environments. This was a pivotal part of my doctoral journey, because I was focused on my dissertation which pertained to college students and their relationships with professors.

The middle portion of my journey consisted of constant mentoring. I am proud to say that I have a wealth of mentors in the Educational Leadership and Counseling program at [name of university] and they have helped me make successful transitions through my doctoral journey. Mentors are very important in the doctoral process, because their goal is to ensure that each doctoral student is successful and that each student realizes the potential impact that they will have on the educational environment after graduation. As an African American doctoral student, I realized that I could not make my journey alone, but I had to have other companions ([name of institution]'s faculty).

The final part of my journey involved finished the dissertation. As an ambitious African American woman, I strongly believed that this process could be accomplished within a short amount of time. However, I realized that the dissertation is a mechanism that is used to refine the research and writing skills of doctoral graduates. During this process, I learned a wealth of knowledge about my personal endurance, working with others, and the importance of honing writing skills before the process begins. Drs. [advisor 1, advisor 2, mentor 1, mentor 2, and mentor 3] helped me through this process and assisted me in securing my current position as [junior faculty member].

I would not take anything for my doctoral journey, because I was able to gain interpersonal skills, research skills, and writing skills along the way. Reflecting on my journey as an African American doctoral student, I learned information from my African American, Caucasian American, and Hispanic American mentors in the department. I would strongly encourage others to take advantage of the resources that are available to them through the [name of department] and to network with others regardless of color or ethnicity.

Student Affairs & Academic Affairs Partnerships - Why Did You Become a Practitioner?

Before becoming an assistant professor, I was a student affairs practitioner. This transformational process started two years ago in at a mid-sized institution in the south. Today, I am still involved in the professional student affairs organization in my beloved state organization to remain information about the issues that students encounter through their journey in college.

Journeys...I strongly believe that everyone takes a journey towards the pursuit of happiness when they enter the higher education environment. Students enter colleges and universities because they would like to embark on a journey towards a degree. Student affairs practitioners enter the profession because they are looking for a way to pay off their student loans and to make a difference in the lives of students.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A STUDENT AFFAIRS PRACTITIONER OR FACULTY MEMBER? (I need some feedback on this one!)

Sincerely,

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards

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