Field Notes: Undergraduate Programs

With Jeff Olsen Krengel

Transcript

What do you enjoy most about being an enrollment advisor?

My favorite part of being an enrollment advisor is I get to learn something new every day from the students that I talk with. I get to hear stories about their hopes, their goals, their career objectives, all these things that make up who they are, and I get to be a small part of that journey by helping them find the right program and right resources. So that, to me, is just, it's exciting to do that every day.

Field Notes. Undergraduate Programs with Jeff Olsen Krengel

My name is Jeff Olsen Krengel, and I am the undergraduate programs enrollment advisor here in the College of Continuing and Professional Studies, or CCAPS for short.

What does an enrollment advisor do?

As an enrollment advisor, I get to work with students as an educational navigator, and we collaborate together to find majors, courses, programs that help fit their needs and help them achieve their goals.

What advice do you have for someone who is unsure about their professional path?

Think about what you enjoy learning about. What are you engaged in? What makes you curious? What resonates with you? And take courses in those areas and really explore those options within the different majors and courses.

How can someone determine whether a particular degree or field of study is the right fit for them?

If you find courses and majors that really resonate with you and you find yourself wanting to learn more and be really engaged, and you're just learning and learning and being more and more excited about it, that's something to really then kind of consider, "Does this fit with a possible major and a possible career for me?"

How does a Bachelor of Applied Science degree differ from a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree?

A Bachelor of Applied Sciences is really a great combination of both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree, in that students get to learn things like communication and critical thinking skills, but they also get to learn things like the theoretical and the technical concepts of a professional field. So really it allows them to blend that Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science together into a degree.

And it allows students in an applied sciences program to really take what they're learning and apply it to real-world scenarios in the classroom. Another aspect of the applied sciences degree is having students complete an internship as part of their degree program, which allows them to take what they're learning in the classroom and apply that to a professional setting, which really enhances what they're learning in the classroom and helps them build their skillset and build their professional network while they're in the degree program.

How common is it for students to change their major or career direction midstream?

It is very common and natural for students to change their major and their career multiple times in their academic journey. It's important to consider all your interests and explore them equally as you think about possible majors and careers.

If someone hasn’t been in school for a while, what's the best way for them to get started?

The best way to get started is to take the first step, right?

It can easily be overwhelming to get back into school or to transfer schools, so the thing to do is really just to take one step at a time. And that first step might be to have a conversation with someone like me, an enrollment advisor, to talk about your options, talk about what you would like to accomplish with your degree.

Nobody's life is a straight line, never has been, never will be, so taking that first step really just sets you on a path to think about what might be possible for you.

What can you tell me about the undergraduate student body in CCAPS?

CCAPS is a really diverse undergraduate college in that we have students who are in their 20s, we have students that are in their 40s and 60s and everywhere in between. And whether they're coming to finish their first bachelor's degree or they're coming back after a 20-year hiatus to finish their degree, we serve those students, and we help them finish their degree in a timely and efficient manner.

Do you have a favorite spot on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus?

My favorite spot on the Twin Cities campus is actually here on the Saint Paul campus, on the lawn with the bull statues, and it is one of my favorite places to just hang out in the shade, read, listen to music, what have you. It also just happens to be near the dairy and meat lab so I can get my bacon and cheese curds as well.

If you’re interested and would like to have a conversation?

If you're interested in having a conversation around a CCAPS degree program, returning to school, transferring schools, whatever it might be, please do reach out to me, and I'm happy to have a conversation with you to see what might fit and help you achieve your goal.

Field Notes. Learn more about Undergraduate Programs at ccaps.umn.edu.