Raja Bhattar
LGBT Campus Resource Center at University of
California, Los Angeles
What is the most
important thing that someone planning to enter this field should know? “It’s not just a
job, it’s a lifestyle. Put yourself out there, explore as much as you can. Find
a position that really fits your lifestyle. Figure out why you want to do this
and be aware of why you are doing it. Know what you really want to get out of
your experience and how you can make the most of it. The most important part is
finding the right fit for you.”
University
of Vermont: Up to this point, a lot of my grad
school influence has been from people who loved the Indiana University program
so talking to Raja was my first real conversation about a different program. In
reflecting back on our conversation, I can still feel the passion he had for
the program because I look at my notes and it just seems like a genuinely
passion-filled stream of consciousness: “full tuition and stipend, great quality and high caliber
faculty, great social justice focus, felt like right fit, cohort experience
18-20 people, get to know people really well, actually get engaged in different parts
of campus, medium sized school, assistantships all across campus, classroom was
like mini board/regions meeting, strong UVM alum connection across the country.” // Beyond the facts of the program, what’s
really noteworthy for me is how apparent it is that Raja truly felt like this
program was simply the right fit for him. I find it intriguing that UVM is
often described as a very white, low people of color, all about tradition kind
of school because I also get the idea that this type of campus dynamic creates
space for very interesting conversations about social justice and diversity within
the supportive and intellectual student affairs program community.
Assistantship/Internship Experiences: Raja appreciated
that his program required experiences in 3 different departments. He worked
with Community Service, Dean of Students recruitment for HESA program, and Athletics.
Raja mentioned he was never the athletic type so I found it interesting that he
wanted to challenge himself to see if he could work with that community. His
thought process was if he was a VP one day, he now knows he can work with that
group. (This is definitely going on the list of thoughts I will keep in mind
for the rest of my professional career!)
Being open regionally: Raja talked about
going to a conference a couple years ago and not really seeing job opportunities in regions he was
interested in working. His mentor said, “Why not look at location after you
look at job descriptions?” It was then that he asked himself “Why am I limiting
myself to region and getting frustrated?” This was one of those aha moments! // Being open regionally is one of the challenges I am dealing with in choosing grad schools. There
are a lot of opportunities that I am interested in but coming from California (literally
the best place in the world haha), it’s not that easy for me to quickly be
comfortable with the idea of living in areas I never saw myself living before. But
at the same time, I know that pushing my comfort zones is exactly what I need
to do for the personal growth I am seeking.
Just
do it: Raja reached a point in his
professional career where he knew he needed a different experience. He saw a
job opportunity but questioned if he was qualified for it. One of his friends
encouraged him to just apply and he thought if nothing else happens, then that’s
it. He ended up being successful in the application process and three months
into the job, he is loving his position. // I am a firm believer that there is
no harm in putting yourself out there to just go for something. The worst case
scenario is that it doesn’t happen but at least you opened the door to
potential for something great.
