Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Wvuafm Tuscaloosa.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Happy Sunday, y'.
[00:00:10] Speaker C: All.
[00:00:10] Speaker B: You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the capstone. And dang, we are in some October. Man.
[00:00:17] Speaker D: We're in October. But it feels like July.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: It really does. It's so, it's. It's so strange. I'm, you know, I think between temperature, weather, just the pace of the year, it's a little weird. But I will say, because it's October, you know, and Halloween is there, I think, about candy. You and I have a mutual love for candy.
[00:00:38] Speaker D: Very much so.
[00:00:40] Speaker B: Again, for our listener, I would assume that we have quite the following on our show. And, you know, and they've probably been listening for years. But for anybody who might be new to the show, Nico, will you tell them what is your favorite candy? I'm curious.
[00:00:56] Speaker D: Well, if we're going with chocolate, I do love a Milky Way.
[00:01:00] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:01:01] Speaker D: But if we're going back old school and y' all don't come for me with this. Okay.
This is, this is little. Little Nika from the early 80s right here. It's a toss up between candy corn and circus peanuts.
[00:01:16] Speaker B: I knew. Sir, I was wondering if you were going to still claim circus today.
[00:01:21] Speaker D: Everyone makes fun of me, but, you know, my great grandfather introduced him to me when I was like three and just, you know, they got their claws in me and.
And I don't want them to let go.
[00:01:34] Speaker B: Where does one find circus peanuts these days?
[00:01:37] Speaker D: Dollar. Dollar General. Okay. Yeah, Dollar General's got it going on.
[00:01:40] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:01:41] Speaker D: That's what I thought. Yes.
[00:01:42] Speaker B: Because I feel like there's a very distinct set of bags where it's like the clear bags and then they have like the butterscotch candies and then the.
[00:01:49] Speaker D: Peppermints and then the little strawberry ones. Yes.
Oh, man. Oh, yeah. Now, what is your favorite candy?
[00:01:56] Speaker B: So chocolate wise, I'm trying to think what is my favorite? I should have known this question would be thrown at me. So I do like chocolate based things. I will go specifically in the M and M family. I like the peanut butter M and M's. For some reason. I do like peanut M&M's. Also plain, not so much. I like a good Snickers bar. If we're just going, you know, standard stuff that's pretty available in terms of chocolate candy bars. And then I like a lot of sour things or gummy things. But texture is really important to me.
[00:02:31] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:02:32] Speaker B: You know, if I'm in the mood for something super soft, that's Great. But sometimes I'm not feeling that. And there are those gummy bears, the Haribo ones, that are in the gold bag that the.
[00:02:42] Speaker D: The. The original. Yes, yes.
[00:02:45] Speaker B: They have this specific texture to them that I really like. But I think they're also nostalgic for me because my favorite aunt on my dad's side, whenever she and her husband were living in Germany, she would ship those Haribo gummy bears to me. So I'm used to see in the legit German packaging, very cool from the 90s. So then when they started selling them here in the US Mainstream, it was just like this amazing thing for me. And it also brought me back to. Back in the 90s because they were overseas. She would had me video record Melrose Place in 90210 and then mail those episodes to her in Germany. And I probably shouldn't have been watching those shows at the age that I was recording those for her. But just the. There's a lot going on generation that.
[00:03:34] Speaker D: It doesn't realize how much trouble we had to go to to watch your shows because you couldn't catch it streaming the next day. You had to go to school and ask, did anyone record that last night? And then hope that they would give you their prized VHS tape?
[00:03:49] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:03:50] Speaker D: To watch it.
[00:03:50] Speaker B: Yes. Or the, you know, just commercial break and then somebody being like, the commercials are almost done. It's about to be back on.
[00:03:57] Speaker D: Run, run, run.
[00:04:00] Speaker B: These. These folks have not lived.
[00:04:02] Speaker D: They've not struggled like we struggled. They did not walk to school both ways. Uphill and snow.
[00:04:07] Speaker B: Yes. Or just, like, leaving your house and your parents, like, didn't know where you were and that was okay because you didn't have a cell phone. Like, they were like, you know what? They'll call. Somebody will let us know if little Johnny's in an accident. Like, it'll be cool now, you know, I'm like, watching my mom like a hawk on, like, Life360.
[00:04:30] Speaker D: I mean, I know this is a different rabbit.
How we have been conditioned and just, you know, one generation to just think differently. Yeah.
[00:04:39] Speaker B: No. So crazy. But so thankfully, you know, for anybody who has just jumped into the show, they're like, oh, my goodness, what are they talking about today? So thankfully, you know, tracking people and old school way of living, you know, life as a Gen Xer, millennial, all that kind of good stuff. Not necessarily the vibe we're going for today. We actually have a very fabulous guest, as we always do. But y. Y', all, we're gonna put in a teaser. We're gonna take a quick break. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the Capstone.
[00:05:15] Speaker A: WVUAFM, Tuscaloosa.
[00:05:25] Speaker D: Welcome back, listeners. You are listening to Fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the capstone.
[00:05:31] Speaker B: That's right. And if you are just now joining us, this is probably a good point to jump into the show. Per usual, Nique and I, we kind of, you know, we shoot the breeze in that first segment. But now it is time to introduce our guest. So we are very pleased today to have Angelique Crawford, who is director of career center programming here at the University of Alabama's career center. Angelique, thank you so much for joining us today.
[00:05:59] Speaker C: Thanks for having me.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. And so for those that are familiar with listening to the show, this is where we always like to take a deep dive on our guests. And so, Angelique, we would love to know, where's your hometown academic background? Just what. What's the 41 1, my friend?
[00:06:16] Speaker C: So I would like to classify myself as a townie. I'm from Tuscaloosa. I lived there for most of my life. So born in. Well, not born, but definitely bred Tuscaloosa.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:06:27] Speaker C: I went to college here. Got both of my degrees here, both bachelor's and master's in hospitality management.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: Very nice.
[00:06:34] Speaker C: I'll talk about that career journey, if you will.
[00:06:38] Speaker B: I would love that.
[00:06:39] Speaker C: And so, yeah, just from Tuscaloosa, got my degrees here, still living here. Love the capstone.
[00:06:45] Speaker B: Where did you go to high school?
[00:06:46] Speaker C: I went to Paul W. Bryant High School.
[00:06:49] Speaker B: Yes. Okay. Very familiar with that. Very nice. So, you know, anytime somebody says that they're a local and they went to school here, it's like, oh, my gosh, we gotta talk about, like, where did you go to school? So, okay, so you just kind of casually dropped that you got your degrees in hospitality management. Tell us a little bit about that journey. What got you interested in that and then how that kind of led to the role that you have now?
[00:07:14] Speaker C: Yeah, so I just grew up cooking. That was, like, the thing that I love doing, and I wanted to make a career out of it. So I came here, did hospitality management. The dream was to own my own restaurant.
Started working in restaurants, realized that that takes a lot of money.
So I actually worked at the university Club for the majority of my career. I was a sous chef there for a bit, planned events there. And then Covid hit, and that's kind of where my career took a left turn. But it turned out really great. I started teaching at the university for a couple years, and then a position opened up at the career center, and.
[00:07:52] Speaker D: Here I am now a sous chef. Okay, so what's your signature dish before we get any further?
[00:07:58] Speaker C: Yes, I would say in terms of signature, if it's kind of a quote unquote unique dish, I'm half Filipino, so I would say lumpia, which is like a spring egg roll.
So my friends always love when I make egg rolls.
[00:08:15] Speaker D: I see Sheena over here grinning from here. She's like, I know what that is.
[00:08:20] Speaker B: Well, you know, and so admittedly I. So, you know, it's always d assumptions about someone's ethnicity and someone's like, do I ask her today on air? Like, hey, you know, so I'm glad you brought that up. So I feel like, yeah, we might have to have a little, like, Yeah.
[00:08:36] Speaker C: A little chat.
[00:08:37] Speaker B: Yeah. A little Filipino themed, like, cooking situation happening.
[00:08:41] Speaker D: One more cooking question. If you had to wow somebody, what's your dish you're going to make?
[00:08:46] Speaker C: If I had to wow somebody, like.
[00:08:48] Speaker D: You'Ve got somebody coming over and you're like, let me show off my skills real quick.
[00:08:53] Speaker C: I would say maybe just a full blown, like, lasagna, garlic bread, or if I wanted to, if I knew that they would be open to it, I probably would do the lumpia.
Just because it's such a. It's a festive dish, it's easy to eat, crowd pleaser.
It just, it takes a lot of time. Rolling egg rolls is dedication.
It's a commitment.
[00:09:21] Speaker B: Yes, commitment.
[00:09:22] Speaker D: So you so love this because you, you know, we're in this career and then Covid happened, which we shall not talk about COVID because I think we're all still traumatized, but a lot of people had a rebirth.
[00:09:38] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:09:38] Speaker D: You know, and so what made you think, I mean, okay, let me just put this on pause for a second and let me dabble in this for a minute.
Other than you could have still wanted to say, I'm going to go back into the hospitality.
But career center is a little bit of hospitality. It is working with a lot of clients.
[00:10:01] Speaker C: It is, I will say, hospitality.
Anything. Hospitality. If students even work as a server or a bartender, those skills will take them throughout their entire career. So I'm a hospitality Stan, as the kids would say.
[00:10:14] Speaker D: I love it.
[00:10:15] Speaker C: But in hospitality, once Covid hit and the club leadership had realized, yeah, we're going to have to shut down the club for a while, do some renovations. Yeah, the renovations.
I was very, very fortunate The UA staff, we were very fortunate to be placed into other positions on campus. So that's kind of how I got into teaching. So I taught some of the event planning classes and then one of the classes I also taught was HES310, which is the professional development class.
And so I really, truly feel that my entire career kind of led me to the CARE Center. And I try to teach. When I talk with students who are feeling anxious about their career journey, I really try to hit home that there, there's always a way.
[00:11:03] Speaker D: I love that you say that because we, we talk about that a lot on this show. That, you know, our trajectories are not always linear. You know, like some people do wake up one day and go, I'm supposed to be a doctor.
[00:11:13] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:11:14] Speaker D: They go to school and they become a doctor. Some of us just kind of stumble in backwards to the career we never knew that we would love so much. And so I love that. That'.
[00:11:24] Speaker C: And I still cook dinner every night. So, you know, I got, I got the cooking. I still have the cooking in my life. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:11:29] Speaker D: Still wow us with your signature dish.
[00:11:31] Speaker B: Well, and I love the fact that we're all he's girlies on right now.
[00:11:36] Speaker D: And some chess. Yes, I know.
Love it.
[00:11:40] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. Yeah. No. So we could, like, there's so many different things that we can geek out about. So, Angelique, tell us, how long have you been in your role at the career Center?
[00:11:50] Speaker C: So I actually just started in my current role in July. I've been with the career center for two years.
[00:11:56] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:11:57] Speaker C: But I've worked for the university. My 10 year anniversary was actually August.
[00:12:03] Speaker D: Oh, well.
[00:12:04] Speaker B: Yeah. Happy belated anniversary. Hashtag vested. All of that good stuff.
So what, you know, just because you've had such a diverse experience so far working on campus, what has been some of your most memorable moments on campus? Like what has brought you joy?
[00:12:22] Speaker C: I would say working at the University Club. Just because that's been the majority of my career. I think it's just getting to pull off some of the more difficult events with our team. We had such a great team when I worked at the University Club. It was a lot of fun.
And then now working in the Career center, everyone that I work with is great. So I've just been very fortunate to have great coworkers here on campus. Makes a difference.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: Absolutely. Well, we can't. I know we're going to be coming up on a break soon, but we have to, you know, especially because Nika and I opened up with our Conversation about candy. And we did have a little conversation with you about that offline. But can you tell our listeners where do you stand on candy? What's your favorites?
[00:13:06] Speaker C: So I'm gonna pull from you chocolate wise. I love dark chocolate, so that's what I lean into.
[00:13:12] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:13:13] Speaker C: And then I do like peanut M&M's. I've never had peanut butter M and M's so maybe I need to try that out.
But my favorite non chocolate candy is probably hi chews. Right.
And then og top tier are the strawberry candies. Like I always keep Werther's and strawberry candies on hand in my candy dish at work.
[00:13:32] Speaker B: Dude, look at us old souls.
[00:13:34] Speaker D: I know. I mean really though? Yeah, we're bringing it back. Way back.
[00:13:40] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. Now I.
Now before we go on our break, Angelique, because I know that we're going to be taking a really deep dive into the different services available for the career center, but can you kind of give us your elevator pitch of what your responsibilities are in your role as director of programming for the career center?
[00:13:59] Speaker C: I would say probably my biggest role, the way I see myself at least is as a resource for support for our staff at the main office for our career advisors. So our career advisors in the main office. See, he's education, social work, arts and sciences.
And I may or may not be forgetting one.
There's always one, right?
[00:14:24] Speaker B: That's okay because there's always so many. Yeah.
[00:14:27] Speaker C: Engineering is in a satellite office. Communications is also in a satellite office and business is in a satellite office.
But we have seven career advisors in the main office.
So I try to do my best to support them, get our programming kind of squared away. One of my goals looking forward is just seeing how we can get the career center into the built by Bama, the new gen ed with the experiential learning. So lots of great things happening at the care.
[00:14:54] Speaker B: Oh man, what a teaser. So you know, and I say that because I know we're about to go on a break. So you guys grab a bottle of water, run to the restroom, do what you gotta do. You are listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Nika on 90.7 the Capstone.
[00:15:14] Speaker A: WVUAFM Tuscaloos.
[00:15:23] Speaker D: Happy Sunday listeners. You are listening to fit to be tied with Sheena and Mika on 90.7 the Capstone.
[00:15:29] Speaker B: That's right. And we have today with us Ms. Angelique Crawford who is director of career center programming. And so if you didn't get to listen to the previous segment, you would Be remiss if you like. You got to go back and do that because Angelique shared some very unique history with her time at the capstone. And so I really appreciate us getting to talk about that. But now, you know, we got to talk about the career center. That's part of the reason why we're talking today. And, you know, and one of the reasons that we are talking about this, and we'll be mentioning this later in the show is really just the fact that career is one of the dimensions in the Alabama model for health and well being. So Angelique, can you tell us what is the mission of the career center?
[00:16:18] Speaker C: I would say the framework we like to use is explore, develop and connect.
So we like to explore opportunities, develop those career readiness skills, and then connect students to opportunities, whether that's jobs, internships, or networking events. All sorts of things.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: Very nice. Now, when it comes to students hearing about you guys, what, you know, what does that usually look like? How are most people hearing about you? Is it, you know, are they hearing right from the get go when they come in for Bama Bound orientation? Are they learning at get on board day?
Are there faculty that kind of promote your services? What do you see being the most common ways that students interface with y', all or at least learn about you guys?
[00:17:02] Speaker C: So students do get a chance to learn about the career center at Bama Bound, but Bama Bound is just overwhelming. Lots of information. So I know freshmen oftentimes kind of forget, like, oh, yeah, you did talk to us in that huge lecture room. So I would say most of the time, students find out about us through classroom presentations. So we try to work with faculty, have chances where our staff can come in and talk to their students on either an overview of services or very specific career topics. And then we also have, of course, our career advisors. So students will meet with career advisors. And I know some students who have met with me tell me like, oh, I'm going to tell my roommate to come see you because she needs your help.
So I've had students do that. So it's kind of a multi pronged approach that we try to take. We're also on social media, try to get the word out however we can.
[00:17:55] Speaker B: Nice. Now, Nika, for you, as. As someone who has had a lot of experience advising students and as a faculty member, have you ever kind of pushed students to seeking career center services?
[00:18:10] Speaker D: I think the better question would be, is there ever been a day that has gone by that I have not.
[00:18:14] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:18:15] Speaker D: Yes, I push them because what we Get a lot is what can I do with this degree and what jobs are out there? And you know, we can sit and talk about that. But when I was doing academic advising, those, you know, I had a lot of students to see in a very short amount of time. So we had to really just sit down and talk about classes for the next semester. And we didn't really get to have the time to get into some career exploration.
But I'm also, you know, I understand that this is Yalls scope of practice. This is Yalls bread and butter. And I'm like, they have so much more information than what I can, you know, kind of pull off the top of my head. Go to them. They have these, these personality surveys and quizzes where it's like, what do you value? What you know, what kind of morning do you want to get up and face every day? Do you want to get up and put on a suit every day? Do you want to have a commute? Do you want to have to meet with clients and like. And they were like, wait, what? I'm like, yes. And I remember that from when I was a student. So I know it's only gotten bigger and better since then, but I will send them over there to you guys and pull up the website and show them handshake and all the good stuff. And I personally, I want to pretend to be a student for just a minute and come over there and just, you know, walk through it myself, just see what you guys offer. Because what I see from the website looks amazing. Like it is such an amazing free resource that students have on this campus.
There's no reason you should be a student and have never gone to the career center. Like use it. Yes.
[00:19:58] Speaker C: As a student told me my tuition is tuitioning and it is indeed.
[00:20:03] Speaker D: Make it work for you. I tell the students, yes.
[00:20:06] Speaker B: I mean, you know, and Anika, like you said, looking at the website for the career center, you know, the word that really comes to me is just robust. There's just so many different ways that you all can support students. And I think on that note, Angelique, you've kind of touched a little bit in some of those services. Can you talk about the services that are most often utilized by students?
[00:20:29] Speaker C: I would say in general, probably the one on one appointments for resume reviews. But we also do mock interviews. We help students prepare for law school and med school.
We also do workshops on a variety of professional development topics.
Our other resources that students use most often, I would say are our career fairs and networking mixers. So we do more I guess targeted networking mixers based off of specific industries.
So for instance, this fall we're doing one for sports. Sport management design and merchandising and hospitality.
[00:21:09] Speaker D: Nice.
Well, I was gonna say also saw on there that y'.
[00:21:13] Speaker C: All.
[00:21:13] Speaker D: Do y' all help with salary negotiations?
That's amazing.
[00:21:17] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh.
[00:21:18] Speaker D: Do you know what I would have done back in the day as a student if I'd had that kind of training? Truly, I know, because that always scared me.
[00:21:26] Speaker B: Yes. Well, and I would say I feel confident that both of y' all would know this individual. So I'm actually just. I'm gonna shout out Mr. Alvin, new faculty member in he's. Because he was help who he is who helped me with salary negotiations back in the day. It's like a former student within he's. And so it's like after getting my first big girl job, I'm like, alvin.
[00:21:47] Speaker D: Okay, I need help.
[00:21:48] Speaker B: This is the job. This is where it's at. And then he's like, have you asked them about 401k? Do they pay for continuing education? It's not just the salary. And I was like, see, this is why so. And I could have gone to the career center and saved him a headache. But Angelique, I did want to ask and it's. I hate that this question is popping out of my head. But, you know, you guys mentioned earlier, handshake. Can you tell students what is handshake?
[00:22:17] Speaker C: So handshake is, I would say, the way we liaise our services. If I were to summarize, like overgeneralize it. It's a free app that students can download.
The app icon is lime green. It's called got a little H on it. So when you download it, what's really great is it's tied, it's free, it's a single sign on. It's all tied to your mybama. And you can find internships and jobs, you can network with recruiters, you can find events that not only are we the career center hosting, but also what recruiters are hosting. And then you can also schedule appointments to use our services. Whether that is a free headshot with our photo booth, renting out professional clothing from our closet, or doing those one on one appointments. So handshake really is a super, super powerful tool for students to use while we're on campus.
[00:23:10] Speaker D: Yeah, I love it. I have a lot of students right now that are preparing to go to their interviews like you said, for med school, but for physician's assistant in grad school, and they'll come in and tell me about their. There's certain ways that these interviews are being held, like very fast paced, almost like speed dating, where you get like a minute to read a question and then they have to answer it. And I'm like, how are you preparing for that? And they're like, oh, the career center, they're helping me. And I'm like, I love it. Yes.
[00:23:41] Speaker B: Okay. Angeli, I remembered something that I wanted to ask you about. And I don't know if this programming is like within your area specifically or if you were the presenter, but I feel like I saw a digital sign recently for an event called how to Not Lose a job in 90 days. Can you tell us about that? I'm a sucker for just good titles for events, especially when I'm like, I just love that. So can you tell our listeners about that particular program?
[00:24:09] Speaker C: Yeah. So it's actually based off a statistic about Gen Z.
I can't remember the percentage, but basically some sort of percentage of Gen Z employees lose their job within the first 90 days of being employed. So our career advisor, Julie Abernathy, the one that hosts that series, and so she just kind of took those statistics and she came up with different strategies to share with our students on how not to lose that job within the first 90 days. So it's a really great way for students to get familiar with what professionalism is. What are some tips and tricks and how to really just thrive in that new position once they've graduated.
[00:24:52] Speaker B: Oh, man.
Okay. You got me so excited. We've got to take another break, but we will be back. You guys are listening. Listening to fit to be tied with.
[00:25:01] Speaker A: Sheena and Nika on 90.7 capstone WVUAFM Tuscaloosa.
[00:25:17] Speaker D: Happy Sunday. You are listening to fit to be tied with SheENA and Neeka on 90.7 the capstone. And we are joined today by our fabulous guest, Ms. Angelique Crawford from the University of Alabama's Career Center.
[00:25:30] Speaker B: That's right. And if you again, if you are just now joining us, you've got to go back and listen to the rest of the segments. It's been wonderful to learn about the different services for the career center. And now we're going to kind of, you know, make a little bit of a pivot and, you know, talk about the fact that the, you know, career well being is one of the dimensions within the Alabama model of student health and well being. And so Angelique, you know, just kind of want to ask you this question. How do you believe a student's confidence in the next steps for their career path play into their overall health and well being while they're on campus.
[00:26:05] Speaker C: Yeah, so I actually used to do a workshop at the end of each semester about personal wellness and really focusing on how different areas of wellness affect one another. And so with career wellness, if you have a lot of anxiety about your career, a lot of uncertainty, then obviously that's going to bleed into other places. So if you don't have a job lined up up by graduation this semester, you're going to graduate. Obviously that anxiety can lead to a lot of different things. Maybe you're not going to do well in school. Right. You're too worried about trying to find a job. Or maybe you graduate and you don't have a job and so your financial wellness isn't going to do as well.
So there's just lots of different ways that career wellness needs to become a priority for your overall wellness.
[00:26:58] Speaker B: Absolutely. And this kind of ties into something, something that we had just talked about during the break. But you know, I think that as we think about what's the quote unquote norm for individuals as they enter the workforce, you know, we talk about people taking these gap years from graduation until they really interface with the career that aligns with their academic program and everything else. But then we also acknowledge that, you know, we have multiple generations that are still alive. And so I think, you know, thinking about the stress of someone not having a job lined up, you know, I think that part of that can tie into what maybe the family's expectations are of having a career that exactly aligns with their academic program right after graduation.
How do you let your parents or whoever else that's part of a different generation know that there is a quote unquote norm now, or it's common now for individuals to take a gap year before they really can can find that career path that aligns with their academic program. Have you ever had to have conversations like that with students?
[00:28:07] Speaker C: Yeah, oftentimes, especially in, I would say I worked primarily with communications students. Communications, much like hospitality, is one of those industries where you can just do so much in those industries. And so how do you explain that to your parent or guardian who, who's older than you and they just don't understand, like, what do you mean you can make money doing social media posts? That makes no sense. And so I think it's really just focusing more on using your degree as kind of a filter of sorts and then figuring out, well, based off of what my strengths and weaknesses are, what My interests are and what the career options are for this degree program. What am I able to do that, A, I'm going to enjoy, but B, I can also make that money that my parents really want me to make. And that's where the career center can really come in and help help you navigate those types of questions and those types of career paths to really find something that works for them.
[00:29:11] Speaker D: I see that a lot in public health.
[00:29:13] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:29:13] Speaker D: You know, because you come in and you're in engineering, it's kind of cut and dry. You're gonna be an engineer, you're majoring in accounting, you're gonna be an accountant in public health. They're like, no, what all can I do? And oh yeah, Very, very wide. And the parents will say, can they make money in this? And I like what you, you said. It's. You got to do a little bit of dig in and you've got to, you know, kind of do some research. But you can match and pair your interest and talents and, and everything to the perfect job.
But it's not just going to be like, let me check the box. I'm an accountant or I'm a teacher or I'm an engineer.
It's, I think maybe a little bit scarier for students in a career field that is a little bit more broad. Like you said, communications, hospitality, things like that. Because there's not a label, just one solid label you can put on the job title.
[00:30:10] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:11] Speaker C: And I tell students all the time. That's the both beautiful thing and very frustrating thing about those types of industries. But again, if students are graduating, if there's a student out there you're about to graduate into, come see us right now. The earlier you start, the more we can help you and bring that confidence in so you don't feel as much uncertainty going into the job market and the workforce.
[00:30:38] Speaker B: Yeah. So along those lines, you know, if a student is like interested in your services, it sounds like it's ideal to make an appointment. Is that right?
[00:30:50] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:30:50] Speaker B: Okay, perfect.
[00:30:52] Speaker D: And via handshake, the free app.
[00:30:54] Speaker C: Yes, yes, via handshake. That is the best way because you'll get to see career advisors availability.
And then you can compare those available times to your own schedule and then find the appointment time that works for you.
[00:31:07] Speaker D: So let me also ask this. I know maybe like you said at Bama Bound, they're not thinking about that at the moment, but don't push it off until the semester you're graduating because you're not just resume and cover letter in salary negotiations. You can help that. That second semester freshman who is like, I don't know if I'm in the right major.
[00:31:33] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, for sure. We can definitely help with that. Now, we're not academic advisors, so we do tell students, before you change your major, make sure you talk to your academic advisor.
[00:31:41] Speaker D: Let's just do some exploration.
[00:31:43] Speaker C: But yeah, even first semester freshmen, we want to see them again. The sooner you start, the easier it is. I tell students in freshman level classes all the time, how do you eat in a elephant? One bite at a time. Same thing with your career journey. If you just start with small steps progressively, you'll have a much easier time.
[00:32:03] Speaker D: And from an academic advising point of view, it is so much easier to start earlier because then you're not going.
I'm halfway through this degree and I've decided I don't have a passion for it anymore. But now I can't pivot because I'm kind of locked in financially or I'm slated to graduate in three semesters and I don't want to, you know, turn this cruise ship around and head another direction. So like you said that earlier, they can really feel really good about their major.
[00:32:36] Speaker B: Do you feel like there are students that often come in, in what I would just generally label as crisis mode as it relates to, you know, career path or even, you know, academically what they want to do and what advice do you give for those students?
Very lost in that process of. It's like, oh, I thought I wanted to be an accounting major, but I hate numbers. How do I figure out what career path is for me? What kind of advice do you give to those students?
[00:33:04] Speaker C: That's where I really lean into my own personal career journey. Because I was not. I mean, if you were to tell Angelique, I guess, six years ago now that I would be at the career center doing the type of work that I'm doing, I would have not believed you because, I mean, I was a hospitality ride or die. That was my bread and butter. It still is.
But having that kind of pivot at that point in my life, it's really helped me see that there's always a way. There's always a way to make it work. There's always a way where you can take small steps to make a positive change in your life. And so when students come in with that type of anxiety, that's what I try to do is just tell them, hey, I'm by your side. We've got the resources, we're gonna work together and we're gonna get you taken care of.
[00:33:53] Speaker B: I love that. And again, I think, you know, you really kind of set the stage for today's show with you talking about your own academic and professional journey. And Nika, I would say that we have had a lot of guests that have had a similar path in terms of it was not linear when it comes to what they were doing with whatever hat that they currently wore, like when we were inter them on the show, you know, so. So thank you for being an additional example to our listeners who may feel like the path has to be linear, that it doesn't.
And so again, you know, I don't know if it's a buzzword from working in student life or, you know, being a student worker in student life forever ago, but just that word, transferable skill.
[00:34:40] Speaker C: Oh, yeah.
[00:34:40] Speaker B: So I always think about that whenever I was a resident advisor in housing. It's like, okay, we're building those transferable skills, like, how do you know? And I feel like that's what you guys really equip students with about how to really strategically tell their story on a resume so that those transferable skills are really shown to be helpful in whatever career path that they're choosing. But we do have to take another break. Angelique, I hope that you're willing to stay with us in our last five minute segment because you've been fabulous to talk to. But guys, we're taking a quick break. Run to the restroom. Do what you gotta do. You are listening to Fit to be Tired tied with Sheena and Mika on 90.7 the Capstone.
[00:35:23] Speaker A: WVUAFM Tuscaloosa.
[00:35:32] Speaker D: Thanks for listening to Sheena and Naeca on 90.7 the Capstone as we are wrapping up today's episode of Fit to Be Tied with our special guest, Angelique Cross from the University of Alabama's career center.
[00:35:44] Speaker B: That's right. And again, if you are just now hopping in, as we always say, you gotta go back and listen to earlier parts of the show. And I mean that even more than ever with today's show. Just as we talked about all of the different services from the career center and then also Angelique sharing her unique journey to the role that she has now here on campus at the University of Alabama. And so, Angelique, at this point in the show, we usually kind of go rogue asking our guest a question that is very random. Most of the time it has nothing to do with what we've talked about. But we'll still keep this within the vein of conversation today, especially with your role working on campus. But we're kind of curious, how do you practice your own self care as a busy student life professional?
[00:36:35] Speaker C: Now, I will say again, working in hospitality, I was not the best at this.
So it took me a while to get to this point. But I would probably say the first point is just being intentional with it. I feel like oftentimes when we think of self care, we have this elaborate plan and then the moment something doesn't really go according to plan, we're like, oh, well, I guess I can't do self care. And I think if you can at least come with the intention of I'm going to build a better habit of going for a walk at lunch, which is one thing that I tried to do this year in particular, having that recognition and awareness of this is a good decision for me.
And when I feel myself maybe working through lunch and I say, do I really, really need to do this or is it going to be a better choice for me to just eat my lunch and go out and outside, enjoy the sun? Right. Maybe not when it's like really hot and humid, but like a beautiful day like today where it's just humid and not hot.
That's usually how I practice self care.
[00:37:47] Speaker B: No, I really like that. And I'm actually curious, you know, with you coming from the hospitality industry to student life, working in higher ed here, do you feel like your current role affords more opportunity to be intentional with self care compared to when you were in what I just call your previous life?
[00:38:05] Speaker C: Yeah, I would say so. I would say so. I mean, working in higher ed, there's just always, well, working in general, there's just always something to do and I just personally have a bad habit and again, I'm working on it. Right. We're all works in progress.
[00:38:23] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:38:24] Speaker C: But I will say sometimes working in hospitality, you just aren't really afforded that ability and that flexibility while you're at work.
So I would say, you know, maybe could I have done a better job of that self care outside of work of. Of course, sure.
But in my current role, I feel like I do have a little bit more flexibility during the day.
[00:38:49] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, no, I totally get that. And I think, you know, it sounds like you have definitely given yourself grace in that and really, you know, you're able to talk about those experiences in hindsight with students so that they can, you know, they can make those good choices moving forward and everything else too. And so Nika, I will not set us up for failure by throwing the question on us.
[00:39:13] Speaker D: Please don't. I do appreciate that well, you know.
[00:39:15] Speaker B: And I don't know if you remember this, Nika. I remember at one point in time our colleagues in wellness and work life when we were talking about the conversation about quote, unquote, work, life balance, that there's a little bit of a fallacy in that statement because some, because honestly, it's not really ever going to be a balance. It's just sometimes just making it manageable and acknowledging that there are going to be certain, certain points in our life where certain priorities, we have to recalibrate things because there are some things that are going to be higher priority based on the time of the year, what's going on in our personal life or work and making it manageable for us.
Because I think sometimes when you think of this balance, it puts more pressure because I think I automatically just like the word self care. It's like, oh, dang, one more thing I'm not doing good at.
[00:40:06] Speaker D: Yeah, ebb and flow.
[00:40:07] Speaker C: It ebb.
[00:40:08] Speaker D: And you have to ebb and flow. You can't strike a balance, like I think of like a scale, like a true scale. And you're never going to get it to where it's just, it's level.
I just really don't think that's achievable. So the ebb and flow, kind of like the tide, you know, high tide and it's low tide and you just take advantage of whatever you need to get done during whatever tide. And look at the roll tide.
[00:40:31] Speaker B: Yeah, I know. I'm like, look at us using the word tide in there. And I think on that note, we end the show. We thank you, Angelique, for coming to join us today and talking about UA's career center. You guys, until next time, thank you. Thank you for listening. And we will catch you on the next edition of Fit to Be Tied with Sheena and Nika.
[00:40:55] Speaker A: WVUA FM Tuscaloosa.
