Identity Exploration in Academic and Career Advising Alisa Carithers, M.A., University Academic Advisement Center Laura Tejeda M.A., Cross Cultural Centers Michelle Lovasz, Career Development Center

Who Am I? What makes up your identity?

MaleFemaleTransgenderGender Non-conformingFeminine MasculineManWoman

StudentHardworkerProcrastinator CreativeListener

CatholicMuslimChristianAgnosticAtheist

Asian-AmericanBlack African AmericanLatina/oChicana/oHispanicFilipinoIndianIndigenous

HeterosexualHomosexualBisexualAsexualQueer

Middle classLower classUpper class

IntrovertExtrovert

FashionistaPassionateLoyalLoving Responsible

ParentCare-giver

ArtistResearcherEntrepreneurEducator

Find a Partner When you walked into the room, we asked you to think about three identities that are prominent in your life? We asked you to write them on a sheet of paper and stick it on your shirt.

We want you to walk around, find someone in the room you do not know and answer the question:

HAVE OR DID YOUR IDENTITIES INFLUENCE YOUR MAJOR IN COLLEGE AND/OR CAREER CHOICE?

Context & Research

● Research shows students who engage in self and career exploration, and feel a strong sense of belonging tend to be more satisfied in the majors they choose (Brown & Rivas, 1994; Bullock-Yowell, McConnell & Schedin, 2014; Clark & Kalionzes, 2008; Gasman, Baez & Turner, 2008; George-Jackson, 2012; Soria & Stebleton, 2013; Vincent, Henry & Anderson, 2012).This also reduces the chances of students changing their majors, and thus the risk of taking unneeded courses, saving students time to graduation.

● A strong sense of belonging has been defined to include “intellectual curiosity and interest in the subject area” (Soria & Stebleton, 2013).

Context & Research● Regarding perceived sense of identity in relation to careers, studies that have interviewed FGCS presented the following

tendencies: - a sense of family emphasis on career-related majors for job security; - a narrow knowledge of careers and the range of opportunities; - the need to work harder to develop a professional network; - a desire not to “waste” the degree; - a low perception of value to the organization; and - perceived personal strengths of persistence, motivation, appreciation, non-entitlement,self-reliance, responsibility, and, for some, adaptability.

● Pertaining to career success in the job search, data from the NACE 2016 Student Survey pointed out that FGCS were: - less likely to apply to jobs and more likely to decline job offers, leading to a lower success rate in obtaining employment after college.

● These results also presented preferred practices in the job search that included: - a greater use of print resources and virtual career fairs; - a slightly greater use of professional associations and faculty; and- and a lower use of career fairs, employer recruiters on campus, and alumni.

● FGCS have also shown: - a greater importance on job location; - a tendency towards nonprofit and governmental work; and - a desire for career growth, job security with benefits, friendly co-workers, and the opportunity toimprove the community and world.

Best Practices & Resources: Campus Collaborations

Example 1-

How do you know where you’re going, if you don’t know who you are? Identify the relationship between self, career, and major

satisfaction. Bring a friend(s)! Refreshments served until supplies last. Raffling #ExploreEagles swag and a $35 Golden Eagle Food

Services gift card! Call us at (323) 343-3150 for additional information or to RSVP.

Content: ● 3 Layers Identities Activity● Reflection● Human Barometer Activity

Outcomes: ● 21 students in attendance● Majority of students referred through class● 75% agreed or strongly agreed that attending the

workshop better prepared them to choose a major/career path

Best Practices & Resources: Campus Collaborations

What's your passion? Come check out our Major Career Exploration Workshop with an interactive session from the Career Center! Also, listen to a student panel talk about their journey in

deciding a major/career that was the right "fit" for them. We will be giving out refreshments and of course we will be raffling some of

our cool UAAC swag!

Content: ● Holland’s Self Directed Search Assessment

○ Preferred activities and occupations○ Competencies, abilities and possible career path○ RIASEC personality types

● “Pursuing this major seems right to me - I feel that it is a part of who I am.”

Example 2-

Content: ● Create your pitch● Begin your research● Build your network● Perfect your résumé

Partners: ● 19 companies

i.e., Boeing, JPL, MOLAA, City Year ● 6 student organizations

from CBE, HHS, A&L, ECST● Colleges/departments

Outcomes: ● I.e., 73% very useful

Content: ● Latest industry innovations● Day-in-the-life ● How to launch career● Mock interview, résumé review

Partners: ● Employers

i.e., Google, Disney, Sony Pictures, FBI

● 8 colleges/departmentsi.e., Advancement, Alumni Assoc., CSI

● Student organizationsOutcomes:

● I.e., 76% on-the-spot job offers

Content: ● Career development workshops● Alumni & industry mentorship● Job shadowing● Professional networking

Partners: ● A.S.I.● Approx. 30 students (pilot)● Colleges/departments

i.e., Alumni Assoc., CDC Employer Relations, CDC Career Counselors

Best Practices & Resources: Campus CollaborationsExample 3-

Panelists

Question: How did exploring your identity influence the major you chose? Or the career you hope to go into?

Contact InformationLaura Tejeda, Chicanx/Latinx Student Resource CenterCross Cultural Centers 323-343-5250

Alisa Carithers, University Academic Advisement Center323-343-3150

Michelle Lovasz, Career Development Center323-343-3237

ReferencesBrown, T., & Rivas, M. (1994). The prescriptive relationship in academic advising as an appropriate developmental intervention with multicultural populations. NACADA Journal, 14(2), 108-111. Bullok-Yowell, Emily, Amy E. McConnell and Emily A. Schedin (2014). “Decided and Undecided Students: Career Self-efficacy, Negative Thinking, and Decision-Making Difficulties,” NACADA Journal, 34:1, 22-34 Clark, Evette Castillo and Jane Kalionzes (2008). Advising Students of Color and International Students. Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook (pp. 204-227). Manhattan: KS: Josey-Bass.

Gasman, M., Baez, B., & Turner, C. S. V. (Eds.) (2008), Understanding Minority-Serving Institutions. (pp.18-27). SUNY Press.

George-Jackson, Casey (2012). Generation Me: Influences of Students' Choice of Major. “Project STEP-UP STEM Trends in Enrollment and Persistence for Underrepresented Populations”. Available at http://stepup.education.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/GenerationMe.pdfUndeclared Academic Advising for Students of Color.

Gibbons, Melinda M. and Woodside, Marianne. (2014). “Addressing the Needs of First Generation College Students: Lessons Learned from Adults from Low-Education Families,” Journal of College Counseling, 17, 21-36.

Eismann, Louisa (2016). “First-Generation Students and Job Success,” NACE Journal, November 2016, 11-17.

Maietta, Heather (2016). “Unfamiliar Territory: Meeting the Career Development Needs of First-Generation College Students,” NACE Journal, November 2016, 19-25.

Parks-Yancy, Rochelle (2012). “Interactions into Opportunities: Career Management for Low-Income, First-Generation African American College Students,” Journal of College Student Development, 53:4, 510-523.

Soria, Krista M., and Michael Stebleton (2013). “Major Decisions: Motivations for Selecting a Major, Satisfaction, and Belonging,” NACADA Journal, 33:2, 29-43.

Tate, Kevin A., Caperton, William, Kaiser, Dakota, Pruitt, Nathan T., White, Heather, and Hall, Eric (2015). “An Exploration of First-Generation College Students’ Career Development Beliefs and Experiences,” Journal of Career Development, 42:4, 294-310.

Torres, Vasti, Jones, Susan R., Renn, Kirsten A. (2009). “Identity Development Theories in Student Affairs: Origins, Current Status, and New Approaches,” Journal of College Student Development, 50:6, 577-596.

Vincent, Stacy K., Anna L. Henry and James C. Anderson II (2012). “College Major Choice for Color: Toward a Model of Recruitment for the Agricultural Education Profession,” Journal of Agricultural Education, 53:4, 187-200.