My path to higher education

I accidently stumbled my way into my current position as the Director of the Center for Tutoring and Academic Excellence at Loyola University Chicago. Prior to beginning at LUC, I served as a high school counselor with the Chicago Public Schools, CPS.  At the end of nearly 4.5 years with CPS, I decided to look for a counseling position in a school district that was closer to home.  What I found was an ever shrinking job market and this phenomenon that one had to know somebody in order to get into any of the “good schools” in my area.  With that said, I started thinking about other opportunities, since going back to the Chicago public school system was not an option (I had since moved to the suburbs and could no longer work for the city of Chicago). I knew that I wanted to continue to work with students.  I also knew that I had a gift for connecting with students on both a personal and academic level and was hopeful that I could find a position that wasn’t too far removed from student support services, should I ever decide to venture back into the high schools down the line. I had become interested in the field of higher education during my first year as a high school counselor after I embarked on dozens of college tours with my junior and senior students.  Working on a college campus seemed like the next best thing, and so with that, I sent off my resume to a few local universities.

                After nearly a 5 hour on campus interview process and a long two week wait period, I was offered the position as Director of the Center for Tutoring & Academic Excellence at Loyola.  I was absolutely thrilled and so thankful that LUC was willing to give me a chance.  After all, I had virtually zero experience in the field of higher education and honestly, I considered myself to be a better fit in the high school setting. I exceled at working with students in setting long term goals, figuring out graduation requirements and ways to improve their attendance. I knew all about the ways in which high school students could better connect to their school and activities that would promote persistence. I knew financial aid and college admission requirements like the back of my hand. College students were a whole different breed, right? Did they even need help with any of these issues? Would I be of use?  Did I make a mistake in accepting this position?  I can’t tell you how many times during my first two weeks at LUC that I questioned my ability and asked myself, “What on earth am I doing here?” I reminded myself that yes, this was going to be a challenge and a deep learning curve, but I was very skilled at learning new things and this was no exception. 

                I am a firm believer in the phrase “everything happens for a reason” and try to apply it to my life as much as possible, especially when faced with life’s challenges. By the end of my first month at Loyola, I started to see the light. I was able to see how my strengths as a school counselor could be applied to my current role.  Things started to fall into place and I knew I was at Loyola for a reason.   ‘Learning support’ is defined as any activity beyond a college program's prescribed content that contributes to individual students' attendance, retention, learning, and achievement. Green, M. and L. Milbourne. (1998). Making learning support work. FE Matters; v2 n6 1998. ED417345.  Does this sound familiar?  To me, it sounds a lot like what I did as a school counselor, only with college level individuals. I began to see that college students weren’t that different than the high school students I once knew.  Many of them struggled with their academics, attendance, personal lives, and setting short and long term goals.  Many of them didn’t know where or how to get academic support, or even if academic support was offered. I decided to make it my mission to increase student awareness of support services on campus (specifically, tutoring) and to develop a robust tutor and tutor training program; one that was diverse in services and well respected among faculty, staff, and most importantly, students.

                These last two years that I have been at Loyola U have flown by.  I have jumped into anything and everything learning center related. I have researched best practices, visited various tutoring centers, and have attended several conferences in order to grow professionally in my field. I feel confident in what I am doing at Loyola and feel proud of the new programs and services that I have implemented over the past two years.  I have enhanced tutor training and have created several department and faculty collaborations.  I have broadened the scope of courses that we offer tutoring for and have even branched out to offer tutoring at remote (and online) locations. The Center for Tutoring and Academic Excellence has grown as a result of my leadership and I look forward to watching it progress, prosper and evolve during the course of my career at LUC.