Q&A with CLA Lead Academic Advisor Sabrina Canady
By Nicole Troy
Canady has led the CLA’s team of
academic advisors for more than
a decade.
Each year, National Transfer Student Week (NTSW) is recognized across the nation on the third week of October to celebrate transfer students and support them through their academic journey.
In celebration of NTSW, we sat down with Sabrina Canady (Psychology, ‘07; Master of Science in Counseling and Guidance in Higher Education, ‘08), lead advisor for the College of Liberal Arts’ Advising Center.
Canady shared her experience as a transfer student and gave insight into how she is helping the College of Liberal Arts become more transfer-friendly.
Where did your college career begin and how did you find yourself at Cal Poly?
I went to Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. I grew up in the area, so it was easy to go to a local community college. I was there for five years and after I figured out what I wanted to do as far as a major, I didn’t know how to get to the next step of actually going to university.
For personal reasons, I needed to stay in the area, so Cal Poly was my only option. All I ever heard was how hard it was to get into Cal Poly, so I took every class I possibly could thinking that was going to help my chances of getting in. And initially, I did not get in.
I had to appeal my denial and petition to get in because I literally couldn't go anywhere else. If I wanted to continue my education, it had to be at Cal Poly.
What was your experience like as a transfer student at Cal Poly?
It was lonely. I think that was partly my fault because I was local and working full-time to pay my own bills and pay for my own college; so, I would go to class and go to work. I didn't engage the way I should have.
But also, looking back now, I don't remember Cal Poly really trying to engage me during summer advising or WOW. A lot of what I saw back then was very freshman focused.
Now, there is the onboarding and orientation of new transfer students, the Cal Poly Transfer Center and faculty-staff advisory groups that are working really hard to address the needs of transfer students. I think it’s so much better, but there's still much more room for growth in that area.
How/why did you navigate into a career of working with students?
Honestly, I stumbled into it. My undergraduate major required an internship, so I ended up doing an internship with orientation programs at Cal Poly, particularly the summer advising program. However, I was doing event planning; and while I enjoyed it, that's not what I wanted as a career. But through that experience I got to see academic advising happening.
I should have known what academic advising was by that point, but I just didn't because I was a first-generation student and my family had that “pull yourself up by your bootstraps and figure it out yourself” sort of mentality.
Once I saw academic advising happening, I was like “That is so cool. I want to do that.” I saw the students go in stressed out and uncertain and walk out relieved. And I thought, “How can I make sure more students feel that way?”
Tell us about your work to make the quarter to semester transition more transfer-friendly.
On a college-wide level, we are working to align our semester curriculum to accommodate associate degrees for transfer (ADTs). ADTs allow students to follow a path at a community college to complete their lower division general education courses and complete at least 18 semester units of a major. When the students transfer, the ADT guarantees them admission to a CSU, and they will only have two years remaining — 90 quarter units or 60 semester units.
This is amazing for so many reasons because we're serving more students, we’re serving more California residents and we’re helping students access a clear and concise degree path.
What are some skills you think transfer students have that will lead to success?
Transfer students are amazing, and they come from so many different paths in life and so many different eras of life. We need to appreciate the life skills and the life experiences that they bring to the table. Not that our first years don't have amazing experiences to bring to the table, but transfers have a unique path that they've been able to navigate and learn from. They have tenacity. It’s hard work to get here and it can be very confusing to transfer.
What advice would you give to transfer students at Cal Poly?
Ask questions and ask for help. Ask the advisors, mentors, faculty and counselors that are there to help you. Don’t expect to do it on your own.
Unfortunately, there are far more of them than there are of us. Proactive advising is not always a realistic option, but as faculty and staff we always work to figure out how to develop more opportunities for that. But it really requires the students to engage with us (and read our emails!).
Any final thoughts?
Every transfer student should check out the events hosted by the Cal Poly Transfer Center. Transfer Center Assistant Director Heather Domonoske has done so much for this campus and these students. I admire the work that has been accomplished there and I hope to continue to work with her on ways to make this campus more transfer friendly.
Join the NTSW celebration and check out the Cal Poly Transfer Center’s event schedule.