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Vol. 38, No. 18 |
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2-5-2008 Advocacy office helps students navigate the sometimes-difficult path of college life
Kyle threw her clothes on and raced to the scene. She spent the next few hours securing new housing for the students and finding them clothes, toiletries and whatever else they would need to get their lives back to normal so they could continue their education. Kyle, director of the Student Advocacy Center, doesn’t really have a nickname, but if she did, it might be “The Resolver.” She and her staff of three — program coordinators Jennifer Irwin and Kim Pachell and graduate assistant Sean McKinniss — are able to give students the voice many of them think they don’t have. They will either empower students to attain solutions or work with all areas of campus on students’ behalf. Most are financial and academic issues, such as settling a grade dispute, solving a financial complication or helping students who must drop out of class or school because of a personal crisis. But each student’s situation has its own back story, which makes working in the Student Advocacy Center anything but ordinary. “We don’t ask that students come to us first, but if a student is falling between the cracks, we try to get them back on track,” said Kyle, the director since 1999, four years after the center opened. “We really help students navigate the process. We’re one-stop shopping in getting around Ohio State so students can concentrate on what’s happening to them.” The staff is quick to point out, however, that what’s best for the student isn’t always the end result the student is seeking. And sometimes what the student seeks just isn’t attainable. In that case, the staff is honest from the get-go and tells students exactly what they can expect. “Our ultimate goal is to attain the most fair and appropriate outcome,” Pachell said, “whether it’s what the student wants to happen or somewhere in between or educating the student about why what happened to them is appropriate and how they can change their approach the next time.” The worst situations, though, allow the SAC staff to shine the brightest. In the rare, tragic instance of a student’s death, they are not only the first to call that student’s parents, they keep themselves available so families can get all their answers and any support they need. SAC also makes sure those students’ OSU affairs are in order, mainly so their families can be treated with the utmost respect — making sure, for example, that they don’t get a tuition bill in the mail after the fact. The moments thankfully don’t come often. But they make indelible impressions when they do. Irwin said she would never forget two years ago when a student was critically injured in a motorcycle accident just days from graduation. He was on life support at the hospital, and the parents had a nurse call Irwin and ask if the student’s diploma could be brought to the hospital while he was still alive. Irwin was able to make it happen with the help of the student’s college. “In that moment, it’s the most heartbreaking thing, but it’s also the most generous thing we are a part of,” Irwin said. “We have a memorial service every year for students who have passed away, and it’s humbling to sit among their friends and the family members. There’s hope in that because you know they’ll get through it, and they leave feeling that Ohio State really cares about its students.” The staff tries to bring that level of care and concern to every one of the 2,000 cases it handles yearly. And most students appreciate the effort. Some of the more simple cases ironically get some of the biggest thank-yous, which have taken the form of flowers, Korean pears, cookies, chocolate, chicken nuggets and a picture of a horse. But building relationships with students is only part of the job. SAC has to have an equally strong partnership with faculty and staff in the many departments they help students navigate. “We’re walking that fine line between doing what needs to be done but still understanding and respecting what faculty and staff do,” Kyle said. “The people we work with often know we have their back too, and that we won’t call them if a student is asking for something that is unreasonable or unrealistic.”
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