By Lauren Thams, SAA 2020
Before coming back to school for a master’s degree inStudent Affairs Administration, I worked professionally for seven years.Although this is substantially more time off than the typical student in theSAA program, I am grateful for the experiences I had before entering theprogram. Without working in a variety of fields, I would never have found mypath back to higher education. Aftergraduating with undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Spanish, Iworked in state politics, refugee family support services, and internationaldevelopment with the Peace Corps in Senegal. In many of these capacities, Iworked actively with students or in a training capacity. So although theseprofessional experiences may at first seem disconnected from the realm ofStudent Affairs, I am confident that they have led me right where I am meant tobe.
My professional experiences have helped me to learn many ofthe interpersonal, conflict management, and leadership skills that I employ dailywithin my work at MSU. My experiences also allowed me to enter into the SAAprogram with a confident understanding of my values and philosophies as anemployee, supervisor, peer, and student. My prior work experiences and myidentity as a working professional have been a vital part of my contributionsto my work on campus as well as within the classroom.
As an undergraduate student, I struggled with academicinsecurity (“impostor syndrome”) and was not always confident in mycontributions or myself as a student. However, I believe my time in theworkforce developed my character, self-assuredness, and confidence in mycontributions to our academic spaces. I cannot say I am 100% confident as astudent even now, as I am obviously always continually learning and developing(and will always be I hope), but for me the time off to work really did help meto see myself more positively as a student and a learner.
Although my undergraduate experience feels like ages ago andI sometimes struggle to remember the experience, I have had the opportunity tolearn from the more recent and more salient experiences of my amazing cohort,many of whom graduated more recently than I did. I have relied on their contributionsin class and learned so much from all my peers, who come to this program frommany different backgrounds and educational experiences. I think having aprogram with a diversity of backgrounds in numerous ways makes the experiencestronger and more valuable. I feel that my own participation in the SAA programis better because of my diverse professional experiences prior to attendingMSU.
Overall, I am grateful to be a part of this program and I amglad that I took the time I needed to discover more about myself and myprofessional interests before coming back to school. Although I am beginning mycareer as a student affairs professional at an older age than most, I would notchange my decisions or my path. I look forward to continuing to learn from mypeers and build on my work experiences moving forward. And for those considering a program like thisat a more advanced age, your work experience will prove invaluable, and youwill benefit from peers who will connect you to a more contemporary studentexperience.