From Tired to Hired:

A Transition from Senior Year to the

Real World

TREVOR HANSON, MICHAEL PARKER, GAYLEN RIVERS, ALEX TORRES

Overview

 The Issue
 Context
 Theoretical Framework
 Programmatic Intervention
Issue Introduction

 Low retention and graduation rates among African American

students

 First-Generation students are less likely to interact with

faculty inside and outside the classroom

 Student uncertainty and anxiety regarding life after college

Review of Literature
 Uncertainty and Responsibility in Senior Year Transition

 Reasons for Transition Concerns

 Career Related, Change Related, and Support Related

 Resources to Cope with Change

 Transition Process

 Career Resources for Students of Color

 Context

INSTITUTION AND TARGET AUDIENCE

Northern Illinois University

 12,131 Undergraduate Students (Fall 2019)

 17.4% Black

 Avg student age is 22

 FY 2018-2019 Graduation Rates
 10.73% Black
 Most students graduate within 6-8 years
Center For Black Studies

 Academic and Cultural Center

 Signature Programs
 Target Audience: African American
Students

"Students who started at community

college and then continued their
educations at a four-year public
institution experienced very different
outcomes, depending on race and
ethnicity. After six years, about a
quarter of Asian students and a fifth of
white students had finished their
degrees, compared to about a tenth
of Hispanic students and one in 12
black students."

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Source: Insidehighered

Target Audience: African American
Students

 Age: No Limit
 Gender: Open to all
 Race/Ethnicity: Preferably African American
 Class Year: Aimed at 4th year/Senior
 Theoretical Framework

 Schlossberg's Transition Model

 This model provides a systemic framework for practitioners to assist students
move through transitional points in their life.
 Transition Defined
 Any event or nonevent that has a positive or negative change in an individual's
life. Could also be looked at as a transitional period between periods of
stability.
 Includes anticipated, unanticipated, and nonevents.
 All about perspective, context, and impact.
 Schlossberg's Transition Model:
Three Major Parts

 Approaching Transitions: Transition Identification and Transition Process

 Transition Identification: Identifies the nature of the transition and how the
transition changes the individual's life.
 Transition Process: Where the adult is in the transition. Moving in, through or out
of the transition.
 Taking Stock of Coping Resources: The 4 S System
 Situation, Self, Support, and Strategies
 Determines how and how well a person will cope with their transition
 Taking Charge: Strengthening Resources
 Controlling how they manage the transition by strengthening resources.
 The 4 S System:
A detailed view

 Situation: Trigger, timing, control, role change, duration, previous

experience with similar transition, concurrent stress, and assessment.
 Self: Socioeconomic status, gender and sexual orientation, age and stage
of life, ethnicity/culture, psychological resources, ego development,
outlook, commitment and values, and spirituality and resilience.
 Support: Intimate relationships, family unit, network of friends, and
organizations.
 Strategies: Responses that modify the situation, responses, that control the
meaning of the problem, and responses that help to manage stress after
is has occurred.
 Rational/Justification

 Versatility
 The model was created with a diverse population in mind
 Used Sussman (1972) Option Maintenance Model
 Two levels of options: Structural and psychological

 Touched on oppression and institutional racism

 “The transitions differ, and the individuals differ, but the structure for
understanding individuals in transition is stable” (Anderson, et al., 2012, p.38).
 Has been used to support studies for div erse student populations
 Senior Year transition (Silver, & Roksa, 2017).
 Third Culture Kids (Kortegast , & Yount, 2016).
Outcomes

 Decrease in anxiety/uncertainness of what comes after graduation

 Increase in students feeling prepared for life after graduation
 Completing graduation

 Schlossberg viewed graduation as an "anticipated event", meaning

students know that it is coming. Our program will help students start the
transition before they even graduate. Students will work on thinking about
what life after college will be, what things that can realistically
"anticipated" and how to prepare for the "unanticipated" or "non-events".
Intervention

1. What's Next Night-goal setting, vision boards, Grad Schools

2. Mock Interview Night- (Career Services)
3. Resume & Cover Letter Night- (Career Services and Writing Center)
4. Networking Night- (partners from around the area)
5. Expect the Unexpected- (Counseling Services)
6. Financial Literacy- (Financial Aid and Scholarship Office)
Evaluation

 Entry- and exit- survey (stress levels, types of events anticipated, 4 S's)
 Six month and one-year survey (types of events that occurred, career
changes, etc)
 Graduation Rates
 Alumni Spotlight
References

 Anderson, M. L., Goodman, J., & Schlossberg, N. K. (2012). Counseling

adults in transition: Linking Schlossberg's theory with practice in a diverse
world (Chapter 2 & 3). New York: Springer.
 Kortegast, C., & Yount, E. M. (2016). Identity, Family, and Faith: US Third
Culture Kids Transition to College. Journal of Student Affairs Research and
Practice, 53(2), 230-242. dio:10.1080/19496591.2016.1121148
 Silver, B. R. & Roksa, J. (2017) Navigating Uncertainty and Responsibility:
Understanding Inequality in the Senior-Year Transition. Journal of Student
Affairs Research and Practice, 54(3), 248-260. doi:
10.1080/19496591.2017.1331851