"Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of
the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and
fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine
what you'll know tomorrow…" -Kay in Men in Black (1997).
Imagine what I'll know tomorrow as I start my official
journey in Higher Education and Student Affairs at Baylor
University. I am anxious and excited to go to class and begin my new
apprenticeship. I can't image what I will know to tomorrow and in the
next two years. I feel as if I am a freshman once again the night before
college begins. I wonder what classes will be like and how this journey
will shape my future career. As a new member to this blog, I plan on writing
about "hot topics" that come up in class as well as issues pertaining
to my apprenticeship. Also, I will comment on life as a graduate student
in this area.
I decided to pursue this degree and eventually a career
in student affairs because I wanted to impact students' lives outside of the
classroom. College is an extremely important time for many students and
experiences outside of the classroom are just as important as experiences
within the classroom. Many students attending college don't realize that
some of the most important knowledge that they will gain won't come within the
four walls of a lecture hall but rather the four walls of a dorm room.
Our job as current and future administrators is to make sure that this
knowledge does not fall on deaf ears.
So, I can't help to think about the first year students
getting ready to start their undergraduate education. What will they know
tomorrow… a week from now, a month from and even four years from now? Will
they learn from their mistakes? Their world of knowledge is going to explode
and they probably don't even know it yet. Will they be willing to engage
in this atmosphere and truly experience everything college has to offer?
Honestly, I wish I could go back to my first year of college just to have that
experience again of feeling so small in a giant world but at the same time,
knowing that this journey will make this giant world a little bit smaller and a
little bit more manageable. As administrators, it is important to
remember that the future is in these students' hands and that they have a lot to
learn in a very short amount of time.
Imagine what I'll know tomorrow but more importantly…what they will
know… tomorrow.
