This is the tenth and final post in a weekly series about the work of Marquette Law School’s Office of Student Affairs. Previous posts can be accessed here and at the bottom of the post linked here.

If you do your job well in student affairs, a former colleague once told me, it’s possible that no one will know precisely what you do. The same is likely true across many different departments in many different fields. In this context, it reflects that a lot of our work in student affairs is “behind-the-scenes”—putting together a schedule, organizing important programs, making the trains run on time. This may also mean that a lot of what we do is not especially “marketable.” And yet we want students to know enough about what we do that they recognize our availability to them.

So, for better or worse, this series of posts, initiated by the dean, was an effort to lift that veil a bit. In this final entry, I thought I would take one more crack at it, so that, just like the literal door to our office (in suite 238), the metaphorical door to our office is propped wide open.

On a regular basis, the five members of the Office of Student Affairs gather to discuss upcoming projects on each of our plates. We also, in true summer-camp fashion, go around the table, each of us sharing a highlight and a low point from the prior month or so. Whether you call it “rose, thorn, and bud,” “peach and pit,” or just regular old “high/low,” it’s a chance to reflect on our challenges and celebrate our wins. Here’s a little sampling.

Let’s start with a “rose.” There was the opportunity one of us had recently to attend a graduate’s individual swearing-in ceremony. Few paths to an attorney’s swearing-in are straightforward; they are often marked by challenges, of the academic, professional, and personal variety. Whether as part of the group ceremony following graduation or in an individual ceremony in a small courthouse far from Milwaukee, it’s an occasion for us to celebrate the hard work and dedication of our students.

Then there was the failed email mail merge. The stuff of nightmares really, because this was an email campaign with a tight deadline to be sent to a very large group of individuals. Who could have known that the emails were stuck in some sort of Microsoft purgatory? After a few days, concerned about the nonexistent response rate, we put two and two together. We managed to fix the problem, but not without a healthy dose of stress and frustration first. Sometimes, even if you do everything “right,” things go wrong. It turns out, that’s OK.

We celebrate the cyclical accomplishments—pulling off orientation, registering students for a new semester, getting through another exam period, graduating another class—as much as anything. Each is well-practiced but nevertheless requires an almost obsessive attention to detail, a seemingly endless to-do list, and a constant drive to improve upon the last iteration.

The lowest lows are also the saddest because they don’t involve an event or a task. We keep these intensely private. But we know they’re there, and we work to support our students and each other through these times.

Those lowest lows also put into perspective some other “lows.” Maybe we take an angry call from a community member who is dissatisfied when law school staff could not provide direct legal advice. We do our best to provide resources and referrals with compassion and sincerity and then must accept the outcome.

I’ll conclude (on the positive side of the ledger) with our annual welcoming of a new class. It’s the culmination of the work of student ambassadors, the Law School’s Office of Admissions, our faculty, and—not least—the culture of Marquette University Law School. This “high” has less to do with the contribution of any one team member or office and more to do with the fact that we all hope we are part of something that will allow our students to pursue their goals.

As we wrap up this series, I hope that our work and our team feel a bit more familiar, like people you might turn to if you need a form, want to start a student organization, or are just going through a tough time. And if everything is going fine and you find that you have no idea what happens in the Law School’s Office of Student Affairs but know that you can go there if you need to, we’ll take that as a sign of success. It means we’re doing our job.

By Sarah DiStefano and Anna Fodor

This is the eighth in a series of weekly blog posts about the work of Marquette Law School’s Office of Student Affairs. Scroll to the bottom for links to the previous posts from this series.

It’s no secret that law school is a very big investment—of time, effort, and yes, money. We clearly believe that the investment is worthwhile, otherwise we couldn’t in good conscience do what we do (that is, work to support students as they pursue their legal education). Like any large investment, this one also requires attention and care.

Yet for any number of reasons—whether it’s because we already have too much to worry about, we were taught not to discuss it, or it’s just easier to think of as a “tomorrow” problem—talking and thinking about finances, our student loans, and our potential earnings can be quite difficult.

We recognize both the importance and the difficulty involved, and so the Office of Student Affairs works to promote financial-education resources and services designed specifically for law students.

The Law School partners with the AccessLex Institute, a nonprofit organization, to provide our students free access to financial education resources through the MAX program. Students receive information about how to register for the MAX program as early as the summer before law school begins (Pre-Orientation) and can take advantage of the webinars, free advising from an accredited financial counselor, and scholarship opportunities at any point throughout their law school careers.

We also have impressive partners throughout campus, including the financial aid counselors and loan advisors who work with our students (not to mention, faculty and staff, as well) concerning short-term financial needs and to design savvy long-term loan repayment plans based on individual circumstances.

These efforts culminate in our annual Financial Wellness Week programming. Why call it financial “wellness”? Is it another way to incorporate an of-the-moment buzzword into our programming? Well, sure. But, primarily, it’s a recognition of the fact that taking control of our finances now can allow us to feel less anxious about our path ahead.

Ultimately, it steadies us to get a handle on our individual financial situation, to learn and implement smart money habits, and to create achievable financial goals. We believe that addressing these matters openly and without judgment is part of our mission to care for the whole person.

But let’s be clear, though we might know our way around a student loan or five, we are not, ourselves, financial experts. Luckily, we know some people who are, and we’re proud to feature them in this year’s Financial Wellness Week programming. Our sessions include the following:

Planning Ahead: Student Loan Repayment Info Session

Tuesday, March 26, at noon

Please join Senior Loan Account Advisor Michael Tindall from the Marquette University Bursar’s Office, for an overview of the entire process of managing many types of student loans, including the various repayment options available to recent graduates and effective strategies for managing debt and finances after graduation. This session is open to all students and will be especially useful for graduating 3Ls.

Tax Savvy Students: Maximizing Tax Savings & Minimizing Stress

Wednesday, March 27, at noon

April 15 is just around the corner. Attend this session to hear from our very own tax expert, Associate Dean Vada Lindsey, as she discusses her experience with tax preparation and how she ensures that tax season goes smoothly and with minimal stress. Learn why it’s still important to file a tax return even when not required by law to file it. Dean Lindsey will also share her insight into how students might maximize tax savings that will benefit them for many years to come.

Dollars and Cents of Working in Public Interest

Thursday, March 28, at 12:15 p.m.

Considering a post-graduate career in public interest law? Not sure how to manage salary expectations and student-loan repayments? Want to learn how one lawyer eliminated significant student-loan debt, working in public service for ten years? Join the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Public Service as we host Attorney Karen Bauer to speak on her experiences working in public interest and managing student loan repayment, loan forgiveness, and more. To kick off the event, attendees will learn more about the Howard and Phyllis Eisenberg Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP).

We hope our students find these sessions helpful and can take advantage of the resources available to them. We talk a lot about wellness in the legal profession. For it to be a full and honest conversation, it needs to include financial wellness.

Previous posts in this series:

• Some Glimpses into the Law School Office of Student Affairs by Joseph D. Kearney
• What We Hear by Anna Fodor
• Law School Alphabet Soup by Anna Fodor
• By the Students, For the Students by Sarah DiStefano
• The Students behind the Marquette Law Mentorship Program by Joseph D. Kearney
• We All Work in Student Affairs by Anna Fodor
• Tips from a Law School Registrar by Nicole Toerpe Mason