Alex Mosher
Staff Writer
Student Affairs, often referred to as student services or student personnel work, is the department within a university made up of professionals there to support students in their success and to enhance students’ personal and academic growth and development in the United States and abroad.
Many of the employees within the department are considered specialists in their areas of work, with many of them having educational and certification requirements.
“I love helping students find a meaningful, educational career path,” said Lance Erickson, director of the ISU Career Center. “So many students struggle with these important decisions and college is expensive and time consuming, so helping students find a great path creates much more energy and excitement for them as they pursue their dreams.”
The department of student affairs has been a part of the university scene since the 1800s. College presidents were initially in charge of handling these responsibilities, but due to overwhelming schedules full of other administrative duties, they created positions such as the Dean of Men and Dean of Women.
The general idea of student affairs began to change after the voting age was lowered to 18 and the law started viewing 18 year olds as adults.
Areas such as student conduct, career services, counseling, housing, disability services, veteran’s services and many more all fall under the category of student affairs today.
A major part of the student affairs department at ISU is the Career Center. The Career Center helps students who are unsure about their college majors or programs.
Different services that are offered through the Career Center are career counseling, career assessments, construction of resumes and cover letters, mock-interviews, possible internships, career fairs and much more.
“My role as the Director is to provide strategic direction for the career center and ensure students are getting the best help possible,” Erickson said. “Student affairs work is a really fantastic career path.”
