February 2016 Student Spotlight

Tell us about your personal evolution from pursuing an MBA to realizing your passion lay in getting your MSEd in Higher Education Administration? Why did you choose Baruch College?
I’m an ambitious person – I was researching Executive MBA programs when I was in 12th grade and President of my chapter for Future Business Leaders of America. When I came across Baruch College and their Operations Management and Industrial/Organizational Psychology majors, I thought the business school route for me would end in an MBA. I almost didn’t get into the Zicklin School of Business but when I did I felt as if I was going against the grain of who I was at the time. Working as a Freshman Seminar Peer Mentor, RA, and Orientation Leader, being an active part of T.E.A.M. Baruch, and having great mentors and supervisors at Baruch made me strongly consider going into student affairs and working in higher education. My last semester of college I applied to 2 MA programs in Higher Education/Student Affairs (NYU and Columbia) and 2 MFA Creative Writing programs (Hunter and The New School) and didn’t get into any graduate schools so I was bummed out but after college I was invited back to work in student affairs as professional staff in four offices.

Baruch was where I fell in love with student affairs and higher education, where I found out how much I enjoyed mentoring students, working in teams, participating in leadership training, and where I was able to meet and work with Baruch-HEA alumni. I was working as a Freshman Seminar Instructor, Admissions Recruitment Assistant, and Asst. Residence Hall Director when I applied to the Baruch MSEd-HEA program in spring 2013 and was elated when I was accepted because I could contribute more to my studies with my year of experience. The School of Public Affairs staff is also really amazing and provide excellent services and support.

What classes have been most informative and inspiring?
My favorite classes have been (1) Student Services with Dr. Rachel Smith because learning about all of the functional areas made me even more invested as a young professional and student affairs practitioner; (2) Nonprofit Management with Dr. Nancy Aries which made me appreciate my business school background and allowed me to critique and analyze my management and leadership experiences; (3) Administrative Services with Ron Spalter and Dr. Linda Shatzer because I found my grad school cohort and embraced working in teams across functional areas, and definitely (4) Student Development with Dr. Rache’l Fester where I was introduced to a wealth of information and research on how to better educate and support students in college by incorporating theory into practice.

Among other things you’ve assumed the role of writer, mentor, blogger, building manager, and poet. How would you like to channel these talents? What would your ideal career or role be?
My other roles in life allow me to reflect on how transformative my 8 years at Baruch College has been and it is still a goal of mine to use my skills and talents as a writer to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing and/or publish a book of poetry or short fiction later in life. I’ve been writing poems and blogging since spring 2009 and short fiction since fall 2011 so writing and introspection are a major part of my identity. Maybe I could even work as a professor someday. As of now my ideal career would be in Academic Advising or in some student or academic affairs position where I can work with diverse student populations, advocate for students, and improve my skills as an educator.