Scrumptious Seattle

Our fridge may be empty most of the time, and our furniture and clothing might all be from the thrift store, but damn, we are doing good out here, I have to admit. I know I may be pessimistic sometimes, but how can I really complain when we can afford rent, groceries, and even a few treats? Our hard work is continuously paying off and it's a huge relief that things are working out. I'll confess, I didn't have a lot of faith in my own future; beyond St. Cloud was vague and risky and I couldn't imagine where I'd be in the next year. But here we are; roof over our heads, bellies full of food, happy pets, and a modest, glorious life.

I spent a relaxing evening reading by the piers last week.

I have just one more week of an easy schedule (one job 17 hours per week) until my graduate assistantship starts on August 13; then I'll be working 37 hours per week minimum. I'm starting to get more emails about starting my program and I'm getting more and more excited! There are some orientations and other things to attend and I'm really looking forward to getting to know and spending time with my cohort. I can't afford to buy my books yet, but I'm really looking forward to when I do. I actually have to read books for my GAship. I guess it's also a class called Jesuit 101: Introduction to Higher Education. The books we have to read are Ignatian Humanism by Ronald Modras and Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney. I've only skimmed both of the books, but I think they're going to be interesting. I have so much to learn when it comes to student affairs and higher education that I'm itching for this program to start! I feel as though summer is crawling by. Of course, we all know time will fly when the program actually begins.

Eventually I have to work on getting a Washington driver's license. Well, not eventually, more like as soon as I can. I can use my Minnesota license, but since I'll be reserving vans to use for my position at South Seattle Community College, I really should get a Washington license like the DMV expects you to do within 30 days of moving. I'm a little upset because I got my Minnesota one just over 1 year ago! It'll be good to have an up-to-date identification card, I guess.

On Friday Zach and I picnicked at Alki Beach. We took the bus there from downtown and packed a blanket, sandwiches and grapes. Alki Beach is so beautiful! You can see a ton of the islands in the sound, plus an entire mountain range and several peaks. If you're at the far end of the beach you can see the Space Needle. I'm glad we went on Friday because the Blue Angles were practicing and when they fly over our neighborhood we can't hear anything! The best part was seeing them flying over the city on the West Seattle Bridge. I wish I could have taken a picture!

This is just a glimpse of the views you can see of Seattle from West Seattle!

Here was our view for our picnic. Just behind the hill on the right is the Space Needle.

Honeymoon phase or not, I'm still so in love with Seattle. The beauty of the pacific northwest and Seattle as a city itself is still awe inspiring after over 2 months of living here. There is always things to do, places to go, and people to meet. I can already imagine us coming back here to live. Maybe we'll even spend more than just two years here. But you never know! Zach and I do talk about Japan a lot.

The future is becoming clearer

my ideal career future, that is.

(I wrote the following yesterday morning, actually. I just couldn't post because we didn't have Internet and I didn't get to the public library!)

I think I'm finally starting to figure things out when it comes to my future career.  After discovering the student affairs field and consequently choosing it without hesitation for my future, I've come to realize it is a much larger field than I initially thought. Not only are there many specific areas of student affairs (student activities, student career centers, civic engagement, et cetera) but of course there are different levels and positions within those areas that I did not consider before. For instance, managing the student affairs office, assessing the development of a student affairs department, managing a student union, it's facilities, or directing the entire student life department.

I chose the field for several reasons. 1) I know that advising students is something I can be good at with practice and something I want to excel in. I moved from Milwaukee, WI, my hometown, to St. Cloud, MN for my undergraduate studies completely alone.  I turned to whatever department I could find for advice, activities, and advising because I just didn't know what to do with myself. It quickly became an identity crisis; a common phenomena of new students like I was. Searching for advice became a game; each department I visited gave me pamphlets, resources, and/or calendars of events and I gobbled it up. Resources! Free! What can I do with all this! Cool! I wanted to utilize all of them to better myself, make friends, and truly take advantage of my college experience; and that's what I ended up doing, though after some peer encouragement. 2) The university/college setting is where I feel that I fit in when it comes to a work place. Some would argue that I just don't want to leave my college life behind or I'm too afraid of change to start working in a company or firm. Let me lay it out for you: I thrive in changing environments, working with people, and being in more open minded communities. I've worked as a campus event planner for the last two years of my college career, so I already know what it is like to work in such an environment, and I already know that it is the environment for me. 3) Education is constantly growing/improving and education is everywhere. Student affairs may not academically instruct students, but it is still an incredibly valuable part of post secondary education, as I am beginning to learn in my studies at SU. When I was young the job I wanted "when I grew up" was to be a teacher. I couldn't explain it then, but now I know it was a precursor to my desire to work in an educational setting. When I say education is everywhere, I mean education can take me anywhere! Even if I don't work in a university, the things I learn from a student affairs program is going to be incredibly applicable in different educational institutions and I'm even looking forward to grasping that opportunity.

Of course, I could go on, but those are the main reasons I chose the field. The past few months it has been a struggle whether or not to decide what specific area I wanted to specialize in, if any. I loved the idea of working in a student career services center; helping students establish career paths, helping them find jobs in the area, et cetera. However, I couldn't find a passion for it. I considered student activities, where I have years of positive experience as an undergraduate, but my heart wasn't in that path 100%. The past year or so I've been looking at what I can do abroad, and I've dappled in researching working in an education abroad office, but I hadn't really been serious about it until recently. Here in Seattle I have been fortunate to come across several job postings that have helped me clarify the skills I want to attain and the responsibilities I want to practice in my daily work. It's a match made in heaven: I can advise students, I can work with people abroad, I can travel abroad, I can run orientation programs, I can use my Spanish skills, the list goes on! I have more research to do, but I'm confident that this is the area I want to work in. 

I do have one reservation about my career aspirations. Many can argue that student affairs in general doesn't exactly save lives, its not changing the future of a third world country, nor does it have much to do with national social justice issues. A long time ago I decided I wanted to work in whatever field would make an important difference in the world. You can argue that student affairs has the capability to make worldly and significant changes, but I can't get over the fact that in this day and age, the rich and privileged are still the majority of college students. The last thing I want to be is some superficial director of a study abroad office designing incredibly expensive programs for upper class students who might not take the program very seriously anyway. 

Well, what exactly do I want to do with an education abroad position, then?

There are a few things I am sure of:

I want to make programs affordable for everyone. I want to include civic engagement in all abroad experiences. I want to be a resource and friend for all the students who walk into my office and tell me how badly they want to experience the world around them. I want to design orientation programs and return programs for study abroad students in order for them to get the most out of their experience. I want to expose students who have never left the country to environments they'd never imagined before. I want to make sure they never forget their experience, and never forget that there is more to the world than their city or state. I want to involve them in something bigger than themselves.

And so my journey continues. I'm going to start searching for professional development opportunities that would give me an advantage in the education abroad field, as well as search for positions in Seattle that will help me develop relevant skills. I'm looking forward to everything I'm going to learn in the next few years in the Student Development Administration program at Seattle University so that I can apply it to my career plan.

Its an incredible relief and excitement to finally know what I want to do with my future.

Student Affairs; why?

I'm very curious as to how my friends, coworkers, and supervisors feel about my goals to pursue a degree in student development administration and work in student affairs.

When my husband was revising one of my essays for the graduate school application, one of his comments was "include why you feel the need to be involved; is it just to relive your college days?" and since then I've been wondering if that's what people assume when I tell them my goals; that I don't want to leave college campuses because I don't want to leave my "young self" or something.

Let me lay it out for you.

In my quest for the perfect major, I found a heartfelt passion in community psychology. Each and every class was relevant to my interests, though in the end I resolved that I didn't want to be a counselor, like the program steers you to do. I learn about human differences, human development, personalities, counseling strategies, conflict resolution, working effectively in groups, and more. The combination of classes, the supportive department chair who was kind enough to answer all of my questions, the structure, the ethics, it all spoke to me, told me that the helping profession was where I belonged.

But where to go from there, I asked myself?
I didn't want to work with children, social work was not quite my forte, and one-on-one counseling didn't feel right for me.

Working in student affairs exposed me to higher education administration and student development theories and practices. Though when I joined student activities my second semester of college I had no idea I wanted a future in student affairs, I know now that my commitment to campus involvement over the past 3.5 years has proven to me I'm doing the right thing by applying for programs in student development administration.

I love being a resource, helping my friends, and doing everything I can to make those around me comfortable and smiling. In a position in student affairs, I can be a resource for students every day, whether they're eager and excited for the future, or need a little motivation and help.

We hear that college is an experience; more than a place you take classes and eventually earn a degree, and everyone who has been through college before would most likely agree. In my college experience I have discovered so much about myself, and made something out of myself, whereas before, I had no hope for my future.   I want to pass on my passion, stories of growth, counseling experience, and people skills to the future students of the world. I want to make my mark on education and be innovative in the student development field. I can't see myself being content in any other type of work.

Right now, I wish I could be more optimistic about my grad school app. I'm pretty confident in myself about my application materials and ability to complete the program, but at the same time I want to be overly realistic and not set myself up for a huge disappointment just in case. It should be a crime making us wait an entire month to know the fate of our educational future!