Sonoma State AVP of pupil affairs, entry, success

As a first-year faculty pupil, Sarah Ellison by no means imagined working in greater 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

Since Jan. 8, 2024, Ellison has served as affiliate vice chairman for pupil affairs at Sonoma State College, a part of the California State College system, overseeing the college’s pupil entry and success staff. Ellison spoke with Inside Greater Ed about her work in and out of doors greater training, her portfolio at Sonoma State, and her targets for the longer term.

Q: What led you to a profession in greater training?

A: I’ll should say, it wasn’t one thing I used to be in search of.

I, proper out of highschool, went to the College of Hawaii and was planning on doing a enterprise diploma. I failed my whole freshman yr and went to group faculty. In group faculty, I believed 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 complete whole plan was to enter gross sales. That’s what I believed I might do. I used to be actually fascinated with corporations 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, increasingly.

Throughout that point, I used to be very lucky to satisfy my husband, and life began to occur throughout that point as nicely after I was ending my undergrad. I really went to work for a nonprofit group, Goodwill, in California and set to work at Fort Irwin, which is a army base, serving as a profession adviser for transitioning veterans. And I actually liked it.

Profession providers 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 providers, and was attempting to consider how I might advance my profession from that position into profession providers in greater training. I actually couldn’t discover a direct path, however I received into educational advising, and fell in love with educational advising. I met a recruiter at one in all our gala’s for army of us, and he or she 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 providers 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 straight in greater 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 journey, nevertheless it’s been a variety of enjoyable.

Q: Would you say that you simply’ve introduced any of your profession providers experiences into the work that you simply do now?

A: I felt that my expertise working with transitioning veterans and dealing in profession providers actually helped my advising platform and position working with college students from the advising standpoint, as a result of I used to be capable of higher join with college students, with their plans for his or her diploma, after which all the alternatives that come from completely different figuring out completely different profession fields and features, 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 direction of retention and diploma completion.

Whereas I don’t straight discover myself in profession providers in greater training in my present position as affiliate vice chairman, I’ve a pretty big portfolio, and a type of areas being profession providers now. Now I get to supervise each educational advising [and] profession providers, in addition to many different elements of my portfolio that embrace advising for fairness and entry program, incapacity providers, after which additionally precollegiate packages. It’s cool to search out myself now straight overseeing these features.

Q: Who’re your learners at Sonoma State and what are a few of the challenges and alternatives on the college based mostly in your pupil inhabitants?

A: Sonoma State has a really various pupil 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 basically, actually various.

I believe 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 throughout the group, in order that our [high school] college students see a path straight right into a four-year establishment.

[Through] a variety of my precollegiate packages, 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 likewise 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 kids that they see the worth of their diploma. That’s what we’re actually working with right here, with our college students, is basically serving to them see the worth of their diploma, retaining them and serving to them transfer them into careers which are each fruitful, thrilling and in step 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 an entire. How is that integrated into your imaginative and prescient for pupil success?

A: That’s one factor I’ve at all times loved concerning the Cal State system is that regional perspective and focus that we now have.

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 companies. 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 a variety of expertise to what it’s to serve the group within the area and meet the wants of the state as nicely, too. I spent about three years there studying rather a lot about extension work.

I strongly imagine that it’s wonderful to have these ties to the group, as a result of it helps us maintain a pulse on what the wants are of the group, serving to to arrange our college students to enter completely different profession fields, but additionally have a civic tie as nicely to what they’re doing.

Q: “Entry” is a key phrase in your record of tasks, managing the scholar entry and success staff. How is entry central to your position?

A: On the subject of entry, I believe it’s essential for college kids, as a result of once we take into consideration the completely different pupil populations we serve, there’s additionally these know-how items. In greater ed—at the very least at all the establishments I’ve labored at—we love new know-how. We love beginning new packages and new platforms.

I believe it’s at all times actually essential that we guarantee our college students perceive and have a data base as nicely, and that the know-how works for them. So how they schedule appointments, the pliability to do Zoom, after which additionally serious about a few of our college students who’re native in different languages. Do we now have alternatives and area for college kids to have the ability to converse with advisers and school and have help of their native language? That’s at all times been actually essential, as a result of the that means is completely different.

After I was at Cal State San Bernardino, we had some actually nice college from our Spanish division who would are available and assist in group advising periods and do it in Spanish, which is basically useful for our college students.

After we take into consideration the know-how items, that’s essential, how they apply to return to any college. After which once they get to campus, and that constant communication from the time that they’re to … really enrolling, after which once they’re right here, can I get ahold of and work with of us in all the places of work that I have to? That’s essential for us in greater ed to at all times think about and be aware 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 think about myself very new in my position.

When it comes to some short-term targets … we’re actually ensuring college students have an adviser, somebody they’ll join with. That we’re breaking down silos throughout the establishment, in order that approach, advisers, college, workers [and] administrators really feel comfy working with one another and speaking and supporting one another.

When it comes to long run, it’s actually strengthening that profession aspect. Now we have rather a lot coming down from the governor right here in California associated to workforce improvement and people issues. I’m partnering with our vice chairman for pupil affairs and our provost and affiliate provost, constructing out and strengthening our profession providers programming. In order that’s one other focus, and a few long-term planning that we actually want to consider for the longer term right here at Sonoma State, whereas nonetheless persevering with to give attention to bettering fairness gaps, retention charges, commencement charges and enrollment as nicely.

Q: Profession providers is a rising focus nationally inside greater training. What are a few of these limitations 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 greater ed for all of the establishments I’ve labored at, I believe staffing is a big piece of profession providers, 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 foremost and division and profession pathways.

Leveraging the community as nicely, I believe that’s one other factor with profession providers, is basically constructing robust portfolios for skilled networks, and that may be a problem 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 developments, new careers.

That’s one other thrilling piece about careers, that there are jobs that we don’t even know of which are going to be created right here quickly. How will we take into consideration talent units and plans and serving to college students see their strengths in all the pieces that they’ve achieved all through their time, of their teachers and on the establishment, to arrange for [future] fields? After which we now have rising fields, in AI, inexperienced know-how, agriculture, well being providers and all of that.

That’s what’s form of the enjoyable aspect of profession providers, but additionally creates the challenges, since you’re serious about present developments, rising developments after which the developments that you simply don’t even know are going to exist but. Serving to college students outline and perceive the talent units that they’ve, and ensuring they’re constructing and aligning these to these skilled fields.

Do you will have a profession preparation program that impacts pupil success? Inform us about it.