Running head: Career Trajectory

Career Trajectory Paper

Kirstie Harsha
Georgia Southern University
EDLD 7430: American Higher Education
December 5, 2014

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Career Trajectory Paper

When looking into the future and what profession I wanted to have, I never imagined I
would be starting a career in higher education. I obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration,
Marketing with an emphasis in Sales and Sales Management, from my hometown university,
Georgia Southern University, in July of 2014. My love for Statesboro, Georgia and Georgia
Southern University brought me to the decision not only to reside in Statesboro permanently, but
to apply for jobs at Georgia Southern University. My passion for higher education came from a
project assigned by a college professor, Dr. Linda Mullen (Department of Marketing), the
semester before I graduated. I started my Masters of Education: Higher Education
Administration program in the Fall of 2014 with my estimated graduation date being December
of 2016. I also began my first full-time job in the Office of Admissions at Georgia Southern
University as the Admissions Specialist for Central Georgia.

Influences
I have had too many influences to count over the last 22 years. Professional I have had two: Dr.
Linda Mullen and Mr. Kevin Chambers. Dr. Mullen wanted her class to shadow a working
professional that is in the sales industry. From the Sales Management class of hers that I took, I
knew that sales jobs come in many shapes and sizes. I asked Kevin Chambers, Assistant Director
of Admissions, if I could shadow within his office. He set up four different shadows across the
department: Student and Parent Programs, Residency, Processing, and Out of State Recruiting.
Each of the four areas really interested me! From Dr. Mullens project, I knew I wanted to study
higher education. Not only did Dr. Mullen help me to find my passion for higher education, but

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she also revamped my cover letter and resume and helped me to prepare for countless interviews.
Without her help, I do not think I would have gotten the job I wanted so quickly. Mr. Kevin
Chambers was able to show me what areas of higher education interested me from the
appointments he set up for me during the shadow. From the moment I met him, he has gone out
of his way to pass along advice that would be helpful to me now and in the future.

Goals
I think it is very important to have goals in every part of life and throughout its entirety.
In regards to my career path, I have several goals, both short term and long term, that I would
like to achieve before retirement. I have plenty of time to achieve as many of these goals as
possible being that I am in my first year of full time work.

Short Term Goals

My short term goals are ones that I would like to accomplish within the next 3 years. The
first of my short term goals would be to complete my Masters of Education degree. As of right
now, I am on track to graduate in December of 2016. Furthering my education is not just a short
term goal, but one I would like to continue throughout my career and life. I would also like to
join several professional organizations to make sure that I am staying up-to-date on the latest
research and development within higher education. With just starting my career and attending
graduate school, I do not have the time to commit to a professional organization. I think that by
the time I complete my degree, I will be settled more into my work in the Office of Admissions
and will have time to be a part of an organization.

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Long Term Goals

In regards to my long term goals, these are goals that I would like to accomplish before I
retire- 35 years from now. In working for the University Systems of Georgia, particularly
Georgia Southern University, I plan on taking full advantage of the Tuition Assistance Program
(TAP) (Tuition Assistance Program, para 2). After completing my Masters degree, I would like
to start working on my Doctorate degree sometime after graduation. I do not know if I will dive
right into it or wait a year or so before starting the course work. I hope to start working on it as
soon as possible because it is a long program to complete. I would also like to become an
Assistant Director or Director within Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. Although a
large long term goal, I believe that I have the capabilities to achieve this goal.

Qualifications for Future Career

Skills, Knowledge, and Personal Traits Necessary for Success as a Student Affairs
Administrator: Mets-Analysis of Thirty Years of Research, as provided for this assignment, gave
examples of skills, knowledge, and personal traits that have been studied in Student Affairs
administers. There are no certain degree/major requirements for future career opportunities in
higher education positions other than a Bachelors degree (Education Portal, para 3). The open
positions that I looked at online want a minimum of 5 to 7 years of experience (NACA, para 3)
in higher education. Some positions do require a Masters degree while others do not. Of all the
job descriptions that I have looked at in doing research, I have found that most of the
descriptions are personal traits and attention to detail that the search committees are looking for

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in a potential candidate. The number one goal of any future career within higher education, but
especially the Office of Admissions particularly Assistant Director, Associate Director, and
Director, is to recruit all prospective students to meet enrollment goals (NACA, para 2).
Supervision and management of support staff, recruiters, and coordinators is one of the primary
qualifications for a (Assistant/Associate) Director of Admissions. Most of the qualifications
come with experience: supervision, communication, public speaking, and representation. From
my research and interviews, advancement comes with experience which comes with time.

Personal Characteristics
In order to fulfill my career aspirations of becoming a Director of Student Development, I
must recognize my strengths and weaknesses in order to become a more well-rounded
professional. Using the Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Practitioners
(NASPA, pg 8), I can identify the qualities needed to work with students in Student Affairs.
From the given characteristics, I know what strengths I have and the weaknesses that I need to
improve to better provide help for the students. The Advising and Helping competency area
addresses the knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to providing counseling and advising
support, direction, feedback, critique, referral, and guidance to individuals and groups (NASPA,
pg 8). The characteristics that I feel I have strengths in are: managing conflict, mediating
differences, utilize technology, establishing rapport with students and employees, and engage in
research. I feel that these are my strengths because I am detail oriented, organized, personable,
and level-headed. My weaknesses in the higher education field are: facilitate group decision
making, mentor students and staff, implement successful outreach programs, and develop
avenues for student involvement. I feel that these are my weaknesses because I am new to the

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higher education field with little experience to rely on. I believe that as time goes on, my skills
will develop as I gain more experience and encounter problems and solutions. Developing both
strengths and weakness is something I hope to work on every day until retirement.

Professional Development
Throughout my career, I would like to be a life-long learner. As an Office of Admissions
employee, I would like to better my communication with students, parents, and schools. I would
also like to always meet or exceed my goals and expectations in my Georgia territory with my
Central Georgia recruiter, Brittanie Blunt. To achieve these goals, I plan to become a member of
several professional and community organizations, reading professional journals on new research
and findings, and to always network in my field and those similar.

Professional Organizations
Within the next few years, I would like to become members of several professional
organizations. The organizations that interest me the most are the National Association of
Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and the National Association for College Admission
Counseling. These two organizations are primarily focused on college admissions. Each of these
organizations has over 13,000+ members, and they both offer conferences, webinars, and current
research and findings in higher education. I think that it is very important to become members of
professional organizations for networking opportunities and to know what is going on in higher
education research.

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Community Organizations
Statesboro, Georgia has plenty of local organizations that both benefit the community and
professional growth. This past July (2014), I became a member of the Phi Mu Alumnae chapter
of Statesboro. In the short 5 months that I have been a part of this group, we have helped with
Greek Life Recruitment 2014, donated to Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals, helped to install
the Phi Mu chapter at Armstrong State University in Savannah, Georgia, and donated to a needy
Phi Mu sister. Another group that I will be joining this next year is the Professional Women of
Statesboro. This group meets once a month for lunch to mingle and talk about what is going on
in and around Statesboro as well as community service opportunities. In the next few years I
would also like to join the Statesboro Service League. The purpose of the Service League is
exclusively educational and charitable and is to promote volunteerism; to develop the potential
of its members in community affairs, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of trained volunteers
(Statesboro Service League, para 3). This organization has a great reputation in Statesboro for
helping those in need. I love everything this organization is about and does around our
Statesboro community.

Mentors and Networking

While studying for my undergraduate degree at Georgia Southern University, I gained a
mentor that I know will be by my side for the long haul. Dr. Linda Mullen obtained her
Doctorate degree of Philosophy in Marketing from Southern Illinois University in 2005. Dr.
Mullen has life experience in almost every area of business. Her main teaching focuses are
general marketing, sales, advanced sales, and sales management. Dr. Mullen tries her best to
make sure that her students are prepared for the work force. She requires all her classes to

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prepare a cover letter and resume that are to her extremely high standards. In conjunction with
her resume advice, she provides mock interview opportunities that can prepare any student for an
unconventional interview. Without Dr. Mullens help, I do not think I would have gotten my
current job. She puts ever effort into her students and prides herself on getting her students jobs.
Secondly, Mr. Kevin Chambers, Assistant Director of Student Affairs, is my current supervisor.
In my shadow experience from Dr. Mullens class, Mr. Chambers allowed me to shadow four
professions within the Office of Admissions. From this experience, I knew that I wanted to work
within higher education and for Georgia Southern University. Mr. Chambers gave me advice and
encouragement throughout my last semester of college and up until I accepted my position in the
Office of Admissions. He now gives me guidance in my current and future positions. He believes
in me and knows I can be successful in higher education. Mr. Chambers has provided me with
volunteer and learning experience in special events for the Office of Admissions. So far I have
worked at the first Open House of the year and the Southern Scholars Showcase. In the summer
months, the Office of Admissions works full time on the Southerns Orientation, Advisement,
and Registration (SOAR) program and Eagle Incentive Program (EIP) (SOAR, para 1). Living
and working in Statesboro and being involved in community and professional activities has
allowed me to network with potential and future co-workers and bosses. I look forward to
becoming a part of more organizations and volunteering in my community.

Collaborations
I think it is very important to collaborate with fellow employees in different departments
and those in the community. Collaboration allows for the spread and development of ideas.

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Higher education is very dependent upon collaboration between the employees and students.
There is always someone that you can network with or learn something from. In my new position
in the Office of Admissions, there has been a program implemented to meet a representative
from every department within Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. The Department
Ambassadors for New Employees (DANE) program seeks to encourage Division awareness and
collaboration among departments at the earliest stages of an employees position (DANE, para
1). The end goal to the program is to create a support network that best serves the customers of
Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. Being able to meet someone in every department
allows for networking and potential collaboration in the future. Many of the community
organizations that I am involved with also allow for collaboration opportunities with students and
community members.

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References
About NACAC. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from
http://www.nacacnet.org/about/Pages/default.aspxhttp://www.nacacnet.org/about/Pages/default.a
spx.
Admissions Director Job Description. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from
http://www.americasjobexchange.com/admissions-director-job-description.
Aiding Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education. (n.d.). Retrieved November
30, 2014, from http://www.naspa.org/about.
College Admissions Director: Job Description, Salary and Duties. (n.d.). Retrieved
November 30, 2014, from http://educationportal.com/articles/College_Admissions_Director_Job_Description_Salary_and_Duties.html.
DANE. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from http://em.georgiasouthern.edu/dane/.
Director of Admissiosn. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from
http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobseeker/jobs/jobdetails.aspx?
sc_cmp1=js_jrp_jobclick&APath=2.21.0.0.0&job_did=JHT6Q671N6W8JJ3RZ0R&showNewJ
DP=yes&IPath=JRKV0J.
Linda G. Mullen. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from
http://coba.georgiasouthern.edu/mktg/facultystaff-directory/linda-g-mullen/.
Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Practitioners. (n.d.). Retrieved
November 30, 2014, from
https://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/Professional_Competencies.pdf.

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Sample Job Description: Associate Director of Admissions. (n.d.). Retrieved November

30, 2014, from http://www.nacacnet.org/careercenter/Tools/JobDescriptions/Pages/AssociateDirectorofAdmissions.aspx.
SOAR - Southern's Orientation, Advisement and Registration. (n.d.). Retrieved
November 30, 2014, from http://admissions.georgiasouthern.edu/orientation/.
Statesboro Service League. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Statesboro-Service-League/167415463334375.
Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from
http://jobs.georgiasouthern.edu/benefits/tuition-assistance-program-tap/.