Student Stories
Hear From Our Alumni
Name/Title: Thomas C. Segar, Ph.D./Vice President for Student Affairs & Affiliate Graduate Professor at Shepherd University and Independent Educational Consultant
Concentration/specialization while here: College Student Personnel Graduation year: 2000
Current Job position: I work as the Vice President of Student Affairs at Shepherd University where i oversee 26 functions, units, and departments that comprise the Division of Student Affairs. I also teach in the College Student Development and Administration masters program.
How did your experience at Ship contribute to you getting to where you are today? Through my experience at Ship I learned how to be a more authentic leader, practitioner, faculty member, and student advocate. The program taught me several lessons that have influenced my career. Through the program I learned how to understand and respond to the needs of others. The counseling-based curriculum deepened my self-awareness and sensitivity to others . Ship also taught me the importance of human understanding, diversity, and social justice in higher education work.
What is one lesson or take-away that you still carry with you from your Ship experience? The counseling approach I learned at Ship has been the foundation of my career. The corner stone has been to have unconditional positive regard for every student, parent, and professional.
Name/Title: Andrew Rice/Middle School Counselor
Concentration/specialization while here: School Counseling K-12 Graduation year: 2013
Current Job position: Lamberton Middle School Counselor, Carlisle Area School District
How did your experience at Ship contribute to you getting to where you are today? Throughout my experience in the Counseling Program at SHIP, I was very grateful to have been able to learn from the unique experiences of every professor in the department, as each offered something different and valuable about the counseling profession. This exposure allowed me to gain a well-rounded perspective of the counseling profession as a whole and helped me to begin forming my own counseling presence. By holding onto the most valuable lessons from each perspective, I have attempted to implement this knowledge into my daily practice. It's helpful to carry a big toolbox when working in the counseling field, as no two clients/students are the same. While my box will continue to grow as I progress further into my career as a counselor, I could not have asked for a better "starter kit" from my experience at SHIP.
What is one lesson or take-away that you still carry with you from your Ship experience? When it comes to counseling, always be mindful to trust the process. The responsibilities of a counselor can be very demanding and the role can occasionally feel very daunting. In our society and particularly in th education field, counselors can experience pressure, both externally and internally to "fix" a student or to feel compelled to rescue them from their current situation. I have to remind myself in my role to not lose sight of the essence of counseling by trying to prescribe an arbitrary solution to the issue the student is facing. Real change comes from within and cannot occur until trust and security is built through the power of the relationship, which often takes time.