As a first-year faculty scholar, Sarah Ellison by no means imagined working in increased training or incomes a doctorate, however her experiences have developed her ardour for serving to college students establish their strengths and construct robust foundations for his or her futures past commencement.
Sarah Ellison, Sonoma State College’s affiliate vp of scholar affairs
Sarah Ellison, Sonoma State College
Since Jan. 8, 2024, Ellison has served as affiliate vp for scholar affairs at Sonoma State College, a part of the California State College system, overseeing the college’s scholar entry and success staff. Ellison spoke with Inside Increased Ed about her work in and out of doors increased training, her portfolio at Sonoma State, and her targets for the long run.
Q: What led you to a profession in increased training?
A: I’ll should say, it wasn’t one thing I used to be searching for.
I, proper out of highschool, went to the College of Hawaii and was planning on doing a enterprise diploma. I failed my complete freshman yr and went to neighborhood faculty. In neighborhood faculty, I assumed I might do a spotlight nonetheless in enterprise, so I did do my affiliate’s, after which continued on to my bachelor’s on the College of La Verne in enterprise.
My entire complete plan was to enter gross sales. That’s what I assumed I might do. I used to be actually fascinated with firms like Coach and Michael Kors, Macy’s.
However all through that point, life simply occurs when you’re in faculty, proper? You’re studying about your self, you’re studying about your targets, defining them, an increasing number of.
Throughout that point, I used to be very lucky to satisfy my husband, and life began to occur throughout that point as effectively after I was ending my undergrad. I truly went to work for a nonprofit group, Goodwill, in California and started working at Fort Irwin, which is a navy base, serving as a profession adviser for transitioning veterans. And I actually cherished it.
Profession companies was a brand new subject to me, and I actually thought that’s what I needed to do. And so I ended up doing my grasp’s in profession companies, and was attempting to consider how I might advance my profession from that position into profession companies in increased training. I actually couldn’t discover a direct path, however I bought into educational advising, and fell in love with educational advising. I met a recruiter at one in all our festivals for navy people, and she or he actually launched me to the entire subject of upper training. I had been uncovered by means of going to varsity and assembly with completely different mentors. I did my internship in profession companies on the College of La Verne, and the director there was phenomenal, and that’s what sort of began that piece.
However that’s how I discovered myself working instantly in increased training. I began at a small non-public college, then went into the Cal State system, then went to College of Kentucky, after which now I discovered myself again within the Cal State system. It’s been a little bit of a wild experience, nevertheless it’s been quite a lot of enjoyable.
Q: Would you say that you simply’ve introduced any of your profession companies experiences into the work that you simply do now?
A: I felt that my expertise working with transitioning veterans and dealing in profession companies actually helped my advising platform and position working with college students from the advising standpoint, as a result of I used to be in a position to higher join with college students, with their plans for his or her diploma, after which all the alternatives that come from completely different understanding completely different profession fields and facets, after which serving to them leverage all of their expertise.
I labored with nontraditional college students, first-generation college students [and] conventional college students, and it’s simply wonderful how a lot college students can be taught from the profession facet that helps with their ending of their diploma, so working in the direction of retention and diploma completion.
Whereas I don’t instantly discover myself in profession companies in increased training in my present position as affiliate vp, I’ve a pretty big portfolio, and a type of areas being profession companies now. Now I get to supervise each educational advising [and] profession companies, in addition to many different components of my portfolio that embody advising for fairness and entry program, incapacity companies, after which additionally precollegiate applications. It’s cool to seek out myself now instantly overseeing these facets.
Q: Who’re your learners at Sonoma State and what are among the challenges and alternatives on the college primarily based in your scholar inhabitants?
A: Sonoma State has a really numerous scholar inhabitants. We’re an HSI, so we do serve a big proportion of Hispanic college students. We do have a big proportion of first-generation college students, however our make-up is de facto, actually numerous.
I feel with something, like most establishments are dealing with proper now when it comes to serving our college students, it’s actually about exhibiting that pathway, so actually working inside the neighborhood, in order that our [high school] college students see a path instantly right into a four-year establishment.
[Through] quite a lot of my precollegiate applications, which serve our Okay-12 setting, we’re actually attempting to strengthen and construct pathways for these college students who usually come from low earnings, and in addition our will-be first-generation faculty college students, actually serving to them to outline that pathway and see a transparent imaginative and prescient for going right into a four-year establishment.
I additionally suppose it’s the life after, it’s the profession trajectory, it’s the employability plans for college students that they see the worth of their diploma. That’s what we’re actually working with right here, with our college students, is de facto serving to them see the worth of their diploma, retaining them and serving to them transfer them into careers which can be each fruitful, thrilling and consistent with how they noticed themselves, with their targets and what they needed to do.
Q: One of many cool issues about working at a public establishment is you get to serve your area and the state as a complete. How is that integrated into your imaginative and prescient for scholar success?
A: That’s one factor I’ve at all times loved in regards to the Cal State system is that regional perspective and focus that we’ve got.
My first Cal State expertise was at Cal State San Bernardino, after which now being right here at Sonoma State, it’s wonderful how completely different the Northern California and Southern California areas are—even the problems that we face with these college students—however coming collectively within the system is at all times actually thrilling, as a result of we do get to collaborate and take into consideration how we serve the state, however then additionally, once more, focus in on initiatives particular to the areas that all the Cal State [institutions] are in.
Within the work that I do now, I discover myself in the neighborhood much more: serving on completely different boards, working with completely different native employers, area people businesses. I’ll say that Sonoma State has had a reasonably good grounding in that previous to my time right here.
Earlier than coming to Sonoma State, I labored on the College of Kentucky, which is a land-grant–serving establishment, and [that] additionally gave me quite a lot of expertise to what it’s to serve the neighborhood within the area and meet the wants of the state as effectively, too. I spent about three years there studying lots about extension work.
I strongly imagine that it’s wonderful to have these ties to the neighborhood, as a result of it helps us preserve a pulse on what the wants are of the neighborhood, serving to to organize our college students to enter completely different profession fields, but in addition have a civic tie as effectively to what they’re doing.
Q: “Entry” is a key phrase in your record of duties, managing the scholar entry and success staff. How is entry central to your position?
A: Relating to entry, I feel it’s crucial for college students, as a result of once we take into consideration the completely different scholar populations we serve, there’s additionally these know-how items. In increased ed—a minimum of at all the establishments I’ve labored at—we love new know-how. We love beginning new applications and new platforms.
I feel it’s at all times actually crucial that we guarantee our college students perceive and have a information base as effectively, and that the know-how works for them. So how they schedule appointments, the flexibleness to do Zoom, after which additionally serious about a few of our college students who’re native in different languages. Do we’ve got alternatives and area for college students to have the ability to communicate with advisers and school and have assist of their native language? That’s at all times been actually crucial, as a result of the that means is completely different.
Once I was at Cal State San Bernardino, we had some actually nice school from our Spanish division who would are available and assist in group advising classes and do it in Spanish, which is de facto useful for our college students.
Once we take into consideration the know-how items, that’s crucial, how they apply to come back to any college. After which after they get to campus, and that constant communication from the time that they’re to … truly enrolling, after which after they’re right here, can I get ahold of and work with people in all the workplaces that I have to? That’s crucial for us in increased ed to at all times take into account and be conscious of, as a result of that’s one other a part of the scholar expertise.
Q: What are a few of your short- and long-term targets at Sonoma State?
A: I’m a yr in, so I nonetheless take into account myself very new in my position.
By way of some short-term targets … we’re actually ensuring college students have an adviser, somebody they’ll join with. That we’re breaking down silos inside the establishment, in order that approach, advisers, school, workers [and] administrators really feel snug working with one another and speaking and supporting one another.
By way of long run, it’s actually strengthening that profession aspect. We now have lots coming down from the governor right here in California associated to workforce improvement and people issues. I’m partnering with our vp for scholar affairs and our provost and affiliate provost, constructing out and strengthening our profession companies programming. In order that’s one other focus, and a few long-term planning that we actually want to consider for the long run right here at Sonoma State, whereas nonetheless persevering with to give attention to bettering fairness gaps, retention charges, commencement charges and enrollment as effectively.
Q: Profession companies is a rising focus nationally inside increased training. What are a few of these obstacles that you simply’re dealing with, or the place do you want these sources to essentially strengthen that arm of the establishment?
A: I might say, all through my time in increased ed for all of the establishments I’ve labored at, I feel staffing is a large piece of profession companies, having the ability to have sufficient profession workers to satisfy the wants of the campus.
I additionally suppose there’s a coaching and improvement piece, and that, to me, ties in to the reference to the college and educational departments to be sure that the profession advising aligns with the main and division and profession pathways.
Leveraging the community as effectively, I feel that’s one other factor with profession companies, is de facto constructing robust portfolios for skilled networks, and that may be a difficulty relying on the establishment, what their entry, their management, being embedded in the neighborhood and people issues, in addition to embedded nationally to see new tendencies, new careers.
That’s one other thrilling piece about careers, that there are jobs that we don’t even know of which can be going to be created right here quickly. How will we take into consideration ability units and plans and serving to college students see their strengths in all the pieces that they’ve completed all through their time, of their lecturers and on the establishment, to organize for [future] fields? After which we’ve got rising fields, in AI, inexperienced know-how, agriculture, well being companies and all of that.
That’s what’s type of the enjoyable aspect of profession companies, but in addition creates the challenges, since you’re serious about present tendencies, rising tendencies after which the tendencies that you simply don’t even know are going to exist but. Serving to college students outline and perceive the ability units that they’ve, and ensuring they’re constructing and aligning these to these skilled fields.
Do you’ve a profession preparation program that impacts scholar success? Inform us about it.
