Nelda Bailey: Texas A&M University's Student Conduct Services-Week One

Hello All:

I will be completing my practicum hours during the month of July. I will be working under supervision at Texas A&M University’s Student Conduct Services department. I am really excited about working in my secondary area of interest. I love Student Conduct because it ties in my love for education and law. I am very passionate about educating students of their choices rather than punishing the student and worse revoking their educational pursuit.

To secure my assistantship at an off-campus site, it took a lot of planning. For starters, I had to ensure I would enough funding either from the university or on my own. Secondly, I had to consider where I wanted to begin my search. I first thought about reaching out to nearing Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), but I decided to focus more on the state of Texas. I chose Texas because I would love to work in that state post-graduation. Texas offers a great blend of city living with country living. With the location settled, I began to send out letters and resumes to almost every student affairs division in the state of Texas. Afterwards, I met with my advisor who told me to consider meeting with Dr. Kibler. I met with him, and he was able to put me into contact with some of his collegues at Texas A&M University. Shortly afterwards, I received an email from my supervisor, and the rest of the story is basically a lot of paperwork.

I am excited about receiving experience in both my dream state and another area of student affairs. I look forward to meeting and networking with other people on the campus. I think this is a great opportunity for me to learn as much as possible about Student Conduct. I also think this is a great opportunity for me to work at a different school setting. Texas A&M University is twice the size of Mississippi State University. This is both a little intimidating and exciting to me. Hopefully, this difference can also help enlighten me on the type of institution I would like to work at after graduation.

Until July, I am focused on the academic side of the practicum course, but I can’t wait to share about experience with you guys at Texas A&M University!