Supporting Future Student Affairs Professionals

by Anne Scheideler Sweet

Careers in Student Affairs Month isn't until October, but the spring conference season has practically beaten me over the head with examples of the roles we play in shaping the careers of our students. Many people caution against actively recruiting our undergraduate stars into higher education professions, and advise us not to indulge the desire to stay in college forever. We can allow or even encourage students to pursue a path different from our own and they can still find their way into the field. I'd like to offer up my own experiences as an example of how it's possible for higher education professionals to exert a positive and encouraging influence on the careers of students without actively recruiting them into a specific job title.

During my time in student leadership positions I was fortunate to serve alongside some amazing graduate students. By sharing their own stories of curriculum choices and assistantship options, they taught me a lot about what it means to prepare for a career in higher education. When I began working full time and thought back to how they had all done so much amazing work and tried so many different functional areas, I often wondered if my fully online and administration focused master's degree would hold me back. Until a session at ACPA when I found myself sitting just 2 seats away from one of those amazing graduate students I'd looked up to over a decade ago. Despite our very different paths, we were now peers seeking out the same knowledge.  

When I approached a mentor during my senior year for advice about whether to stay on our campus for the amazing graduate program she strongly recommended that I go elsewhere and get some different experiences. I remember feeling really surprised, a little bit hurt, and somewhat lost about how that would work. Looking back, her advice was exactly right and I couldn’t be more grateful for her support. That tough love theme continued when I said hello to my former dean of students at ACPA this year. As we chatted in line at the bar, she reminded me that I couldn’t put off a doctoral program forever. I know she’s right, and the fact that she was willing to spend her time to discuss it with me really means a lot.

Growing up, my best friend’s dad was a registrar. I got to see some behind the scenes work of commencement, watch how casually people stored regalia on the back of their office doors, and learned how some robes had sleeves which could accommodate a small paperback book to stay entertained during long ceremonies. I'll never forget how kind my undergraduate registrar was to the student orientation staff. He took the time to make sure we had his cell phone number in case any questions or problems came up that we couldn't answer. I ran into him at AACRAO this year and made sure to tell him that I'd never forgotten how present he was during orientation and how I'd kept that collaborative approach in mind during my years in the field. He told me I wasn't allowed to blame him for my ending up in the registrar world. Despite not having seen either of them in many years, they both took the time to chat with me about my career plans and provided some great advice.

You don’t have to guide your students into your job, or even a specific department in order to help them succeed in their careers. Share what you've learned on your own journey, share the paths you've seen your classmates and colleagues pursue, and share resources for them to learn more on their own. Above all, be kind when they run into you again some day at a conference.