Graduation Term
Spring 2025
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Department of Educational Administration and Foundations: Educational Administration
Committee Chair
Dianne Renn
Committee Member
Gavin Weiser
Committee Member
Jeremy Schenk
Committee Member
Perry Schoon
Abstract
This phenomenological study examines the perceptions of student affairs professionals of their work as a job, career, or calling and how that perception corresponds to their feelings about the course of their future professional endeavors. The research subject pool included student affairs professionals employed by large research institutions who graduated from master’s degree programs between the years of 2017 and 2020.
The study suggests that while these early-career student affairs professionals exhibited a pro-social orientation that attracted them to community-oriented work and they find personal meaning in their employment, there is a risk that individuals in student affairs may be drawn towards professions in other fields that also offer opportunities to express their personal values through their professional efforts.
Access Type
Thesis-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Holbrook, Tim, "DO YOU HEAR IT?: PERCEPTIONS OF A VOCATIONAL CALLING AND RETENTION CONSIDERATIONS FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS" (2025). Theses and Dissertations. 2108.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/2108