One of the most important resources a college student relies on are counselors. Counselors help guide students, assist them through their academic careers, and prevent them from becoming lost in the system. They help during the most critical of moments — enrolling in classes, applying to four-year universities and obtaining a degree, to name just a few.
It is undoubtedly hard to be a college student at times, but what’s it like to be a counselor?
According to counselor Raichelle Grays, it is an incredibly busy job — but it is also what she considers a calling.
“When I wake up in the morning, my thoughts are to be guided and help whoever walks through my door. I have to help students wherever they’re at,” said Grays.
Grays always wanted to go into counseling; after originally considering clinical counseling while attending college, she found a path that worked for her and stuck to it. After working with CSUs for 10 years, she moved to Delta’s campus and has been here since the fall 2015 semester.
The average day for a counselor consists of meeting with students who have made appointments two weeks in advance. However, simply holding appointments with students does not make up the entirety of a counselor’s day — they also can meet with students who drop-in to the counseling office randomly. Nothing is completely planned.
“For example, on a regular day I will have drop-ins for two hours — answer any quick questions students have. I think I had 10 students drop in back-to-back,” said Grays.
Counselors are also afforded desk time, which is a free hour per day. The hour itself can vary, whether it be 8 a.m. one day or 11 a.m. the next. During this hour, Grays will still answer emails and phone calls she receives.
Grays’ work is not restricted to just the office; she will try to answer questions wherever and whenever she can, whether it be at home, while waiting at the doctor’s office, or even at the grocery store. Her intent is helping students, and there are plenty of things to help with.
One of the main duties of a counselor is to assist new students with transitioning into Delta, preparing them for their first semester.
“For new students, we typically try to gauge their interests and figure out if they’re transferring. We act as a whetstone and try to help students get going. Some students complain that they will take a class and they don’t actually need it. So, we try to make sure they take the right 12 units,” said Grays.
Helping students discover where their interests lie in order to find where these interests align with their educational plan is a very important to Grays. Counselors seek a way to make sure students are pursuing what they want and take the classes they need. One of the major issues Grays she faces is helping undeclared students.
“We live in a world where people really can be whatever they want, so I have to figure out how to shrink all of that down to one career,” Grays said. ”I need to help students find themselves and find a good fit for them while still allowing room for exploration. I believe college is for finding yourself, so I try to encourage students to explore their options within the constraints.”
Aside from assisting new students, counselors are also tasked with helping individuals transfer to four-year universities.
Application season can be a hectic time for both student and counselor, especially since registration also occurs during those months. Grays said there’s a “heightened sensitivity” counselors feel from students as well as an increased traffic level in the counseling department.
“It’s an important time because you don’t want students to get the wrong information or take the wrong classes or even miss a class [during registration],” said Grays.
Applications, enrolling in classes, obtaining a degree or certificate — counselors do it all. They even deal with crisis counseling and assisting students with their own personal issues because, as Gray puts it, “How can you expect a student to be successful at school if their family doesn’t have a place to stay right now?”
This involvement in a student’s personal life differs from Gray’s own experience at CSUs. There, she would simply help students enroll in certain classes. Any personal issues were dealt with by a separate department. Delta does not have this option.
“If one department could encompass all of the health care, it could take time off from the counselor. Counselors might be able to service students quicker. When there’s one department doing it all, somebody is going to suffer and unfortunately that could be a student,” said Grays.
Juggling the concerns of students is hard and has only been made more difficult due to the implementation of MyDelta.
An error with MyDelta has made it so some students’ majors are not accurate. Many might see a counselor just to fix this, but it is not something a simple click of a button can resolve. Counselors have to email an individual in the Evaluation’s Department and the process can take 3-5 business days. Grays has recently attended a meeting where this issue was discussed and according to her, “a resolution is currently being developed.”
“Unfortunately, the PeopleSoft system has added an extra layer to everything,” Grays said. “I’ve been through this before with a different institution that implemented the PeopleSoft system and I recognize the institution is working hard to resolve these issues, but any little thing can make the job more difficult.”
Counselors have been working relentlessly to advocate on students’ behalf, but counselors themselves did not have somebody to address their own concerns as they were without a dean for months.
“The last several months have been a little challenging because there was no dean [on counseling]. Counselors have to advocate for themselves and on behalf of students. Our dean retired in June,” said Grays.
Dr. Lisa Cooper-Wilkins, the vice president of student services, had taken on the role of counseling dean. However, since Cooper-Wilkins was still overseeing Student Services at the same time, she was “managing a lot,” Grays said.
Cooper-Wilkins did a phenomenal job under the constraints placed upon her, Grays said, but a dean functions as a sole advocate for counselors. Because of this, it was hard to address concerns in and talk to higher administration in an expedited manner.
Despite these recent problems, Grays believes Delta is heading in the right direction as an institution. The load of crisis counseling has partially been lifted thanks to the addition of Stanislaus State graduates working on campus part-time to offer free mental-health counseling.
Nothing could have prepared Grays for the busy role she would take on at Delta, juggling the needs of a diverse campus, but she loves what she does.
“I have to be a vessel to be able to service them,” Grays said. “Ultimately, it’s a job but not in the sense of just getting my pay. It’s a calling.”
