Let’s discuss the elephant in the room: Amherst students are STRESSED. Classes are debilitating, extracurriculars eat up any potential nap or recovery time, and don’t get me started about the constant overwhelming pressure to be “making the most of your college experience.” Sometimes, you just need to lay in bed, shut yourself away, and attempt to quiet that ever-racing mind telling you that you should be doing something rather than resting.
So many people from so many directions are telling us different things we need to be doing right now. So much so that the imposter syndrome and overwhelm that Amherst students regularly shoulder transforms into another animal: decision fatigue. Past the point of fight or flight, we remain frozen. And in those moments, the last things we need to hear are how horrible our resumes are, who has what fancy investment banking internship over a year before it even starts, and how unprepared we are for a future beyond Amherst.
It’s not just you – so many students are feeling this way right now. And the Loeb Center can put out as much programming as they’d like, but if students are too overwhelmed or fearful to access the career help they need, the student body remains unsupported. I was interested in hearing more about what’s preventing students from visiting the Loeb Center, so I spoke with the Director of Inclusive Career Development and manager of the Meiklejohn Fellows Program, Donnell Turner, to learn more from a staff member’s perspective.
Donnell explained that the culture of imposter syndrome on campus is pervasive not only in the classroom but also within staff organizations. Although he had 20 years of higher education experience before coming to campus, he’s felt imposter syndrome while working at Amherst.
Beyond imposter syndrome and decision fatigue, Donnell remarked on various barriers to students accessing Loeb Center resources. Maybe you resonate with some of these identities:
- If you’re a First-year or Sophomore, maybe you think career services are only meant for upperclassmen, and you feel like you’re getting ahead of yourself in making an appointment or attending an info session.
- If you’re a FLI student, maybe you haven’t received as many tools at home in navigating the world of work and have compared yourself to your peers regarding the career exploration process. Maybe this intimidates you and makes you reluctant to access Loeb resources.
- If you’re an international student, you may not see the career center as a place helpful or resourceful to you due to U.S. work eligibility constraints.
- If you’re a student-athlete, maybe your schedule is so demanding with classes, practice, and games that going to the Loeb Center is something you don’t have time for.
- Maybe you have parents or loved ones who help you with your resume, the job search, or grad school applications, and you don’t think the career center can be as helpful as the advice you get at home.
When I asked him for a message to students uncertain about accessing the career center, he laughed and said, “We don’t bite!” But seriously, it’s as simple as sending an email. “Let me address a question for you, then let’s meet face-to-face; we can even have lunch,” he added.
The Loeb Center is actively trying to reduce barriers and anxiety about getting students the career help they want and need. Donnell, in particular, is starting with accessibility and approachability as foundations of his mission. He’s contacted affinity groups, working with the BSU, Black in Business, and La Causa to develop career-related programming specific to each group. He’s also working with CARC and CISE to reduce anxiety about coming to the career center. In addition, he hopes to be outside the office more and in Keefe Campus Center a few days a week to better get to know students outside of a career context.
You can’t expect to walk into College Hall and leave an hour later with a job, fellowship, or grad school offer in your hands, but what you can expect are compassionate professionals like Donnell who are here to help you in the best way they can: through mentorship, advice, and networking opportunities. You may think you have it all figured out – you know what you need to do to get to where you want to go, your parents or loved ones can help you, or you’re following in the footsteps of an upperclassman who achieved what you eventually want. Or maybe you feel like you don’t have it together at all, and it’s intimidating to trek across campus to a career center appointment with the impending fear of being reminded how little you have it together.
Let’s face it, though: we’re in college, we’re young and ambitious, but we don’t have all the answers. Don’t wait until it’s too late, and then you’re scrambling to pick up the pieces. That’s a lot more anxiety that none of us need. Scheduling a meeting with an advisor at the Loeb Center or attending an event may add an extra thing to your plate in the short term, but if it can shoulder even a little bit of that ever-present anxiety about the future, why not give it a shot?
