What does social justice have to do with it?

I quit my job. This is a first. I am going to graduate school. This is also a first, not just for me, but for my family. In the fall I will be doing a Masters of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) at the University of Vermont in Burlington, and I am totally excited. In some ways this makes complete sense, but in other ways my decision surprises me.  Here is some insight into my process.

Consonance

1. I have worked in Student Affairs for the past two years, and I love my job
2. It doesn’t cost a thing, they actually pay me for it! (big plus)
3. This will make my long-distance relationship relatively short-distance
4. I am truly inspired by the backgrounds of my future classmates, my “cohort”
5. When I think about the ways that I could apply my research and quant background it makes me starry-eyed.
6. I am quite fond of universities in general, almost to the point of nerdiness

Dissonance

1. If I want to practice law this brings me at least 2 years further away from that goal
2. Starting salaries in Student Affairs are about $10,000 less than what I was getting offered straight out of undergrad
3. The curriculum is less research intensive than I would have liked
4. I don’t like cold weather

So what does social justice have to do with it?

I had to make a few realizations (and a pretty extensive excel sheet which I may share) before I came to this decision, but as with most decision-making, it comes down to factors that are hard to measure. Things like happiness, satisfaction, meaning, love, motherhood, and adventure.  For me this ultimately became a decision about social justice. The reasons I want to work in student affairs are similar to why I want to be a lawyer, albeit through a totally different approach. Lawyers can create equity by remedying injustice through evidence and logic. Student Affairs professionals have the opportunity to create equity though education and support. In some ways I think this second approach is more progressive and less reactive.

Who gets to go to college? Who decides? Who will succeed? And Why does this all matter? How did I end up graduating from a top-tier university when many of my friends didn’t make it? I have tons of questions to ask of the system, questions I hope to explore in-depth at UVM. Around every corner of the application and selection process, I was constantly asked about how I could bring social justice into my work, and I like that. I hope that never stops, I think it is going to be a great journey. Burlington here I come! I hope they are ready for me too!

In other news, I guess I started blogging again.

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