Name: Maggie McGowen (she/her)
Undergraduate Education: Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Science (University of Central Arkansas, Conway, Arkansas, USA)
Area(s) of Campus Involvement: First Year Experience
E-mail: mmcgowen@cub.uca.edu
Q: What are your current career plans upon having completed your Master of Science in College Student Personnel Administration?
A: “After completing my Master of Science in College Student Personnel Administration I hope to work within a First Year Experience/Orientation department focusing on student retention and first year student programs.”
Q: What inspired you to enter the field of higher education as a future career?
A: “The environment that higher education administrators created for me, allowing me to grow exponentially and still have a developmental college experience while in the midst of a pandemic inspired me to want to have the same impact on future first year students in higher education.”
Q: How has your field experience from your campus involvement through assistantship, practicum, and/or internship prepared you to work in the higher education enterprise?
A: “My field experience from my assistantship in the First Year Experience Office prepared me to work in the higher education enterprise by giving me developmental experience in the field while also learning within a classroom setting. I have been able to take what I am learning in the classroom and immediately apply it to programs that I am hosting.”
Q: Describe the UCA learning and community experience.
A: “The UCA learning and community experience is an inclusive, progressive, and innovative community. I believe UCA to have a welcoming environment that allows all to learn in a way that best suits them.”
Q: What have you learned about yourself through your time at UCA and the CSPA program?
A: “I have learned that I find value in an environment that has a sense of community. I think that when a student is surrounded within a community that provides support, this is when we begin to see development within students.”
Q: What advice would you share with people interested in studying about and receiving training in higher education?
A: “Advice that I would share with people interested in studying about and receiving training in higher education would be to seek out different involvement experiences. You will learn all there is while in the classroom, but there is something to be said about the knowledge you can gain outside of the classroom when you seek out these experiences.”