Climb to the Top
By Mallory Megan Kahl
If Adhanet “Addy” Zereabruk would have remained in her native country in Africa, this young woman would have limited options for her future. Instead of higher learning, an option of Addy’s would have been mandatory military service, and one of the only ways to simply avoid this forcible service, is to marry young and start a family.
“Enlisting for six months of military service is required in Eritrea, but if you are married with children, it can be avoided. If I still lived in Africa, like my friends that are there, I would probably be married with some children already. But, this is not what I would have wanted to do with my life,” Addy passionately explains.
“Even if I were lucky enough to attend school in Africa, I still may have never gotten the opportunity to persue a career.”
Many American college students take for granted their right to work, while attending school, and never have to worry about required military service, that other adolescents throughout the world must endure.
Although she has lived in Saint Louis, Mo. for the last seven years of her life, Addy is originally from Eritrea, a nation in East Africa, near Ethiopia and the Persian Gulf.
When asked how this petite reserved girl, was first introduced to Blackburn, she credits her high school guidance counselor.
“I had never heard of Carlinville, Illinois before. Since I attended a small, all-girls Catholic school in Saint Louis, I wanted to go to a small college also,” she says.
Not only did the size of the school and sense of community appeal to her, but also the idea of work study and tuition reduction.
“I was looking for something small, but I also like to challenge myself. I was told about the work program and knew I could gain a lot of real-life job experience while in school at Blackburn,” she admits.
As a large number of first-year students are, Addy was employed in Food Service her freshman year.
“I was a shy freshman and hoped because of my work experience at a library in Saint Louis, which I would be placed in library work,” she recalls,
“Food Service was probably the last department I wanted to be placed in, but when I looked at the list, I was a Food Service
worker."
“I hated working in the dish room,” she giggles. “I did not really enjoy the work, but I enjoyed the people that I worked with, especially getting to know the cooks and my fellow Food Service co-workers. Working in Food Service did help me open up and develop communication skills.”
Just as one would be promoted in their career, the ability to gain seniority within a department or land a more “glamorous” job on campus is an attractive component of the work college experience. Addy took advantage of the possibility to transfer departments and applied for a different job her sophomore year.
“The next year I got a job in Multicultural Expressions with Jolanda Young,”
Addy says of her sophomore year job.
The Multicultural Expressions Office, headed by Young organizes programs for ethnic diversity.
“Partly because of my major in Psychology, and partly because I wanted to get out of Food Service, I applied for the job with Jolanda because I knew that it would challenge me to gain workplace communication skills and let me interact with people from diverse backgrounds. It also gave me a chance to help organize events, like ethnic festivals and fashion shows.”
Although Addy is of African descent, she had attended school with a predominantly Caucasian student body. Some would assume, because of the color of her skin, and multicultural background that it would be easy for her to interact with the other African students on campus. However, it was difficult for her to relate to diversity at first.
“In high school, there were few minority students, so I did not get to experience diversity there,” Addy recollects,
“and when I came to Blackburn it was harder for me to connect with the minority students, even though I was one.”
“One of the reasons I truly appreciated my job with Jolanda, was because it allowed me to interact with people of very diverse backgrounds. It was a good way for me to make friends and feel more comfortable with ethnically diverse heritage.”
Addy’s experience with Jolanda and Multicultural Expressions helped her to branch out even further.
“I wanted to expand my knowledge and try my hand in a different department,” she says.
She applied to work in the Technologies Services Department that following year.
“The work was easy, but I did not feel like I was helping people in the way I wanted to help. I had moved to the department to challenge myself. I wanted to gain more experience related to my major. So, I decided to apply for assistant manager of the department because I would be able to gain managerial experience and communicate with a department as a whole. When I didn’t get the position, I decided to look for a job that was more closely related to my major.”
Due to ever-changing needs and the growth of Blackburn College, there are times when new positions are added into the work program.
One of these new positions, a branch of the Student Life Office, the Office of Peer Counseling was the right fit for Addy.
“The interview process for the position was very professional. We had to present a 20 minute Power-point and be interviewed by a review board.”
When asked what the duties of the peer counselors encompass, she responds, “We mentor students on social, academic, and work probations. If any student has issues or problems, I can help with that, in the same sense an RA does. We talk to students that feel more comfortable discussing their problems with a peer.”
Because of the relatively new state of the Peer Counseling group, the office hosts many opportunities for growth with their program and growing collaboration with other organizations.
“I know that my (Blackburn) work program job experience and current position helped me to obtain my internship with the Macoupin County Health Department. I want to use the connection I have off-campus, as a domestic violence advocate, and try to organize things like female empowerment programs with Sister Circle and other on-campus organizations.”
Job placements at Blackburn can be as various as writing papers or proposals, cleaning pots or toilets, and even unlocking doors or minds, and this is a where all of these elements come together in harmony. The work program at Blackburn allows for students to gain skills and experience while attending school.
When asked if she believes Blackburn will provide her with the tools to be successful in professional, personal, and community life, Addy confidently responds, “Here you can build your résumé while attending school. It is a degree and work experience all in one. I know that when I am out searching for a job, because of my experiences here, they will be able to hire me without worries.”
Besides working in Food Service, Technology Services, and two different positions in the Student Life Office, Addy has been employed by other departments and offices during break work.
Addy confirms the collaborative Blackburn ideal, “Through the many jobs I have held on campus, I have gained different skills from each. I am excited about the opportunities I have this year as a Peer Counselor, and am grateful for the experiences and opportunities that have brought me to this point.”
|