Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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Shuffle between tables like a pack of playing cards, pre-sign your new checks, • • •and don ' t forget your SSN by Dallas Brown wernalrelf cdve ants4 yrs fw IP '

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In classes of more than 90 students, Thomas Parish ' knows each one. Not only can he repeat names a fter the first day, but within the first six-weeks he strives to relate to each student personally. That first day, I can impress a lot of people with learn- ing names, but I ' m not satisfied with myself until I know each individual, Parish said. Parish approaches each class as a whole new bunch of students I ' m going to be able to interrelate with. I have the opportunity to teach what I love most to students I can really relate to, he said. Parish is an assistant professor of human development in the College of Education. His main teaching assignment is Educational Psychology I. He tries not to lecture as much as discuss and accentu- ate the discussion with humor. He describes this as a blend between relaxed and informative atmospheres. If you can walk into your classes and teach them to be excited about the material you ' re teaching, actually be interested in it yourself, the students will enjoy it more and get more out of it, Parish said. Early in his teaching career, Parish taught at a communi- ty college whose small size allowed him to be close to his students. He expressed hope of maintaining that close- ness with his K-State students. Despite his personal interest in his students, it was the faculty that brought him to K-State. We have one of the more outstanding faculties. They ' re just a bunch of great people. That is what brought me here, Parish said. Probably what will keep me here is the fact that the students are really swell. Since coming to K-State one year ago, Parish has be- come local and state adviser of Student National Educa- tion Association and faculty adviser of Phi Kappa Theta, a social fraternity. Parish ' s enthusiasm isn ' t limited to teaching. He is a Frisbee freak who enjoys dancing, church work and being with his wife and four children. That first day I can impress a lot of people with learning names, but I ' m not satisfied with myself until I know each individual. II you can be excited about the material you ' re teaching ... the students will enjoy it more and get more out of It. We have one of the more outstanding faculties. They are just a bunch of great people. That Is what brought me here. softheyearteachersoftheyea Probably what will keep me here is the fact that the students are really swell. teachers of the year — 27

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mb- shoving and hurrying up just to wait. Registration ' s human processing line is the way to become a bona fide student. With a record high this year of 19,045 students, the already frenzied process becomes a circus. On the way to a higher edu- cation, it ' s just part of a student ' s trials and tribulations. But wait a minute---pushing? Shoving? Hurrying up just to wait? Sounds like the same process the masses go through hunting for a job. Later, these same 19,045 students will become tigers out on the job market. And they ' ll be after YOUR job. To make matters worse, the largest enrollment increase came in Continuing Education. That means everyone already out on the market is polishing his act. But don ' t panic — things may not be as bad as they look. The job mar- ket is always changing, so what is true today won ' t necessarily be true tomorrow. Administrators and cor- porate executives alike hate making predictions for fear of being proven wrong five minutes later. Planning for pavement-pounding day may be difficult since no one will make job forecasts. The first step has already been taken once a student chooses a curriculum. Traditionally, K-State has been ac- claimed for its science and agricul- tural programs. In addition to con- tinually high enrollment in these areas, recent trends show an in- crease in the number of students in the Colleges of Business and Engi- neering. In the last year, enrollment in both rose 10 per cent. Fortunate- ly, or unfortunately, not everyone is cut out for these two fields where future prospects look good. There is a myth circulating that students in curriculums which aren ' t as technical or scientific, such as lib- eral arts or humanities, will have trouble acquiring a job. But Bruce Laughlin, director of Career Planning and Placement, doesn ' t believe it. Many students don ' t realize the possibilities open to them in liberal arts .... Some people have the nar- row view that students in liberal arts and humanities are not prepared for work in a particular area, Laughlin said. They may have trouble getting a job in their particular field because the question is, ' what exactly is their field? ' . When a person ' s curriculum seems obscure, their personal quali- fications will assume a greater im- portance, Laughlin said. Their intelli- gence, personality and course of study are focused on more closely qualities the potential employer can see, he said. One complaint of Laughlin ' s: Just don ' t have the attitude that when you go in to the liberal arts you want knowledge for knowledge ' s sake, and then complain when you find what you really want is a job that pays well. Students can succeed in a num- ber of different fields and can be happy in many. There isn ' t just one right career and the others are all wrong, Ellsworth Gerritz, dean of admissions and records, said. There is at least a cluster of voca- tional pursuits that an individual can be successful in, Gerritz said, and most people get into their vocation by chance. Gerritz illustrates: I love my wife dearly ... but if I hadn ' t met and married her, I would probably have married someone else and have been happy, he said. Gerritz also noted that knowledge students gain in one area of study can be applicable and beneficial to another. Nearly all curriculums have com- mon bonds to another. Our society is accused of being more specialized than it really is, Laughlin said. Both Laughlin and Gerritz age students should learn the ability to learn if nothing else. They suggest learning to understand others, not just by attending class and trying to figure out how to butter-up that nit- picking English teacher, but by tak- ing advantage of extra-curricular ac- tivities, living and social situations. Enrollment is expected to climb steadily, at least for the next few years. Competition will become keener than ever. People already on the job are updating their profes- sional skills, branching off in new di- rections, re-enrolling, pushing, shoving and hurrying up just to wait ....