Barauskas - Week 7 - Interview

Today was a very interesting day at MUW. I walked in after lunch and immediately had things to do. The first thing was to get updated on the student organizations that have signed up for the Organization Fair during Welcome Week, dubbed Involvement-Palooza. After that was completed, I had the opportunity to sit in on a student-run interview. The candidate was interviewing for the counselor position here, and the Director of Housing, who most of you know, placed the responsibility of organizing the interview on me. This would have been much more nerve-wrecking if I hadn't had so much experience with professional interviews, thanks to the RD recruitment committee at MSU.

There were about five students that work in the office of Student Life asking questions of the candidate and they all seemed very comfortable doing so. I think this exemplifies one of the great things about working at a small institution; the fact that students and professional staff work very closely together. The students rarely used the questions that were given to them, and asked the candidate questions that really mattered to them. They related everything to their own experience and I was very impressed to see how poised they were in asking relevant questions despite not having a background in Student Affairs or Counseling. This energy that the students gave off flowed through the candidate, and she was very friendly, and clear with her intentions and experiences. She didn't try to sugarcoat anything, and allowed the students to view into her past experience clearly.

I appreciated the trust that Sirena placed in me, and the opportunity to sit in on this interview. It allowed me to learn just a little bit more about the student culture here, in addition to getting to know the possible future counselor for MUW. In addition to this opportunity, Jess has referred one of the Orientation Leaders to me, who is interested in the Student Affairs program at MSU. The student is entering her senior year, and is curious to learn the differences between various graduate Student Affairs programs that are out there. I have my own ideas, but with that being said, I'm curious to know how you guys feel the counseling background that we are receiving will benefit us compared to those that may have gone through a program that is administratively-based.

Thanks in advance for your input!