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Personal Narrative: My Interview With A Male Oregon State University

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I interviewed a male Oregon State University (OSU) counselor education faculty member. He received his PhD in December 2013 and has been working for OSU since graduation. He values the lifestyle the western United States offers, therefore he accepted an instructor position at the Bend, Oregon campus. In accepting an instructor position, he has made certain sacrifices; due to his teaching schedule, he has limited time to pursue his research interests, see clients in his private practice, and does not possess significant job security. He feels that as an instructor, there is not enough time to easily achieve a “balance” of his professional interests. I inquired to his preconceptions of counselor education prior to becoming a faculty member. He explained his doctoral program heavily emphasized securing a tenure track position that allows for pursuit of research interests. He stated that he “blindly trusted” authority figures in his doctoral program to know what would be best for him. Through …show more content…

In particular, he spoke of exercise, personal development, and particularly for him, time to work on research. He explained that he blocks out time to write on his research interests, forcing himself to do so during this time regardless of his motivation level. His overall strategy, was to develop a defined “vision” of his future. In this process, he consciously decides what he wants for himself next year, then following this, in the next 5 years. In the present, he makes certain his undertakings are working towards the vision of his desired future. He advised “saying yes” to tasks and duties that you “want”, and arrange to spend the minimal time possible on tasks that you must say “yes” to but do not want. He stated that by accepting tasks he was not allowed to say “no” too, has in his experience, lead to unexpected professional

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