1) Describe your professional path in the field. If there are aspects of your decision-making (in your career choices) that may inform how our students approach the beginning of their own professional employment, please share them. If there are things you'd have done differently, please explain them.

Hello!  My name is Missy Bryant and I’m the Director of First-Year Programs at Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA – about 30 miles west of Philadelphia.  My path into Student Affairs is very different than most.  As an undergrad at Susquehanna University, I was SUPER involved (not unusual for a future Student Affairs professional) – a cheerleader, Vice-President of Membership for Sigma Kappa Sorority (One Heart, One Way, Dee!), a tour guide, etc.  When I graduated from S.U. in 1996 with a B.A. in History I went to work at the U.S. Archives on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. doing research in the Military Reference Branch.  My plan was to work for a year before beginning a Masters program in Military and Naval History at the University of Alabama with hopes of getting in the PhD program (a little more unusual for a future Student Affairs professional).  While working at the Archives, I was still trying to determine how to pay for graduate school when my sorority adviser from Susquehanna suggested that I look into a assistantship in Student Affairs.  She told me about her former supervisor at Penn State (Rick Funk) who was an Assistant Dean and Director of Greek Life at Alabama.  Rick was looking for a grad assistant to work in Parent Orientation.  When I talked with him he encouraged me to also apply for a graduate Residence Director position because (at the time) the higher ed program at UA did not have enough students to fill all of the assistantships available in the Division of Student Affairs.  I applied for both positions and ended up serving as the graduate assistant for Parent Orientation and a graduate RD in Tutwiler Hall.  While I loved both of the positions in Student Affairs, history was still my passion – for about a month until I realized that being stuck in the stacks of Gorgas Library for hours a day was not how I wanted to spend my life. 

When I graduated from UA in 1999 I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do.  I interviewed for and was offered a position as a Hall Director in an all-female Greek residence hall at Arizona State University. My husband (at the time, boyfriend) was taking a position in the Human Resources Leadership Development Program at Lockheed Martin in Orlando, FL and I didn’t want to be on the opposite side of the country so I decided to take a position teaching American History and World History at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, FL for a year.  (10^th and 11^th graders….HATED IT!)  I couldn’t get out of there fast enough!  Luckily, my husband’s placement was up in May 2000 and he was moving to Syracuse, NY to continue his work at Lockheed so there was an excuse for me to leave J  I decided that I NEEDED to get back into Student Affairs – I always felt confident and at-ease in my assistantships at Alabama so I was convinced a professional position would be the same for me.  So I set out to find a job near Syracuse.  I became the Coordinator of Housing (Reporting to the Director of Residence Life) at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY – just down the road from Syracuse University.  LeMoyne is a small, private, Jesuit school and the Vice-President had been there for over 25 years.  (he was a little set in his ways to say the least) My responsibilities included supervising a staff of RAs and being a conduct officer but also overseeing housing assignments and conferences.  There were also graduate hall directors (students at Syracuse University) who worked at LeMoyne so I really think I thought my position was more than it really was.   LeMoyne was a tight-knit community but was a big challenge to me.  As a young professional I struggled with what I perceived as the antiquated systems and policies in Student Affairs.  It was also difficult for me to deal with students who felt comfortable having a drink (or several) at the Jes Res (where the Jesuit priests lived on campus) or with the VPSA.  I felt like LeMoyne was a Risk Management nightmare…that was probably partly true but partly me thinking “I know it all” as a new professional.  It snowed 200 inches in Syracuse that winter and when my husband had the option of choosing another placement in May 2001 he JUMPED on it!  Off to Dallas it was!

I went to ACPA in Boston (during a snowstorm) in March of 2000 and started my job search focused on the North Texas Area.  I interviewed for a hall director position at Southern Methodist University in Dallas – LOVED it!  Of course, I also thought I was too good for a Hall Director position – afterall, I had been the Coordinator of Housing at LeMoyne reporting to a Director of Residence Life.  (I sure had a lot to learn.)  I remember meeting with the Director of Residence Life and Student Housing (RLSH) Eddie Hull for my second interview and telling him that I wouldn’t be a Hall Director for long that I was seeking much more responsibility.  (he must have listened even though looking back I CANNOT believe I said that to him!)  I went to work at SMU (started the same day and was in orientation with Dr. Siscoe…J) in July 2001 and started the BEST 9 years of my life!  I won’t go into much detail about SMU since you’ve already heard a bit from my friend and colleague Dave Roberts.  As a Hall Director I was responsible for two learning communities and I began to develop strong relationships with faculty.  I worked with the Common Reading program for First-Year students and I was active in many Student Affairs initiatives.  After six as a Hall Director I was promoted to the Conference and Guest Services Manager position.  My main responsibilities were overseeing the Desk operations of RLSH, scheduling the guest rooms on campus, key management (my LEAST favorite part of the job), and managing the summer conference operation.  I loved this position because I had opportunity to work closely with the facilities operation in RLSH and also was able to build relationships across campus in working with conferences (including relationships associated with orientation…which you’ll see is important later).  Because I missed my work with student conduct, I began to serve as member of the judicial board and as a  hearing officer for higher level conduct cases.  (This gave me the opportunity to continue working with Dee Siscoe.)  Additionally, I was a direct-report to the Director of RLSH Eddie Hull so I became very involved in the overall operation of a large Student Affairs department. 

(Insert here that my husband Jason and I got married in Dallas in December 2002 at Perkins Chapel on campus at SMU.)

When Eddie left SMU for Duke a couple of years later, his direct-reports was given the opportunity to direct the department as a team under the supervision of Vice-President of Student Affairs Jim Caswell.  What an exceptional opportunity – to report to a VPSA (for a short-time) as a young professional.  I also learned quickly that I have the ability to bring people together.  There were some very strong (all-female) personalities serving on this leadership team and there was often conflict.  I served as a mediator and someone who was able to help bridge the gaps in understanding each other. 

When Doug Hallenbeck became the Assistant Vice-President and Director of RLSH I reported to him.  After about six months of reporting to him, Doug told me that he saw greater potential in me and recognized the positive impact I had on the Desk Assistants and Conference Assistants.  He wanted to have a similar impact on other student leadership roles within the residence halls.  He changed my title to Conference and Leadership Development Coordinator and gave me additional responsibility for advising the Residence Hall Association and working with Hall Directors to improve hall councils.  I served in that role for another three years or so. 

When a position opened as the Director of New Student Programs (reporting to the Associate VPSA and Dean of Students Dee Siscoe) Doug encouraged me to apply.  I was somewhat shocked and flattered.  I quickly called Dee to see if we could talk.  She started at SMU at the same time I did, is a Sigma Kappa and was (is) someone I completely respect – the thought of working with Dee got me even more excited about the position.  I had so many things to ask her!   Working in summer conferences I had close interaction with Director of New Student Programs and was continually frustrated by his lack of collaboration and what I saw as constant procrastination.  I also felt that he put too much responsibility on the student leaders he worked with and he was always fast to pass off any mistakes as those of his students.  I also never felt heard – the Director would seek feedback from stakeholders but immediately became defensive or deflected when feedback was given.  Feedback never impacted change.  I also believed (and still do) that orientation is a University responsibility and that the Director of New Student Programs needed to be driving the ship as opposed to student leaders.  (I want to be clear that student leaders are necessary to a successful orientation but I did not feel like they should be the decision-makers.)  I may not have been an expert on orientation but I DEFINITELY knew how I would run the department differently.  The interview process for this position was really difficult for me.  My current supervisor was the Chair of the search committee and I knew every member of the committee – in fact, most of the committee members I had close working relationships with through my work on campus.  Interviewing with my colleagues was one of the most difficult things I had experienced.  When I made the campus interview phase of the process I focused on my orientation philosophy and how I would run a true University-wide orientation program.  I went in with the attitude “this job is mine” – mine to win or lose.  I’ll never forget the day that Dee came to my office to offer me the position.  Not sure if I screamed or cried but I know that was the most excited I ever was to get a job.  I was so happy that Dee believed in me and felt like I could make an impact in orientation…and the journey began.

In the next question I will address how taking this position led to some of my greatest challenges…at least initially.

(Insert here…soon after becoming the Director of New Student Programs (literally days), my husband had the opportunity to take on a manager role and advance his career in…Ocala, FL.  We decided that since we didn’t have any children we would live apart for a year and see how the new jobs went for both of us.  This was a REALLY challenging year for both of us.  Luckily he didn’t like the new position and agreed a year later to move back to Dallas!)

As the Director of New Student Programs I was completely empowered to make the program my own.  I created a committee (more like herd) of about 40 stakeholders from across campus and set out to impact positive change in orientation.  When I became Director the office consisted of me, one coordinator and a part-time administrative assistant.  Over the course of the next few years I was able to grow my budget and grow the office to two assistant directors and a full-time administrative assistant.  This growth came as a result of collaboration, determination, persistence, assessment and more COLLABORATION.   Along the way, my supervisor was supportive, challenging and always encouraging.  It was quite a journey but gave me so much confidence in my ability to influence change.

When Dee announced that she was leaving SMU my world was about to change.  Not only did I get a new supervisor but also began to assume more responsibility.  I started to sit on the Behavioral Intervention Team and began to meet with first-years and sophomores that came up as students of concern.  I was moving away from direct responsibility for orientation and more into a supervisory role.  I was becoming the equivalent of an Assistant Dean.  I also started serving in the Senior Student Affairs Staff Duty rotation.  The Office of New Student Programs became New Student Orientation and Student Support to reflect some of the new responsibilities we took on.  Although I loved the new responsibilities, I faced challenges with my new supervisor’s style.  I managed up pretty effectively and was able to build a good relationship with her.  (that’s what I’m good at – building relationships)  Seeing how my supervisor treated other staff members and hearing about the struggles others had with her made it less appealing to go to work every day. 

My son was born in April 2009 and Jason and I thought it would be a good time to get closer to my family on the East Coast so that our son could grow up around grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.  Jason was quickly able to find another position within Lockheed Martin in King of Prussia, PA.  He moved to PA in January 2010 with our dog Dixie and I stayed in Dallas with Owen until the house sold or I found a new position.  The job market was much tougher than I thought.  Despite the large number of schools in the Philadelphia area there were no director level positions open.  I started to apply for Assistant Director positions and positions in other areas of higher education.  Nothing was panning out.  In June, the Director of First-Year Programs position at UC posted on higheredjobs.com and I thought “This job is mine.”  That is a common theme for me J  I interviewed for the job on July 13 and started on August 13.  Quick turnaround! 

I am now two hours from my entire family and loving life at small, private liberal arts institution (1800 students).  The students I work with are terrific and my colleagues are fantastic.  As much as I love Ursinus, SMU was home and working with Eddie Hull, Doug Hallenbeck, and Dee Siscoe made me the professional that I am.