Careers in Student Affairs: Reflections from Cindi Love

To wrap up our Careers in Student Affairs Month celebrations, we are happy to have ACPA Executive Director Cindi Love share a personal reflection on her experience in the field.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am an unlikely candidate for a job in student affairs so I feel very fortunate to "break into" the field in a mature stage of my life. My path was not traditional. My degrees are in speech and hearing therapy, special education, and educational administration. My post-doctoral studies were at Harvard Kennedy School in public policy and at MIT in entrepreneurial leadership. No one in my family ever worked on a college campus. I've never been a RA, in fact I've never lived in a residence hall. The closest connections in my resume to traditional student affairs jobs are my experiences living with people of differing abilities and as a human rights activist.

Sometimes the path to the work of your heart is circuitous.  What has always been important to me is connecting with people, listening to them and helping them discover what is important to them.    Sometimes I've been fortunate enough to support them when they chose that importance over playing it safe. 

All of my experiences have provided those opportunities and, therefore, I've been happy in many different roles and living in places like Texas, California, Minneapolis, Tel Aviv, London, Paris, and now, Washington, D.C. 

Career advisors tell student affairs professionals to be willing to move in order to advance. I agree with that advice, more from the perspective of getting to meet people who are not like you. I think we grow deepest emotionally and socially when we have to step out of our comfort zones.  I grew up in the third most conservative city in America. I love my neighbors and friends and family there and I am grateful that my professional path took me all over the world to meet people who redefined my boundaries and taught me the gift of inclusion. 

If I were not the Executive Director of ACPA, I think I could see myself applying for a student affairs job in Diversity and Inclusion, or Disability Services, or perhaps International Student Services, or Multicultural Services.  It is possible that my unconventional resume might not make the cut. It is good to know that my colleagues in ACPA's Career Central would help me rethink my presentation and put in a good word for me. 

All of these jobs that interest me in student affairs include support and programs to create an environment of respect and affirmation for students and staff of multiple identities. I feel "at home" at those intersections even when, or perhaps most when, there are challenges to address. 

Whether you pursue the field of student affairs in a more organized way than I did, I think it is some of the best work in the world, and I am happy to celebrate Careers in Student Affairs Month with you. I look forward to our chance to do it all together as part of ACPA, my new professional home.