Plan for the Future: Purposeful Service and Your Career at Suffolk

by Sarah Kain Gutowski, Chair, New Member Mentoring Program 

Happy Spring Break, New Members. I hope everyone withstood the snow and rain yesterday and that your recess has been peaceful, productive and restful.

This week I received a significant letter from the college, one that we spend much of our academic career working toward at SCCC: a letter from the president of the college informing me that he'd approved my "promotion in academic rank from Associate to Professor," effective at the beginning of our next academic year.

Yay! Finally!

This was a joyful moment, and also a kind of underwhelming one. Underwhelming simply because not much is going to change in my academic/work life after this point -- there will be no magical shift or transformation that signals the end of an era or a dramatic end to my involvement at the college. For the most part (with one or two exceptions), my career post-promotion is going to look very similar to my career over the past few years. This is because for the second half of my career here, I've been trying to practice deliberation, and be much for mindful, before accepting service opportunities.

Service to the college comprises a large part of our responsibilities as faculty, and -- sometimes practically, sometimes theoretically -- also helps the college function. You're probably already familiar with some aspect of service through conversations with your mentor or departmental meetings; however, your first year as a faculty member is not supposed to be one that's heavy in committee work or meetings. Your eligibility for your first promotion, though, is going to arrive much faster than you expect -- so it's good to begin, particularly when you have some down time during spring recess, to plan your career and what that might look like.

I spoke about this kind of thing last semester at our FA Discussion Series event titled "What You Need to Know In Your First Year (and Beyond)," but if you missed it, and if you were to search The Undercurrent's archive of previous New Member Discussion Series events, you'd find many posts on this topic -- most notably, "The Longview: Anticipating and Planning Your Career at SCCC" and "On Purpose." Reading through those posts might help -- hopefully will help -- you create a long-term plan that will guide you through the next few years. 

I write "the next few years" because we need to allow flexibility in our planning. We need to know that aspects of the college are going to change, committees will come and go, opportunities to be on those committees will come and go, and you'll have to revise your perspective, both short-term and long-term, accordingly. But being aware of what is possible at this point in your career, and being mindful of your interests and values, your level of expertise, your available time, and your goals for the future can help you avoid dedicating time and effort to committees that aren't the right fit (for you or them). 

Granted, sometimes you don't know that a committee isn't a good fit until you've served on it for a semester. If this happens to you, don't be afraid to gracefully and expediently excuse yourself from the group. There are always new service opportunities that will arise. There will always be faculty members who can take your place while you find a better way to serve your department, your campus, and the college.

So to that end, as I am happily, officially, and finally at the end of the oft-dreaded promotion cycle, I am pleased to share with you these highlights from "What You Need to Know In Your First Year (and Beyond)":

Create a Plan from a Vision or Desire 

1. Answer this question: Where you see yourself in ten years? (OR, What do you want to do with your next decade?)

• At Suffolk County Community College
• As a professional in your field or discipline
• Personally 

2.  Consider (i.e. write down) your various areas of responsibility at the college:

• Teaching and Other Duties (Other duties = the daily lives of non-classroom faculty)

• Service to the College and Community
• Department/Area
• Campus
•  College
• Community

• Personal and Professional Growth 
• Research and Scholarship

 3. Break down your 10-year plan by aligning it with:

• Daily Duties (Teaching/Non-Teaching) 
• Departmental Service
• Campus Service
• College Service
• Community Service
• Professional Development

 4.  Now that you've taken your "Future Self" and divided him or her six different ways, consider: Which area holds the most challenging or ambitious "future self"?

5. Next, consider: Where do I stand now in each of the following areas?

• Daily Duties (Teaching/Non-Teaching)
• Departmental Service 
• Campus Service 
• College Service 
• Community Service 
• Professional Development

6. Make rules for yourself, follow them, and try again if you mess up.

• Example: I must take a week to consider before beginning any new projects or commitments
• Take stock of your other commitments
• Consider whether or not, realistically, you could handle the additional responsibility
• If you can, great
•  If not, do not fret 

7. Make a conscious effort to think about your main goals as an educator (this comes from faculty member Jill Malik, Social Science)

• What are your main goals in the classroom?
• What are your obligations to students?
• What are their obligations as students in your classroom? 

8. Practice and Hone the Fine Art of Saying No

• It’s okay, and advisable, to reject responsibilities that don’t reflect your plan, vision, or interests
• They will find someone else
• You will be offered other opportunities

9. Make realistic expectations for yourself and your students and your colleagues (also from Jill Malik, except I added the part about colleagues)

• Slow start with committee work is the best start
• Talk to colleagues about your plans – bounce ideas off them to realize and/or prevent unrealistic expectations
• Adjust assignments according to your new number of students and/or courses

10. Meet the students halfway (this comes from Misty Curreli, Sociology)

• Commit to the idea of being transparent about the policies and procedures and why they are the way they are
• Explain to the students how to use the textbook, what purposes the assignments serve (what it evaluates and how it adds to their skill sets
• Watch for and reflect on your assumptions of student behavior and then ground yourself not in ego but in what’s pedagogically best for the students

11. Surround yourself with mentors (this comes from Jared Dowd, Counselor)

• FA New Member Program Mentor
• Academic Chairs and Deans
• Colleagues

12. Reach across departments and divisions for mentoring, expertise, and collaboration (this comes from Jason Ramirez, Communication and Art)

13. Remember the importance of networking (this comes from Teri Morales, Counselor and Adjunct Faculty) 

• Within the college
• Outside the college

14. Take advantage of what Suffolk has to offer (also from Jared Dowd, Counselor)

• Professional Development Workshops
• Monday Morning Mentor emails 
• Assisting Student Activities, and/or becoming a club advisor

 15. “Start small, end BIG” (also from Jason Ramirez, Communication and Art)

• Effective teaching flourishes with a concentration on clear goals and objectives
• Allow for new technologies of instruction whenever possible
• Allow your students to bring their classroom to the rest of the campus
• Ask yourself, “What can I share, based on my expertise, with the classroom, campus, and college-wide community?”
• Reach out to the larger community whenever possible

16. Maintain your passion(s) (also from Teri Morales, Counselor and Adjunct Faculty)

• Surround yourself with positive people and feed off their enthusiasm

17. Have compassion for yourself (also from Misty Curreli, Sociology)

• It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, unsure, and/or exhausted. 
• You should acknowledge ON A DAILY BASIS what you’ve accomplished despite any feelings to the contrary

18. Don’t neglect your own scholarly development (also from Jason Ramirez, Communication and Art)

• Keep an eye out for conference calls for papers and scholarly opportunitiesUtilize any and all grant opportunities you come across throughout the year
• Don’t forget to investigate possible publication opportunities, both in your field of expertise and your pedagogical development
• Reach out to the union if you need to (It is always important to know what is contractually expected of you)

 19. Protect your time (also from Misty Curreli, Sociology) 

• You deserve some personal, non-working time to give your mind a break 
• This takes discipline and it also requires that you be alright with keeping some uncompleted things on the to-do list until the next workday

20. Maybe You Have Two Careers, Not One. Plan Accordingly.

• Example: A teaching artist teaches students, and she exhibits, publishes, and promotes her work
• Reserve/block out time (weekly, monthly, by semester) in your schedule for duties in all areas of both careers:
• Grading   
• Committee Work
• Email
• Office Hours
• Research & Writing
• Presentations & Conference Attendance

 

NMDS Archive: Hindsight: What You Can Learn from My First Year, Part II (2015 Edition)

Editor's Note: On Friday, we'll hold the final event in this year's New Member Discussion Series program, titled “The Art of the A-Form: What You Can Learn from My First Promotion Cycle” (Mildred Green Room, Babylon Student Center, 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.). I hope to see many of you at this event; while this event doesn't aim to replace the Promotion Workshop in terms of information and resources, I believe it will help dispell fears and myths surrounding the promotion process by providing useful anecdotes from newly promoted faculty. (ALSO: Stay around the Mildred Green Room from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. for The Write Time -- our final attempt to set aside time for scholarship before finals arrive!)

Last semester, we began the New Member Discussion series with an event titled, "Hindsight: What You Can Learn from My First Year."  The following is Jill Malik's paper on the topic.

See you soon! 

-- SKG

Hindsight: What You Can Learn from My First Year

by Jill Malik, Instructor, Social Science

Thank you to Sarah Gutowski for inviting me to share my first year experience at Suffolk County Community College (SCCC). 

Before starting my first full-time year teaching at SCCC, I was an adjunct at both the Ammerman and Grant campuses. For me, this carried both pros and cons. My biggest “pro” column item was that I felt that I had a fairly decent gauge on the SCCC student population and what our students' specific needs and challenges are. My biggest “con” item was that I underestimated the disparity between a part-time and a full-time teaching load. 

Also, I had little-to-no idea as to what would be expected of me outside of the classroom. I didn’t know how my peers would react to me or how I’d fit into their well-established dynamics. I found myself in meetings where unfamiliar jargon was being thrown around as common, everyday language, leaving me feeling lost, and sometimes embarrassed. 

At times I questioned my own competence, my relative expertise, and my value to the department. Not because of any particular person or event, however; on the contrary, I feel fortunate to work with such intelligent, kind, humorous, and welcoming individuals and to be under the direction of an incredibly supportive Department Chair. Regardless, insecurity seeped in because of the “new-ness” of it all. I’d by lying if I said these feelings were entirely quashed; however, they are fewer-and-further between. I’ll take that as a “win!” 

So, how’d I get to this point? I’ve summarized a few notable moments from my time at SCCC in hopes that it helps your own transition: 

We're almost at the end, people!

You’ve just entered a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself.

Yes, academic burnout is a real thing. When educator responsibilities (e.g., professional development, expectations of student achievement, grading, lesson planning, advising) become overwhelming and chronically stressful, we often experience negative psychological and physical effects.

What can you do about this?

•  Make realistic expectations for yourself and your students.
• Talk to your colleagues if you are planning a new classroom activity or writing assignment. Bounce ideas off of each other to prevent or minimize unrealistic expectations.
•  Realize now that this is an ever-evolving process. What “works” one semester (or even in one section of a class) may not work in another. Be flexible!
• For me, the amount and type of assignments I had used when I was an adjunct for two classes per semester did NOT translate into a realistic full-time-with-overload teaching schedule. My first full-time semester more weeks than not grading over 200 papers each time. As a result, I had many sleepless nights. I pretty much cursed myself, asked myself “what WAS I THINKING?!” countless times, and vowed to never do that to myself again.
• You may feel compelled (or obligated) to join a ton of committees at the start. My suggestion is that you start slow. Make it a goal to join one committee that you are genuinely interested in. Think about it: It’s easier to build and add responsibilities slowly, over time. It’s much harder to make a hundred changes all at once, do a mediocre-at-best job in them because you’re spread too thin, and then try to remove yourself from committees later on. Remember – marathon, not a sprint.

Jill Malik speaks to new faculty in September

• Take time for yourself!
  • Put down the phone and step away from the computer. Now go do whatever it is that you enjoy – Perhaps it’s binge-watching your favorite television series, reading a good book, going to the gym or for a long run, yoga/meditation, or immersing yourself in a hobby. Don’t sacrifice, or underestimate, the importance of self-care. Self-care promotes a healthy state of mind and reduces chronic (long-term, “bad”) stress. 
   
• Make time for family and friends!
  • Whether you’re a long island native or just moved here, your friends and family are your constant in a time when you’ve just embarked on your new employment journey. Lean on them if you need. Talk to them about how things are going. 
  • You have just joined the SCCC family, and that means you are meeting lots of new people, navigating coworker personalities, and seeing where exactly you fit in.  Likely, this excites some and terrifies others. Whatever end of the spectrum you are on, the people that have known you before this job are your constant in your recently-transitioning world.  
   

You are embarking on a new journey here at SCCC, use that to your advantage. 

• A few weeks before I was hired full-time at SCCC, I had gone through some major life changes. I mean, pretty much a complete life overhaul. For me, that felt both exhilarating and anxiety-provoking. I decided to focus on the former --- make new connections, meet lots of people, network, mentor students, and wipe the slate clean. However, I probably overdid it at times – immersed myself TOO much into these tasks, and lost a little balance in the other activities in life that I cherish. So, it’s taken me time to find that work-life balance, but I think that’s normal – and also ever-changing as our work and life-demands rarely stay stagnant. So, be flexible and be honest with yourself as to what your own needs are. 

There are very few times in life that we get to have fresh starts --- this is one of them. 

• Take what you’ve learned at your previous jobs, coworkers, mentors, institutions, schooling, etc. and use the best of those practices. But, also, leave any garbage behind.  
• Your expertise is valuable. Often, once we have spent a long time either studying or mastering an area of interest, we don’t view our own knowledge and mastery as any special. The shine has worn off – we may assume others know it too. 
• For example, my second semester I participated in a Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) workshop at the Grant campus. Before being approached by the TLC coordinator, I had no idea my experience and knowledge in Microsoft Excel could also serve as valuable tool for others (again, assumed that what I had learned years prior was “common knowledge”). Participating in the TLC was also a great way for meet to other individuals on campus as well as to feel like a useful asset to the Campus community. 

 Embrace the amazing opportunities ahead. 

• For many of us, change is a scary thing. Learning a new task can feel daunting and overwhelming. Avoidance creeps in.  
• Remember – you aren’t expected to know everything on day one (or, possibly ever)! Immerse yourself in new tasks and learn from mistakes. Be honest with yourself and with others about your strengths and weaknesses and keep evolving and pushing ahead. 
• Ask questions. Observe other faculty members. My first semester I participated as peer classroom observer. I also asked this same coworker to observe my teaching alongside my department chair. Giving and receiving feedback was such a positive experience for the growth of my own pedagogical instruction. 

 Own it. 

• At first blush, my last piece of advice seems simplistic. And, in some ways it is. However, in many other ways, this one is a forever work-in-progress.

As noted above, there will be lots of opportunities that come your way. What excites you? Likely, there’s some student club and/or campus committee that you could advise that will match your interest. 

• Last year I became the advisor of the Social Science Club. Advising a club frightened me – I didn’t know ANY school policy, any of the current students, and I made many mistakes (and thank the staff at the Office of Campus Activities for their patience with me!) Some of my most rewarding student experiences were through this advising/mentoring process. Being their club advisor has allowed me to help create on-campus and off-campus activities for our students. I spent many of my “own” hours reaching out to members of the community to create partnerships and future opportunities for the club. Although the procedural club advisor stuff scared me, I owned it and I did the best job I could for the students. I found that because I was interested in the activities and events taking this extra time wasn’t a burden. Rather, it was something I enjoyed. And seeing the students’ positive reactions, 

Make a conscious effort to think about your main goals as an educator. 

• What are your main goals in the classroom? What are your obligations to students? What are their obligations as students in your classroom? 
• If you have clear answers to these questions, it will help govern your first year and beyond. Own what these are. Your answers may differ from your colleague’s and that’s okay! What one professor may view as “hand holding” another may view as “necessary.” 
• It is probably good practice to reflect on these questions ever semester, or every year. They may change over time, and if so, own it…and then modify your teaching strategies to fit your and your students’ needs.

Again, welcome to SCCC! I hope you’ve found some of my ramblings helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me!