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Karlen Suga
Assistant Director, Admissions*
Pacific University
Forest Grove, Oregon
3,198 students (1,474 undergraduate)

*Karlen was an admission counselor at Colorsado State University, which is what she reflected on below. 

How would you respresent Student Affairs in a picture?

The item I chose to represent the field of Student Affairs is a lei. The individual components of a lei are the flowers and yarn used to connect the flowers. For me, the flowers represent individual students—each having a unique beauty and individuality. The yarn represents the Student Affairs field. It connects students (flowers, in this case) through support, programming, and education. When people think of leis, they think of the Aloha Spirit, which to me is love, acceptance, warmth, and welcome. These are all things that come to my mind when I think of the Student Affairs profession.

A Day in the Life…

5:45 a.m.

 Alarm goes off. Snooze is not usually an option, so I get out of bed and start my morning routine. (back to schedule)

7:15 a.m.

 Hop on the bus for my morning commute with a cup of coffee in hand and my iPod playing some music to help me start my day. (back to schedule)

7:30 a.m.

 Walk into the University Welcome Center, where my office is located. Switch on my computer and start responding to emails from prospective students, colleagues, and high school counselors. (back to schedule)

8:30 a.m.

 Showtime! I'm duty here at the welcome center this morning, so that means I'll do a 45-minute presentation for prospective students and their families who are visiting. Topics we cover include academics, campus life, the application process, and financial aid. (back to schedule)

9:15 a.m.

 The presentation concludes and I head back to my office to review applications for admission. In a given week, I review 70+ applications. My reading is accompanied by a playlist on iTunes. Artists on the list include Lady GaGa, Adam Lambert, and Utada. (back to schedule)

10:00 a.m.

 I get a phone call from the Front Desk letting me know there is a student wanting to meet with an Admissions rep. I head upstairs and have a 15 minute conversation with the student about admissions criteria and what it's like to transition into college life at CSU. (back to schedule)

12:30 p.m.

 Duty ends after 3 more walk in sessions with students and families. I head to the Lory Student Center to eat lunch with some colleagues. (back to schedule)

1:30 p.m.

 Back in my office for a conference call. Today I'm checking in with one of the regional representatives I work with through NASPA's Asian Pacific Islander Knowledge Community (API KC). (back to schedule)
2:00 p.m. I've got a standing meeting for our office's Social Committee. I'm the incoming chair of the committee and love that through it, we work to build a sense of community within our office. On the agenda today is planning for our fall potluck. (back to schedule)
3:00 p.m. Back to my office to read more files and respond to more emails. (back to schedule)
4:00 p.m. Head upstairs to pick up my travel bag for my recruitment trip tomorrow. I'm heading to the Seattle area for a few weeks and will be visiting high schools and staffing college fairs while I'm there. Looking forward to having lots of great conversations with students, families, and high school counselors (and eating some great seafood)! (back to schedule)
4:30 p.m. Off to the Lory Student Center for a Hawai'i Club Meeting. I co-advise the club and love that it allows me to work with current college students—some of whom I recruited to attend CSU! (back to schedule)
5:45 p.m. My day on campus ends. I head home to work out, cook dinner, and finish packing for my trip. The airport shuttle will be here bright and early in the morning. (back to schedule)