Love it or Hate it

Since I've started my internship at the advising center, several people have asked me if I love it or hate it. I've been assured that it is a very polarized option. Now that I am in my final week, I can make the assessment, and I am definitely in the realm of love it. That said, I think that I am with in the spectrum and not on the polar end.

I know that it is not over, and I shouldn't get all nostalgic yet, but this has been a great experience. Every day I get to meet a half a dozen new students and talk with them about what they want to be when they grow up. I get to give advice both as a past student and a current professional. The best part about it, is that in each one of them I can see the excitement about getting to go to college. Some of them are overflowing, and others it is just a twinkle in the eye situation, but all of them are radiating that anxiousness and energy.

I would like to spend some time in the advising center when it is not a peak period before I make any commitments, but I think I could happily do this for the rest of my life. It is a big deal for me to say that considering all the second guessing I've been doing lately. I love meeting the students. I love hearing about their aspirations. I love talking with them about their potential when they haven't decided on their aspirations. All of that appeals to my human interaction side, and then I get to work out their schedules which appeals to my problem solving side. Each student brings along an new little puzzle for me to solve. I have to fit all of the pieces that are their classes, their work schedules, and their study patterns (or sleep patterns) together to make a first semester course load that will promote their academic success.

You must be asking why I'm reluctant to put myself all the way to the end of the love it spectrum. Part of it is probably because of the questioning that I've been doing lately. Part of it is not knowing what the rest of the semester is like. The final part is that I'm not sure it will challenge me in the way that I read about in Maslow's Self Actualization. A friend was trying to explain to me that it is a drought or flood situation. Part of the year there is seemingly nothing to do, and then pre-registration comes and you are seeing students non-stop. I think whether or not I love this job hinges on that drought period and my supervisor. If I had the freedom to fill that drought time with research and projects that inspire and motivate me, it would be incredible. If I felt like that time was spent improving education, it would be everything I could ask for. However, I see the possibility that my personal higher ed interests can not be pursued during that time. Just because there are not students here, doesn't mean that there isn't anything to do. It is that time that will determine how much I love this job.