It is that time again: Students are frantic, advisers have no open office hours and there is a rush to make sure CRN numbers are ready to input when students’ registration day comes.
The advisement period is in full swing at Plattsburgh State. Experienced students are seeing the end of their undergraduate careers. The “youngins” are deciding which of their General Education classes they want to take next. Advisers can’t wait until these two weeks are over.
From the time I was a freshman at Plattsburgh State, advising was easy and exciting. Maybe it was because I had an idea of what I wanted to take, or I didn’t really care what I took as long as it satisfied something toward graduation.
Maybe it was the professional who was giving me my registration code and much of the guidance I needed to get through these years. Now I refer to him as a magician.
Each student is given their own magicians when they enroll at PSUC. Some students stay with them for the entirety of their time here. However, some change due to changes in field of magic.
Until this semester, figuring out which classes I wanted to take has been easy. Now that I have 25 credits left to take until my graduation date, this simple task has given me minor heart palpitations.
Classes aren’t fitting into my schedule as well as they used to, and there are many other things to consider when picking the required classes in my major. Since I have only two more semesters, things like if the class will be offered the following semester and how full I want to pack my schedule are the thoughts that cloud my mind.
In the past two and a half years, it only took me one 20-minute period with my adviser to get all the information I needed to register for classes for my coming semester. It has been seven days since advising appointments have been scheduled, and I have already visited my magician twice since advisement started.
During my second advising consultation, he recommended I think about the big picture, as any good adviser would. What do I want out of my next, and last year of formal education? What tone do I want to set for my senior year?
The year is the start of another transition in my life. Do I want to continue with crazy days and late nights, with little time for myself in between? Or do I want to take it easy and focus on quality rather than quantity? Which is better, and how does one decide?
It would be easy if my adviser told me what to do all the time, especially this time. How would I learn and grow if he did? His job is to provide professional advice for students who are in this stage of their lives.
Yes, it is frustrating when there aren’t enough options for you to figure it out for yourself. It is frustrating when your adviser tells you what you could do, but not what you should do. Even though this is the case, every conversation I have with my adviser gives me more insight to my future that I didn’t know about.
I appreciate any time I get to speak to my magician because he always amazes me with what he has to say and how brilliant he truly is.
For all of the students out there who don’t use the advisement period as an opportunity to pick your advisers brain, I suggest you start. If you don’t, you’ll end up being a senior wishing you had.
Email Lisa Scivolette at lisa.scivolette@cardinalpointsonline.com
