My Non-Traditional Path to Becoming a Higher Education Professional
Imagine yourself being accepted into a higher education master’s program, whether it be College Student and Personnel Counseling, Higher Education Administration, or Student Affairs Counseling… Imagine the excitement you feel getting to that next step, but then you find out that you are not like everyone else in your class. That is exactly what happened to me.
I completed my undergraduate degree in psychology in December 2013, and was accepted into a graduate degree program in Student Affairs Counseling in January 2014. When I first started this program, I was working in retail and was never involved during my undergraduate program. I also never lived on campus and did not go straight to a 4-year degree program after high school, whereas everyone in my class had taken the traditional path; graduate high school, then go to a 4-year college and live on campus. I, on the other hand, took a year off from high school, went to a community college for 4-years, then to my bachelor’s degree program for 2 1/2 years, all while working full-time and commuting. You can probably imagine how I felt; different from everyone else and convinced that I would never be able to work in higher education without these experiences. At that point, I knew that I needed to somehow gain experience.
So I started out with doing admissions in 2014 with a for-profit institution and quickly realized that admissions was not for me. I then moved into a Graduate Assistantship with my university for one semester. While I loved the work I was doing in the Assistantship, it was only part-time and I needed something full-time to support myself, as I did not live at home and the stipend was not enough to cover my bills. So, I did that for one semester, then obtained a full-time position as a Career Services Representative at another for-profit institution. Yet again, I was working full-time, attending classes full-time and commuting an hour to get to and from work and school. On top of this, my program also required an internship/practicum in order to graduate. Since I worked when schools were open and I was unable to use my current position as my internship, I had to find an internship that would work with my schedule because I needed to work full-time. During my last year, I was working 40 hours a week, doing an internship for 10 hours a week at Wheaton College (on nights and weekends), and attending my classes full-time. Needless to say, the last year was very difficult with the many demands I needed to meet. Because of my unique situation, I was unable to graduate with everyone in May 2016, and did not graduate until August 2016.
I would also like to add that I was told multiple times that my for-profit education experience would not count as “real” higher education experience. Given this was the only experience I had in higher education, it was very disheartening to hear this, but I never stopped trying. Because of my experience I was able to get a job right after I graduated as a full-time Career and Academic Coach with the College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University. I am confident that my all of my higher education experience, including for-profit, has got me where I am today, now an Academic Coordinator at a Community College, I am here to tell you that if you did not have a traditional experience like “everyone else” you CAN still succeed in this field. Don’t ever let someone tell you that your experience isn’t good enough, as your experience makes you, you. If you are in a similar situation as I was, get creative with your job search. Working for a non-profit that has a mission to work with others in their journey to college or career, or working with a for-profit partner program, like I did, such as Kaplan and Education First (if your focus area is international education), will help you gain the skills you need to move up in this field. You can also look into other education management companies out there such as, 2U, Keypath Education, or Inside Track (there are many others out there).
DO NOT give up if you are new to the field of higher education and unable to get that job at that college or university. Broaden your horizons and understand that transferable skills are also very important, and these different experiences are what set you apart from those around you. I have learned a lot about myself through my journey and hope you will do the same. I now make it my personal mission to help others on their journey to success. Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/stefaniegouveia), or send me a private message if you would like to share your story.
“The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do”
- Walter Bagehot