55.
sAvaiAaa^uj
Page 2-
Center offers career services
Finding right major, job
harder for some students
By KATHY O’CONNELL
Battalion Staff
Now is the time to think about
resumes and interviews, but if you
haven’t even decided on a career
one service at Texas A&M Univer
sity can help make the decision a
bit easier.
The Academic Counseling
Center, located in 107 Academic
Building, provides students with
individual and group counseling,
career interest testing and self-
instruction.
Dr. Ronald A. Lewis, assistant
ACC director, said: “We have sev
eral counseling psychologists on
the staff that work with the normal
transitional, educational problems
that are typically short-ranged
that students run into in the col
lege environment.”
Lewis said the staff at the center
mainly helps individuals with
career decisions, choice of major
and career planning.
To help a student make these
decisions, Lewis said the center
has “a very fine testing program
that we give to determine the stu
dent’s interests and personafity. ”
Lewis said they also have access
to the student’s high school re
cords that often help the counselor
understand the student’s back
ground.
“If a student comes in having
academic difficulty, what we’ll do
is look at the problem,” Lewis
said. “Is it that they’re in the
wrong major? Do they lack the
developmental background for a
particular course?
“We hesitate to use the word
intelligence, because it’s misused.
But the fact is that some students
are better students than other stu
dents. Some students are going to
If the problem requires
long-term counseling or
therapy, then the stu
dent is referred to the
Personal Counseling
Service.
have difficulty surviving in an
academic environment like Texas
A&M.”
Lewis said the best predictor of
a student’s academic ability is his
high school grade average. Scho
lastic Achievement Tests are good
indicators, but they’re not the
best, he said.
“For the most part,” Lewis
said, “most students have the in
nate intelligence to do okay at
Texas A&M. But there are many
other factors that go into the pro
cess, like motiviation and maturity
levels.
“Does the student have control
of his life? Can he be realistic in his
decisions.?
“It’s a very complex thing and
what we intend to do is use all the
resources available to help stu
dents assess their problems and
then try to come up with ideas and
solutions,” he said.
If the problem requires long
term counseling or therapy, then
the student is referred to the Per
sonal Counseling Service. “If they
have a depression related to a
boyfreind or girlfriend problem
and it’s affecting their academics,
we ll help them deal with that de
pression.” Lewis said.
“Now, if the depression is a
result of a personality disorder or
something that is long-term —
that has been with them for awhile
then we ll refere them to the Per
sonal Couseling Service, he said.
The Personal Counseling Ser
vice, located in the YMCA Build
ing, is another service available to
University students.
Lewis said there is a lot of over
lap between the two counseling
centers — one concentrates on
academic problems, the other
with personal problems.
Testing at the Academic Coun
seling Center focuses on the likes
and dislikes of the student in
terms of activities and occupa
tions, Lewis said.
“We have as good a battery of
tests that you can get anywhere.
What these tests will do,” he
said, “is take a sample of you be
havior based on the way you
answer some questions. ” Then the
answeres are analyzed and com
pared with the characterisitics of
people who are working the same
career.
This way, Lewis said, students
can get an idea of what a career in a
perticular area may be like.
Lewis said the center is affili-
Sindents are encouraged
to choose a major after
two years in the
program.
ated with the General Studies
program; however, they don’t al
ways recommend that students
participate in the program if they
are undecided about their major.
“General Studies is a good
place for students in their early
years here, where they are really
confused and they need a chance
to get their feet on the ground,
either academically or careerwise,
to explore some things,” he said.
He said the program provides
the student with some flexibility
to explore different areas of sudy.
Students are encouraged to
choose a major after two years in
the program. “I think students
need to recognize that General
Studies is not a degree granting
option and the longer you go after
you pass you sophomore year, the
more penalty you pay in terms of
time.”
Lewis said the center also main
tains files containing information
about every major on campus.
“A questionnaire is sent to ev
ery academic department,” he
said, “and they tell us what they
like to see in students, what kind
of attributes a student ought to
have. They’ll tell us what they per
ceive to be the job opportunities
in the career.”
He said if a student can identify
three or four career alternatives,
then he can go to the occupational
files for information.
To help make decisions, Lewis
said students “start with a self-
assessment and that’s where the
counseling and the instruments
we use here come in. After you’ve
identified some alternatives, then
you gather information and evalu
ate that information. Your final de
cision is based on that evaluation. ”