Hey, hey, hey. This is Lisa A. And you're listening to Who's That Star? On LCC Connect at Lansing Community College. Who's that Star? Is a behind the scenes show where I sit down and talk with the employees at the college. This is an inside look at LCC where you will have a chance to learn about their passions, projects, what inspires them both at work and in their personal lives. I'm your host, Lisa Alexander. I'm so excited to get a chance to talk to all the people who make LCC great. This show is for you to to get to know the people that work at Lansing Community College a little bit more and see what makes them tick. Are you ready? Okay. Let's go see who's today's star. Today's star is a Michigan native and she grew up in Greenville. She started her collegiate beginnings at Lake Superior State College, eventually transferring to MSU where she earned a master's in vocational rehabilitation. She's had a couple professional jobs. Before she came to LCC. She worked for the state of Michigan for almost eight years, helping people with disabilities obtain education and or career skills and find employment. This led to her job at occ where she started in the office of Disability Support Services, now called the center for student access. After 18 years in that role, she was transferred into a general counseling position where she feels she has found her greatest passion. She is a passionate person and great fun to be around. She has many hobbies and things she enjoy that we will explore later on in the interview. Okay. Are you ready to learn who's today's star? Today's star is Pamela Davis. Pam, we are so glad to have you on who's at Star today.

Hi, Lisa. Thanks for having me. I'm really glad to be here.

Yes, I'm excited to have you on here too, because I love your role. I mean, I think that what you do is really important. So I'm excited to jump in and find out how you help our students. Also, you know, what you like about your job and then what you do outside of your job and be painless today.

All right.

Yeah. All right. So I wanted to know, like, how long have you worked at LCC?

I will have been at LCC 28 years this coming March.

Wow. Okay. That's a long time.

It is.

So you've seen a lot of different things.

I sure have.

And you said when you started here, your job title was different.

Yes.

What was that job again?

Well, I started in what was then called the office of Disability Support Services. So I was a counselor for students with disabilities and we would help the student pick their classes, but then also make sure they had the right accommodations.

Okay.

Work with the instructors, help them provide the accommodations appropriately if they had any questions, and just really advocate for the students with disabilities on campus.

Oh, wow. I guess I never really knew that because that was not way. But it was before I came here and the jobs were different.

Yes.

So now you. Because that role, they changed the department or they changed your role. How did you move from that role into the general counseling position now?

Well, gosh, let's see, about 10 years ago or so now they reconfigured. They figured out counselors did not need to be in that position, that they could hire other people to do that work. And then they shifted me and Monica as well into full time counselor positions.

Right.

And staff that office differently.

Yeah. I mean, and I can see the way that it was previously. I can see where that would be beneficial because it's like you have the mental health professional that's able to help that student navigate different frustrations and things like that. But. But it kind of limits you to who you could really serve. You know what I mean?

Right.

And in this way, now it seems like with a general adviser, I mean, general counseling position. Could you tell me a little bit more about the population that you are able to serve now versus in the past?

Oh, sure. Yeah. Before, I just strictly worked with students with disabilities and only a small percentage of them maybe wanted the mental health side of counseling types of things, which was always my favorite part of the job. So now that in the position I have now 100% of the students I see, well, maybe 99% are there for mental health reasons. Anxiety, depression, relationship issues, roommate issues. They may be going through a loss, so they might be grieving. Substance abuse, any kind of thing that you could think of with mental health, we can help the students with. And so that's any student on campus, really, I can meet with.

Yeah. And that's what I really. I love that I've been finding, especially since after the pandemic, myself included, my anxiety is different. You know, I feel like jittery sometimes. And I think that the mental health services that we offer on campus are wonderful. But for someone who was interested to know about what it would look like to sign up for counseling, what does that. Day to day. Would you like your day to day? What do you do? Or if that's not the right question, how does a person come in to meet with you? And then what do you do not, you know, their business. But what does that look like in your day, in your job?

Sure, yeah. So a student gets referred to us by multiple ways. Maybe they saw advertisements for income in themselves. Instructor could refer them. Academic advisors, success coaches, teachers, anyone could tell a student about our services. They make an appointment and we do prefer that they make an appointment so that we have a full 45, 50 minutes with them and that it's built into our day for that. And they're going to come in and that first session is going to almost be like a lot more questions. I want to really kind of get a little bit of a snapshot of the student and find out why they're at LCC, what are some long term goals, what's their living environment, do they live on their own, do they live with their families still and their parents, do they work on top of going to school, why are they at LCC, all of those types of things. But then most importantly we want to find out what, why did they want to make the appointment, what are they coming in to talk to me about? And then we will set some goals, talk about it, focus on it. I always encourage the student to feel free to tell me if we're getting a little off track. Like I might pick up on something and I might start kind of running with it. And I want them to know they could say, well Pam, that's really interesting but today I really want to, I still want to focus on the issues I'm having with my mom, for example. And so we really try to let the student guide the session, talk about what's comfortable to them and help them see how mental wellness, mental health can influence and impact their school. Yes, of course we're primarily worried that students mental health might be impacting their school. But some are great students, but they're still struggling with their mental health and anxiety, depression, whatever it might be. So we're a safe place for them to come in and talk about that. And we are designed to be more short term so we're not there for in depth psychotherapy. We can handle or work with students in typically 10 sessions or less. But that doesn't mean that we can't reevaluate that and still offer support for.

Students or help them to find longer term counseling if they're looking at that or something like that. Because I really feel like you guys are a gateway, right? You open up an opportunity for them to be able to get counseling in a non threatening way. You're not committed for life. It's Free, you know what I'm saying? And then that way you can see what counseling is like and get an opportunity to say, ah, this isn't for me, or this is for me. And then figure out what works, and then you can help them process that. And I think that that's. It's nothing like having an unbiased person to listen to you that has no meat in the game.

Exactly.

To be able to give you some insight or help you to problem solve or find some things out. And so I was super excited to have you on the show today because I don't think people really know what we have to offer at LCC and the great counselors that we have in that role.

And can I just add, if you don't mind, I'll tell instructors or whoever that's making the referrals to say to the student, just come in and find out. Like, one appointment doesn't lock you into any more than that. And I also tell students, hey, if I'm not a good fit for you, we have other counselors on campus. And you don't judge McDonald's on one bag of French fries.

Exactly.

You know, try them. I've had some bad fries. I still go back. Right. So it's finding the right fit in the counseling profession to help that person.

Yeah. And I think that's so important because people will get frustrated and they're like, I didn't feel that connection, or it didn't. We didn't mesh or whatever. And that you have to keep going. You have to find that right person that, you know, feels comfortable for you. So that way you can get the help that you want, you know, and need.

Yep.

Well, I. I think that you're a natural fit. But how did you get started in this career? Like, what made you think that. That you wanted to be in rehabilitation, vocational rehabilitation? That ends the mental health counseling. What started that for you?

Okay. It's kind of an interesting path. So somewhere in my childhood, I came across the Helen Keller story, and Helen Keller. And then Annie Sullivan is the woman that helped Helen Keller kind of break out of her deaf blind prison, for lack of better words right now. And I was just fascinated. Hearing loss and deafness, but just, I always liked the emotional component, the things that she had to overcome. And I read every version of the Helen Keller story and the Annie Sullivan story. And so I thought I wanted to be a teacher for the deaf. Then that switched to audiology, which is testing hearing. I actually have. My bachelor's degree is in speech and audiology And I started working on my master's in audiology and realized I didn't want to just fit hearing aids and say, okay, here's your hearing aid. Call me if you have a problem. I'll see you in a year.

Right.

I really wanted to deal with the emotional aspects of either being someone with hearing loss or being the parents of a deaf child. Hearing parents of a deaf child, for example. So I always kind of had that passion. But then the underlying component was the counseling side of things. So, long story short, I quit with 10 weeks, I think, one term left at MSU in my audiology master's program, and ran into some people. Serendipitously, that led me to the vocational rehabilitation program. That was a master's degree because an undergrad in audiology and speech is basically worthless. And I heard about this folk rehab program at msu. I was able to get into the program, get some scholarship money for it, and got the degree with that. And so I focused on hearing loss and deafness. And when I worked for the state helping people find employment, my primary caseload was hard of hearing and deaf. That connected me up to LCC. They had a really strong program for students with disabilities here. And then it also connected me with the MSU disability office as well. And so that gave me the college background. So when an opening came up here, it was a natural fit for me.

Right. It does. It sounds like, you know, it's. It's so interesting, too, because you are 10 weeks away from earning your master's in ideology.

Yes.

And you just. That see that, to me, that's an intervention. Right. Like, it was. That's like a divine intervention. That's something where, you know, whatever you believe, it's something that stops you. That for you to go into the path that you're supposed to get in or that you find enjoyment. And I mean, that's amazing because most people would have been like, oh, I only got 10 weeks left. I gotta go ahead and finish, you know, and to be able to step out on faith like that, I mean, I think that's amazing.

I honestly put up a little prayer saying, I hate this program. If you show me what to do, I'll walk through the door. I met up with a guy that told me about the VOC rehab program, and it's a really short version of it, but I've never seen him again since.

Wow. You know, that's amazing, though, to me.

And he just was a major influence on my life. I hope someday I run into him again.

Yeah. No, I think that's a great story. I love learning.

I've been blessed ever since. Cause I'm one of those lucky ones that actually has had a career in the degree that I got.

Right. Yeah, no, for over 30 years. Yeah. That's amazing. But it's not like that now everywhere. So I was gonna ask you, how did you think mental health impacts students attending college? You know, but I think you kind of covered, you know, that you could still be a good student, but you may need some support in other areas and how you roll. So I think you ain.

Well, I would like to add though that there are some students that really do struggle, especially with anxiety and depression. It interferes with their ability to study, interferes with their ability to get the work done, the homework done. And then they may not have the self confidence or they're feeling embarrassed or shamed, so they don't tell the instructor. I just was so depressed this weekend, I couldn't get my homework done. And so it does. Yes, we have students that are completely successful while they're struggling with other things, but we also have students that it does interfere. And so when I talk to students at some of our events to say, hey, you know, counseling's here, it's free. I tell them, so many of our students say they can when they start seeing a counselor, they have better focus, they have more energy, they're able to get their work done, they're able to set their academic goals. So it can be really helpful for the students that are struggling.

Yeah, I agree. I think sometimes we have stinking thinking and we need people to help challenge our thoughts. Right. What are we, you know, what's going on? Is that really what's going on? Or are we just working ourselves up into this, you know, frenzy and to have someone to bounce ideas, talk about your feelings, look at, okay, this is something that may be like clinical depression. We need to go ahead and look at other avenues to help you, but just someone to help you sort out what you're feeling. And I, that's why I think it's a great service and that people on campus, you know, our students really, really, really need to learn about it. But I also wanted to ask you, what would you like your legacy to be at lc?

I think, to be honest, the other day I was talking to one of the success coaches and she had just received her 10 year service award. And I told her I have almost 28 years in. And she says, wow, and you still love to see the students. And I tell students all the Time to come talk to you and that you still really care for the students. Even though you've been here so long, you don't seem to be burnout. And so I guess that would be one thing that I would want is that people knew and always know that I'm student driven, that I still care about the students, that it's what brings me to work every day. That just. That I still really, really care about the students. And I'm not just here, bide my time till I retire.

You know, that's so funny, because last week I had Kathy Palomino and she's a speech instructor here, and that's what she talked about. She did a TEDx talk about, you know, your passion and keep going and not waiting till you're ready to retire or not waiting till you can get off and do something else. You still have that energy and that passion. And I think that that's important because when you start to recognize that that's something that's not there, you need to do something else.

Right.

And so that's a good. You know, who. Who. I would love to have people say when I left here that, yeah, she kept working with those students. She loved working with those students to the end. Yep, that's a good legacy.

And people ask me, when are you retiring? And I'm like, well, I can in three years, but I don't know if I will.

Yeah.

And I'm not like, I don't have that clock countdown yet. It could change tomorrow, but as of today, I'm still not looking at a countdown clock.

And that's.

I still love what I do.

Yeah, I think that's great, and that's beneficial to our students. What's your favorite quality about yourself?

Ooh, I think it's that I connect with people. I like to learn about people. I like to care about people. People tell me sometimes they're surprised that I remembered certain things about them or whatever. So I think just letting people know that I care about them and that they feel valued, maybe not in every interaction with me, but in some of the interactions with me, that's probably one of the. What I feel is one of my most important qualities.

Yeah, I think it is.

Oh, thank you.

Do you have any hidden talents?

Oh, hidden talents.

Can you do the unicycle? And here's something we.

Well, not everyone now knows that I know sign language, but I couldn't be a sign language interpreter. But I can carry on a rough conversation because I did when I worked at the state. I. I Learned some sign language from my clients there that carried over to LCC. But probably one of my most worthless hidden talents is that I'm really good at jigsaw puzzles. And to the point that it annoys some of the people when I'm doing puzzles with them because.

Oh, you one of them people that can see the puzzles and pick it and put it in there. Oh, yeah.

Yes. But I'm like, yeah, it's a worthless talent. I wish I could figure out a way to make money at this, but I do enjoy it. It was one of the things I did a lot with my mom. And so, yeah, that's probably my hidden talent. Yeah.

Well, no, because that is a talent.

It is.

And you have to have patience. And there's something about being able to see how shapes fit and then different plate. You know, that's hard for me. I don't have that. And my friend, she loves puzzles. And I'll go and we sitting there talking and she's putting pieces, and if I find like two pieces in two hours, I told her I've helped with this puzzle.

Right.

So I try to take my credit where I can, but. Yeah, no, I think that that's pretty cool. I know that you have, like, hobbies, you like to travel. You've been to a lot of places, haven't you, out of the country?

Yeah, I. I was. Been really blessed. It's probably been 10 or so years now, but I got to go to places like Germany. LCC had an exchange, like a faculty exchange. So we hosted some German people here from Stuttgart, and we had like, a sister college that did similar things in Germany. Yeah.

Wow. I never knew that.

Yeah. And that was really fun. And then I got to go to Germany as part of the exchange, and we toured there, of course, what we have gm. I think we toured a Mercedes dealership there. You know, not a dealership, but a factory. And then just got to know the country and their school set up and our school, school setup. But then I also had friends that lived in Switzerland. I had a friend whose husband was working for GM in Japan, so I took advantage of visiting while they were. He had an apartment there, and then he went to Australia. And so I was able to go live with them for three weeks in their apartment, and then we traveled New Zealand together. So I've had some opportunities to do some fabulous travel internationally. And now I guess I'm ready to just maybe do some traveling around here.

You're pretty. You're pretty familiar with Michigan, though, right? Yeah. Because you go I see you travel different places around Michigan. What's your favorite spot in Michigan?

Well, I inherited my mom's place in Frankfort. So Frankfort is not Frankenmuth. A lot of people get that mixed up. Frankfurt is on the Lake Michigan shoreline. It's north of Manistee, south of Sleeping Bear dunes by about 30 minutes. So about 45 minutes to an hour to get to Traverse City. So it's a great little town I don't like to tell people about because.

Right. You don't want them over inundated.

You don't want it over inundated. But it's a city. A lot of fishing. Charter boats go out of there, great little shops. And it's so close to so many other things around there. You know, Leelanau Peninsula, you know, all those wineries up in the area.

Because that's something that's fun. Like, I got into that with a few people from LCC about the wine tasting and breweries and different places like that, and kind of getting to learn about that, so. Oh, I got another place to visit.

Yes, you do. Anytime.

Put that on my calendar. Another question. What life lessons have you learned? The hard way.

That's a tough one. So I think just ignoring my gut feelings sometimes in relationships, probably dating and marriage relationships. Learning to recognize the red flags.

Yes.

I think probably another one would be just not. It took me a long time to find my voice and defend myself. I was always more worried about upsetting people and challenging people until a therapist that I went to said, have you ever thought you might gain more respect from some people if you challenge them? And I never thought of it that way. I always thought of it as I would upset them and hurt their feelings or they wouldn't like me. And, you know, so learning those the hard way probably turned out okay anyway. But, yeah, just keeping silent when I should have spoke up, probably.

And I think that's a wonderful message. I've suffered from that myself, you know, like, not thinking I had something important to say or mine. That was my area, you know, and then realizing that I do have a voice and I represent. Represent people that may not even be in the position or place that I'm at. So I need to speak up and say something. So, yeah, I love that. So I already know this, but I'm gonna ask you, go green or go blue?

Oh, you know, I would say go green.

However.

However, the backstory is my dad was a huge Michigan fan.

Okay.

So I think the Michigan fight song was my lullaby as a baby. I Grew up watching Michigan fight. You know, my dad took me to the big house the Sunday after football game, 128. He's like, isn't this awesome? And I was probably like six and I'm like, okay. You know, it's a big empty building. But so I grew up loving Michigan football. And so when I told him I was transferring to Michigan State from Lake Superior State, you know, he wasn't horribly pleased. But he of course supported me in the long run and it became a fun family rivalry. And even though he's passed away, my mom, who's also passed away, would try to walk the middle line, but she was still secretly more of a Michigan fan. And my brother's a Michigan fan, so. But when it comes to football and those, I'm still more Spartan now because I have two degrees from there. Right?

Yeah.

But I don't tell anyone, but I will root for Michigan if they're not playing State.

Okay. No, I agree with that. I figured, like, that's the state of Michigan. I will root for him too. But that, that's interesting because I'm thinking, you know, you're just this, this die hard Michigan State fan.

Yeah.

But you have a lot of foundation of U of L. I do.

And so I always joke that I was the green sheep of the family.

Right. Yeah, you definitely, you sound like it. Because I was gonna ask you, like, how did you get interested in sports, but it sounded like your dad played a role in it.

Yes, I, I, I was the oldest in my first neighborhood, had seven boys. So I guess I was kind of always like a tomboy. But I always liked sports. My biggest thing was probably Detroit Tigers. Growing up, I loved the Tigers and I would always try to get dad to take me down to baseball games in Detroit. And I like night games and twilight or double headers. So I would always beg for the twilight double headers, which I don't, that hardly happens anymore at all. But it was a bit from Greenville. It was like a two and a half hour drive down to Detroit. So it was a big event to go. But yeah, then college football. And then when I went to Lake Superior State, hockey, ice hockey was big up there. So those are probably my three most favorite sports are like college hockey, football, Tigers. I still kind of follow. And then I also like the MSU basketball team. I like to follow them now too. So it's a lot of fun.

Well, Pam, our time is up. It's like, it went so quickly and I was like, man, I knew I was gonna have a good time talking with you. I know you're very interesting. I think what you do is important to the college, and I really appreciate you taking time today to come on Who's That Star?

Well, thank you for having me. It's been a lot of fun.

Yeah, it has been great. We may get you back if we have some special, you know, things that's going on or, you know, something we can definitely promote. We'll have you come back.

Okay.

But you guys had the pleasure today of hearing Pam Davis from our counseling department here at LCC. I think you've heard how I feel about it. So if you need some support and want to try to figure out some things, please stop by LCC Counseling and they'll be glad to help you. You've been listening to Who's That Star? I'm Lisa A. And you can listen to this episode of Who's That Star? and other shows from LCC Connect anytime online at LCCConnect.org. Thank you for listening. Catch me next time to find out Who's That Star.