Talking Stick - November/December 2011 - 25

thOugh nOt always the DecIDIng factOr In leaVIng a hOusIng career, the hOurs anD beIng On call sO much Is a challenge that many acknOwleDge, partIcularly as they face startIng famIlIes Or changes In relatIOnshIps.

the field is higher education or any other, these factors generally filter down to issues of institutional fit, job fit, or life stage fit. One professional who has faced these questions is Mandy Whitten, an area coordinator at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Her challenges in the field stemmed from personal issues, including a new relationship and a parent with terminal cancer. “Everyone tells you as a housing person that you have to move around to move up. No one takes into account that you do things like enter into long-term relationships, buy a house, and get involved in a community. I can think of all I learned in graduate school, and this stuff, the personal stuff, was never part of a discussion,” says Whitten. She currently remains in her job in residence life at Oklahoma; though she has searched for jobs in other areas, both in and out of higher education, she is not willing to give up on her goals related to a career in housing: “My long-term goal is to work as a chief housing officer at a smaller school. I want to be at a smaller school where I have the opportunity to connect with students and staff. For the most part, I think my job now matches the vision I had for my career at its onset, though my career plan did not take into consideration any sort of life events happening.” For some, late-night duty calls and the “always-on” mentality played a part in the decision to leave campus housing behind. Though not always the deciding factor in leaving a housing career, the hours and being on call so much is a challenge that

many acknowledge, particularly as they face starting families or changes in relationships. Jennifer Jacobson, now an academic advisor at Metropolitan State College of Denver in Colorado, worked in residence life professionally for more than six years. In her last role, she was an area coordinator overseeing multiple projects and programs, as well as supervising several full-time professionals. When she left residence life, she essentially made a choice of life over work: “There was no specific incident that made me leave the field, just general exhaustion and frustration. I really believe in the philosophy of work to live, not to live to work. That philosophy never felt congruent with residence life work,” says Jacobson. For others, it was simply a matter of changes in personal and family life. Otherwise simple life milestones can be particularly difficult for professionals in live-in positions, who find themselves negotiating the early, expected steps of a career at the same time that they are adapting to these milestones. Jaime Donahoe, a residence director at the University of Buffalo in New York, found her values changing as a result of a progressing relationship, causing her to examine her residence life career choice. As her relationship changed from a long-distance one to one involving the possibility of marriage, Donahoe viewed her job differently: “When we moved onto my full-time job, we talked marriage, which is where we are now. Since then I have placed more of a focus on family and a more private life. This doesn’t work well with

living in.” Donahoe has turned to her supervisor for support as she considers the options of searching within the field, looking in other areas of student affairs and higher education, or returning to the classroom as a social studies teacher. “My supervisor has been supportive and understanding that I need to do what is best for me. I’m older than my peers by a few years, and he understands my life goals are different compared to other hall directors. He’s helped with my job search and also made suggestions as to whom I can talk to about employment in other areas of higher education,” Donahoe says. Jacobson searched for mid-level positions in residence life after moving to Denver with her husband but was also interested in pursuing opportunities in student affairs outside of residence life to see if they better fit her personal and professional needs. “I had some specific experience in academic advising that helped me be marketable as a candidate,” Jacobson says. “I wish I had taken advantage of my time in residence life and sought out more of those opportunities. Having experiences outside of residence life on your résumé really helps make the transition.” Finally there are those who simply discover that a career in residence life was not what they expected, even after paraprofessional and graduate experiences. Emery Jordan, who worked in residence life for nine years prior to leaving the field, reflected on what his initial expectations were of a career in a residence life. “I really believed this was a field of people who
November + December 2011

Talking Stick - November/December 2011

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