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Thirty-fifth Job of Bob - Older college students' assistant - What the hell is "Adult Resouces"?
This entry was posted on 7/13/2011 1:30 AM and is filed under Jobs of Bob.
By my senior year in college, in 2002, my little paid weekend ambulance gig was running out of funding. I would be cast back into the ranks of volunteer stipend per call culture. I would need a small flow of cash again.
Throughout my toils at UW-Whitewater I would at times pop into a tiny room set aside for older students. Above the door was a sign announcing "Adult Resource Center." It was in the University Center and had at one time been the old Credit Union location. There was a tiny room in the back with a sink, microwave, and small refrigerator. There was three computers at humble desks along the wall. The old credit union wall of windows to the hallway had a functional set of blinds. In the middle of the main room sat a round table that could accommodate six or seven people studying or eating lunch. On the wall adjacent to the round table was a large white marker board on the wall. A couple of over-stuffed chairs sat in the corner next to a coffee table. Heading back to the makeshift kitchen was a narrow area with a sofa - frequently occupied by one of several older working students catching a nap before class or work.
The place was tiny - but comfortable. Of a campus of 11,000 students, on any given day only a dozen students used the place.
One day I noticed a small sign inviting people to apply to work 10 hours per week in the joint. I applied and within a couple days was on the schedule.
The concept was that older students did not live on campus and had no place to hang their hat for the day. Also, the bulletin board left reminders to commuter students regarding campus events, activities, et cetera.
Interestingly, the campus lore was that the place had gone through many name changes. After all, how do you suggest to someone they are welcome if they are especially, "an old fart." I remember passing the joint by for a semester having no idea what so ever what the hell "Adult Resources" meant. After all, I at least considered anyone in college no matter what age....a damn adult.
My job basically, was to open the door, click on the computers, and maybe wash a dish or two in the humble sink.
I had long forgotten all the anxieties of being "old" in college. But I had come through several layers of tech school before setting foot in Whitewater. I quickly realized many of these students' first stop after twenty-five years in the working world and now on a return to college, might be this university. It could be overwhelming. Rules, regulations, mandates, paperwork, protocols - you-must-do-A-before-you-can proceed-to-B nonsense.
In general, in my extra longer college endeavors, I had learned to circumvent almost every rule. And, I was afterall, in Pre-law. I read the thick college hand books at both tech school and Whitewater. There was always an exception to the rule, "rule," to everything. The problem is, half the employees at the college were temporary student workers. They had barely read any Shakespeare let alone peeked into any college handbooks.
Older students would come in to my little space in the Adult Resouce Center absolutely distraught because some mook at a desk had said their particular problem/dilemma was unsolvable.
My suggestion to them all was always, "Go back again and wait 'til the next student worker was at the desk. Or better yet, set aside time to talk to the department boss, or head department professor. Never give up."
And if all else fails, "Do want you want anyway."
For example, often older students were distraught over not being aloud in an already full class. And old students having limited time with being married, working, taking care of kids and houses, et cetera had little time to wait for another semester for a necessary class.
One of my tricks was showing up for the full class anyway. Within a couple days, without fail in my many uses of the technique, the professor would give up and let you in anyway for various reasons. Often by week two, several students would have dropped the class. And there was me, hanging in there as a squatter. And if a spot did not open up by that aforementioned attrition, the prof usually would be worn down by my persistence and tenacity and let me in the class anyway.
Poetically, I was never sanctioned to give counseling to students - I was just suppose to open the door and boot up the computers....and sit.
Note: This blog "Jobs of Bob" Category does not list the jobs chronologically - I write about the experiences as they pop up in my memory and I often revisit an older job. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Jobs of Bob Page for an ordered chronology.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Air Force Senior Airman Daniel James Johnson, 23, Schiller Park, Illinois (formerly of Monona, Wisconsin), died on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 near Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was killed when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight, 30th Civil Engineer Squadron, 30th Mission Support Group, 30th Space Wing, based out of Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. CNN.com noted Johnson was conducting explosive ordnance disposal operations when he was killed.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel mentioned Daniel was a former Cottage Grove, Wisconsin resident, having moved there in 1997. He attended Monona Grove High School and graduated from in June 2005. The paper also noted Johnson and another airman, who was injured, were conducting explosive ordnance disposal when the IED struck their unit. Johnson entered the Air Force in 2006 and had served a tour of duty in Iraq in 2009. He was recently married to wife, Kristen, in California in June of 2010.
The Air Force Times noted Johnson was west of Kandahar when his unit was attacked. Johnson was on his second tour in a war zone and had completed less than a month of the current deployment. Daniel had been a good student and three-sport athlete. Johnson was on the football, swimming, and track teams. He also was editor of the school yearbook and worked on the student newspaper.
WLS Television 27 via their Website noted Schiller Park is a northwest suburb of Chicago. Johnson had studied at Triton College in River Grove, Illinois, for a while before entering the Air Force. The article also noted Daniel worked at a Christian youth camp every summer.
The Wisconsin State Journal noted that Daniel had done some acting in school and was photo editor of the school yearbook. He played outside linebacker and running back for three years on the football team and was a member of the 2004 Monona Grove team that had a 13-1 season.
The Website freedomremembered.com placing an obituary for Johnson online notes Daniel Johnson was born on June 20, 1987 in Ely, Minnesota. At one time he had hoped to be an emergency medical technician. He was a participant in the Big Brothers, Big Sisters programs.
At the time of his death Daniel Johnson was survived by his wife Kristen; father Jim Johnson; mother Holly Higgins; and, three brothers Peter, Will, and Erik Johnson. He was laid to rest at Santa Maria Cemetery in Santa Maria, California. Senior Airman Daniel Johnson was the 23rd Wisconsin military service person killed in Afghanistan since October 2001.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
101,795 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
10,066 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,472 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1657 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
921 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
1 American/Coalition casualty in Libyan "Operation Odyssey Dawn" since March, 2011
32,146 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
12,450 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
107 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
34 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
3 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in the U.S. related to "The War on Terror" since October, 2001.
149 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
5 journalists (regional and independents) have been killed in Libya since March, 2011.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
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