The Passion for the Profession - By Beth McCuskey, University of Wyoming

For those of you just new to the profession, let me let you in on a little secret:  The work is hard!  For those of you who have a few years under your belt let me share some advice:  You can make a heck of a lot more money in another field!  Yet we keep coming back to our work—day in and day out—year after year.  What is it about the housing profession that keeps us engaged?

In a nutshell it is one thing—our students.

Reflecting upon our own mentors in college can frame our passion.  According to Ray Gasser from the University of Arizona, “I feel college is such an influential time in ones life where they begin to test out the values and beliefs that THEY feel strongly about.  It is also a time of unprecedented learning both in and out of class.  I know for me, when I was an undergraduate; it was certain staff and faculty that greatly shaped the type of person that I became.  I wanted to have that same effect on students where I could truly make their experience at college a memorable one by showing care and compassion.”

Our students in so many ways reflect our own pasts.  What was it about our college experience that kept us connected to higher education--despite most of our friends from our college years moving into other fields?  In so many ways, our college mentors and experiences have helped to frame us as professionals.  

Our pasts are clearly part of our passion—but the future of our students is also part of the equation.  Jenn Hiatt speaks of the rewards of helping students.  “During the early part of my career, I was at an institution where students would have gone on to higher education even if they were at another school.  Where I am now, New Mexico State, if students do not graduate from here, they will not graduate.  A degree changes their lives completely.  I know that we are changing lives, one at a time!”

Whitney Milligan from Utah State also frames her passion for the profession in terms of human potential.  “I do what I do because I feel like I can influence the development of well-rounded, respectful and successful citizens.  I love the opportunities I have to teach assertiveness, responsibility, communication, and confidence—basic life skills that create an atmosphere for success in school and in life.”

This commitment to our students and to future generations is what keeps me engaged.  In college, I was jokingly voted by my sorority as “most likely to work on Wall Street.”  I stumbled into my work in housing just for something to keep me busy for awhile.  That was 17 years ago!  Despite opportunities to move into different fields, I have stayed tried and true to my profession.  Our work has real meaning—our outcomes are the “a ha” that comes with learning something new; the sheepish stare at the floor when a mistake has been made; and the memories that remain in our students’ hearts throughout their lifetimes.  Try getting that from a banking career!

Steve Nygaard from the University of Utah sums it up, “It’s easy to come to work even on the tough days because I believe in the educational value of what we do.”

Stay passionate my friends, stay passionate!  We are making a difference every day in everything that we do.