A new student affairs minor will allow students to a pursue a career as a mentor to others at universities and help them on their journey through college.

Alma junior Kaylee Bloom said working with her peers at Central Michigan University is energizing.

“Understanding that student affairs professionals have an opportunity to influence the lives of our students and to better their future is powerful,” Bloom said. “Student affairs has become one of my passions because I want to empower students to see themselves as leaders and creators of their future.”

Eric Buschlen, educational leadership faculty, said the addition of the minor benefits students because learning occurs both inside and outside of a classroom setting.

“The curricular message of this new program is that it will provide a tangible way for students to reaffirm how their in-class learning will impact the out-of-class development of students in the future,” Buschlen said.

This program allows students interested in student affairs to earn a master’s degree in five years.

“The minor was intentionally linked to the professional competencies that guide the field of student affairs,” Buschlen said. “If a student took both the minor and master's degree at CMU, they would have had a class in all 10 of the competency areas and we feel that will make them very marketable.”

Student affairs usually is not studied until a student has reach the master's level. By adding a student affairs minor, it allows students to be immersed in the curriculum before going to graduate school

Anne Hornak, who works as a chairperson for educational leadership, said the minor was created to get students involved with student affairs at an entry level and to give them experience in order to connect them to higher education.

Hornak said the need for this minor on campus is huge and that it will be very focused on both leadership and student affairs.

“Student affairs on college campuses is a really effective way to impact student achievement, persistence and retention,” Hornak said. “While everybody that works in student affairs may not have the label of retention officer, it really is all about connecting students to then hopefully retain them and help them persist to graduate.”

Hornak said this minor can benefit any student, regardless if they get the master’s degree or not, because it will help give them a focus on higher leadership.

“It would benefit anyone,” she said. “We’re studying leadership in student affairs but really it cuts across every discipline or any work that people go out and do in professional capacity.”

Bloom said Damon Brown, the director of the Office of Student Activites and Involvement, has been a role model to her during her involvement with the CMU Program Board. As the incoming president for Program Board in the next academic year, she said she will bring fun and education programs to the campus community.

“Empowering my executive board to understand the importance of student activities programming on our campus will be an exciting challenge I’ll face as president,” she said. “This role will provide me with a huge leverage during my search for graduate programs in student affairs.”

While Bloom was unable to sign a student affairs minor, she will still be taking the classes to help her with the rest of her college career and in her furture careers.

“You don’t know that you want a career in student affairs until you’re already immersed in it,” Bloom said. “I came into my career at Central Michigan University with no doubts in my mind that integrative public relations was the path for me. However, when I became the director of digital media for CMU Program Board last spring, my vision of public relations and the beginnings of my passion for student affairs collided. Learning about student affairs can guide students who have found their passion working with college students, but don’t know how to pursue it.”