Stephanie Saindon-Kaneen
Graduate Program: M.S. in Counseling and College Student Personnel
Preparing to graduate with your master’s degree and thinking about a career transition can be a stressful time, but not for Cal Lutheran students like Stephanie Saindon-Kaneen. She began applying for jobs in December 2013 in advance of graduating with her M.S. in Counseling and College Student Personnel. Within 30 days she had 10 responses, weeded out two, and ended up with eight offers!
She chose one from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and became its newest Resident Director of Weston Hall, looking after 450 college students (and a staff of 10 residential assistants) and dealing with all the surprising situations that crop up in a residence hall. One minute she’s mediating an unruly roommate issue, another she’s running to repair a broken water line, yet another she’s counseling an international student on how to understand American culture. And she’s able to handle it all thanks to the preparation and training she received at Cal Lutheran.
In praise of the master’s program at Cal Lutheran, she credits Diana Cherry and Elena Holumo as “great mentors” who taught her how to apply theory into practical application. In her internship alone, she underwent 150 real-time hours in a residential life experience. “I owe everything I am to Cal Lutheran,” Stephanie declares. “Everything I was learning applied to my new position, I found my passion, and I am now giving back.”
