Anai P.
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, NM
I remember having an interview with the Director of The College of Arts and Sciences Advising Center, Edward Rodriguez, who terrified me with all the information and how much responsibility I would have if I were to get the work-study job. I needed to have phone etiquette skills to be able to speak with the NMSU faculty, students and parents. I needed to know all the policies and procedures because I would advise my own peers with their careers. I needed to know all the forms and when they needed to be used. I needed to know 26 different majors and what classes they would need to take. On top of that I had to be familiar with the other colleges and their policies in case a student decided to change majors. I also remember him telling me he never hired freshman and all of his work-study were juniors, seniors, and graduate students. This was because of the amount of responsibility this job had. I automatically got discouraged and decided to look for more jobs.
Two weeks later I received a call saying I had gotten the job. I was officially the first freshman to be hired for the College of Arts and Science Advising center!
When I first came in to NMSU I had no idea what an advisor was, where to declare my major, what classes to take, anything! I was thrown into this world where I felt that I had no chances of surviving. With this job I learned to survive in college and how to use my resources around me. I learned what to do, when I need to do it and where to do it. This job not only benefited me but also my peers because I learned to be sympathetic. I would see my co-workers lose patience with students because they were upper classmates and expected everyone to possess their same knowledge. Since I had been in a similar situation where I was scared and confused of a new setting, I made sure to help my peers out to the best of my abilities. Two years later I am still working for the Advising Center. We have had so many changes with the center, especially with the employees. Many of the employees I first started with are gone, making me the one who has been here the longest.