Master's Student Life: The Balance between Student and Professional.

Abstract

This manuscript explores the concept of balance for master's students enrolled in student affairs preparation programs in the Southeast and Midwest. It provides research on the ways balance is restricted for master's students who are employed in a student affairs setting while also enrolled in preparation programs, and it investigates themes which emerged during interviews on the concept of balance such as defining the concept of balance and establishing priorities. The study also examines the role conflict graduate students experience. Graduate student success is critical to the field of student affairs. Not only are master's students the future of the profession, they also help staff offices and departments through graduate assistantships and internships. Master's students provide a significant resource to student affairs divisions at significantly less cost than that of full-time staff members. Because of this value, it is essential that graduate students be prepared to be successful in the workforce. It is also critically important that graduate students have positive and substantive classroom and practicum or internship experiences to better enhance the odds of retaining them in the profession. For graduate students in student affairs preparation programs to succeed in the classroom, their assistantship site or full-time jobs, and their personal lives, they must have a strong sense of life balance. For the purpose of this article, life balance is defined as finding a personal equilibrium in the four major life roles of family, work, leisure, and education (Hansen, 1997). This concept of life balance is often difficult to achieve, and therefore, both graduate students and professionals within higher education must examine the role of balance within their lives and how this balance can be better achieved in the workplace. Challenges to Achieving Balance Role Conflict Cooke, Sims, and Peyrefitte (1995) stated that graduate students often sacrifice more than undergraduates to pursue their degree, with the most common sacrifices being time and money. By accepting a position as a graduate assistant, a graduate student enters into a mixed role of responsibility by serving as both a professional and a student. This mixed role creates conflict, often causing graduate students to question their priorities as students and professionals-in-training (Turman, 2001). This conflict may cause undue stress for graduate students seeking to achieve balance in their lives. In the roles of both a professional-in-training and a student, graduate students in student affairs are typically encouraged to assume a variety of duties such as advising student groups, maintaining their course load, and counseling students. Assuming these roles makes creating a balanced personal life an extremely difficult task. Conflict occurs due to these multiple roles played on campus and the additional responsibilities of adulthood and increased independence. In addition, the difference between the role of involved undergraduate student leader and graduate assistant or supervisor can often pose a difficult transition. Many graduate students in student affairs were active as student leaders during their undergraduate careers; however, in their transition from undergraduate to graduate student, they evolve into a role which often requires working with undergraduate students very close to their own age. This potential conflict between the roles of friend and supervisor is often challenging for graduate students to navigate. Despite this role conflict, graduate students in student affairs may also retain the role of involved student leader. The numerous and varied tasks graduate students perform to meet the expectations of faculty, supervisors, and themselves creates an unmanageable burden. These tasks include, but are certainly not limited to, advising student groups, leading student personnel associations, adjudicating conduct violations, completing significant reading assignments, and coordinating group projects. …