The day I met the advisor who changed my life is forever imprinted on my mind. I came into his office for a scheduled meeting and was immediately entranced by the surroundings. To the naked eye, it looked like a tiny, cramped office. To me, it looked like somewhere I’d love to spend my entire professional life. Books upon books were piled up in all which ways on a tall bookshelf, stacks of papers to be graded teetered on his desk and he was tucked away seemingly underneath it all. He smiled sheepishly at me and apologized for the mess. I didn’t see the mess; I just saw my future career goal.
I was in the middle of my associate degree’s transfer program for business. I was coming in that day to tell him that I wanted to change my plan from transferring to a university to stopping at an associate degree. I wanted to do it simply so I could avoid taking six math classes I needed to take. It didn’t take much for him to gently steer me back to the transfer idea. It wasn’t even his words that changed my mind; it was his office. As he tried to sway me, I continued to assess the environment. His books were all about equity, inequity, discrimination, privilege, and similar topics. I started to imagine what it would be like to live a day in his shoes—helping high-needs college students such as myself and educating others on important college resources such as free tutoring, housing, food, and technology obstacles. He was also my human resources class professor, so I started to imagine how amazing it’d be to teach college AND work in student support. It made me think, “I can’t get to that goal if I stop at an associate degree.”
The college I attended for my associate’s transfer in business degree also housed a bachelor’s program from a different university on campus. So, although I normally would have only been there for two years, I was there for four years as I completed both degrees. As the years went on, my advisor, Dave, and I became very close friends. He was my biggest cheerleader and was always happy to talk me up or talk me down depending on the situation. He would talk me up when I needed some encouragement and talk me down when I was frazzled and overwhelmed.
During those four years, I was pregnant with my first child. Shortly after she was born, going to meet Dave was one of her first visits. I’ll never forget how tickled he was to meet her while we talked about life, and of course, my graduation plan. It’s been 10 years since I graduated with my bachelor’s degree from that school, and I still talk with Dave regularly. We’re going to have lunch next month.
When it came time to choose my focus in grad school, I knew I wanted to head toward education with a goal of working in higher education. I had gone after a bachelor’s degree in business simply because I thought it was a “smart choice.” For grad school, I completed an accelerated program and achieved a master’s degree in education in 14 months. It was no wonder the classes were so much easier for me than business; it was something I was passionate about! I graduated in December 2019, right before the pandemic took hold in February 2020. My plans to head off to work after being a long-time, stay-at-home mom were changed when the need to homeschool my kiddos arose.
Years later, I finally landed my dream job as an academic advisor. I’ve only been in the position for a few months, but I love it just as much as I thought I would. During my own time in college, my advising needs were mostly academic help and guidance. Although I have supportive, loving parents, they weren’t sure how to guide me through signing up for classes, navigating financial aid and creating a graduation plan. I had to figure those things out on my own until I finally learned to embrace student support.
As an advisor, I’ve realized student have needs that range far beyond just academic guidance. Basic needs such as health insurance, housing and access to food are not available to some students. Further, some students are living in households that involve addiction, violence and unsafe conditions. When a student is dealing with the effects of poverty and unstable housing, worries such as grades and attendance simply have to take a backseat.
For example, I had a student last week who shared with me that she was homeless. She wants to attend college but doesn’t know how it will work without a computer and a stable place to live. In minutes, I was able to give her housing information and information on how to check out a laptop from the college library for the whole term. She left feeling excited and hopeful, and it made my heart swell. She stood up to leave, and as she did, she apologized about her appearance and shared that she’s not able to shower much. I reassured her that she looked great and that I was so excited for her upcoming journey in college. We shared smiles and best wishes and parted ways, but I didn’t stop thinking about her. That night, I researched around a bit and learned now that she’s officially enrolled, she has access to our college gymnasium, which provides shower access to students. I got ahold of her right away, and she felt such relief at the news. For students in situations such as these, advisors have the power to change their lives by providing outreach and sharing these vital resources.
I was hired for this position as part of a team called “New Student Engagement.” I have been trained by five veteran advisors. Sometimes when I do things for a student, people will say, “Oh, you don’t have to do that!” or “Just direct them to this department instead of doing all that.” They’re pretty much saying: that action falls outside of your duties, and you don’t have to put in that much work. But here’s the thing: I’m happy to do things that I don’t have to do! I think I feel this way because my own experience as a struggling student comes into play when I’m helping a student.
For example, a frequent situation I see is that a student will be put on a waitlist because a class is full. When that happens, we urge the student to (1) put themselves on the waitlist and (2) email the instructor/s and ask permission to be added to the class. Usually when I tell students that info, they get a blank look on their face as though they don’t know how to do that. I always say, “I’m happy to draft an email for you to copy and paste if you would like?” Every single time, they get so relieved and take me up on it. I also take the extra step to gather the instructors’ email addresses and the course reference numbers and put them in my emails to them. Fellow advisors think I’m crazy for doing it, but something that is so simple to me could be really complicated for them and represent a barrier to accessing a needed course. I do this because each small step to ensure new students don’t get discouraged and give up is important to me. It could be all the difference in their success.
My goal of landing a position in higher education student support was influenced by my love of education, and my advisor, Dave, but it was also influenced by my love for college itself. In my youth, I was in serious danger of not graduating high school. It was a miracle I made it through. It took years of stumbling around to get my associate degree, and when I did, I simply couldn’t believe it. The road to my bachelor’s degree was much easier because of my tumultuous journey to my associate degree. The impact Dave made on me was through his status as both a professor and advisor. Neither of my parents held a college degree, so being advised by someone who held such valuable, useful, timely knowledge relating to higher education was very inspiring. His expertise made me want to strive for the same knowledge with the same intent: to share it with vulnerable students.
By the time I got to grad school, school had honestly become easy for me. I tell people that college and graduate school didn’t just teach me things in my subject matter, it taught me (1) critical thinking, (2) time management, (3) how to research, and (4) better communication skills (both written and spoken). The degrees I’ve received have enhanced my life, but the experience of pushing through it enhanced my life much more than the pieces of paper. I feel 100% certain that I’ll spend the rest of my life advising college students because I want to unlock important information for them, offer them much-needed resources and help them stay on track to meet their goals. I will go above and beyond for them just as Dave did for me.
About the author
Stephanie McCoy is an academic advisor from Portland, Oregon. Stephanie has a master's degree in education with a focus in Educational Leadership. She is a freelance writer who loves to write about the importance of equity in Education. She enjoys reading, travel and living life with her beloved husband, two kids and puppy named Waffles.