Dreams are worth working for: a CEHD advisor's first-gen story
Andrea Bau (MA ’16, Higher Education and Student Affairs), came to WMU in 1989 from Port Huron, Michigan. She was not a big fan of winter and faced with the choice between going up to the UP for school, or over to Southwest Michigan, she thought it would be wise to choose the southern option! She majored in Tourism and Travel with a Business Management minor and got a job as the Tourist Information Manager for the Kalamazoo County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (Now Discover Kalamazoo), which she held for two years before becoming a Sales Manager for the same organization for twelve years. And, she was the first in her family to attend college.
“My mom was over the moon for me to attend college,” shared Bau. “We were very poor and even more so when my father abandoned the family. Yet, my mom always talked about how I could do anything with an education and only talked with me about my future as if college would surely be a part of it.” A few times, she overheard friends and family ask her mom why she talked so much about sending Bau to college when her mom knew she couldn’t afford it. To which she would always reply, “We will find a way!”
Bau’s mother was an instructor of cosmetology, which did not require a Bachelor’s degree at the time, and her dad was a factory worker and a truck driver. To help pay for school, Bau took advantage of Federal financial aid, the Pell Grant, taking out loans, and worked to help earn money.
After working with the Kalamazoo County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, she spent five years owning and operating an independent web-design and event planning business called A-List Event Planners. Seeking a more regular and routine work schedule, Bau returned to Western Michigan University *(WMU) in 2011 working as an Administrative Assistant in the Office of Teacher Certification, and became an Academic Advisor for the College of Education and Human Development in 2015. While working as an Academic Advisor, Bau decided to go back to school for a Master’s degree in Higher Education and Student in Affairs. She wanted to increase her ability to advance at work and wanted to show her kids that dreams are worth working for! She graduated in 2016 and got promoted to the Senior Academic Advisor position she still holds today.
As an Academic Advisor, Bau can relate to the experiences students share with her because she remembers what it felt like to be in a new environment and be unfamiliar with how to navigate everything. When she was in school as an undergraduate, she couldn’t even call or text home to try and get help!
Bau believes that WMU is an ideal institution of higher learning for first-generation college students. “We have a lot of staff members that were also first-generation students. We offer a lot of resources for all students, and we have a desire to welcome all students in and aim to support their success to graduation,” she explained. She and her colleagues are here to support all students, first-generation college students and otherwise, as they work their way towards making their own dreams a reality.
Bau will be leaving WMU at the end of the semester to begin a new journey in Florida. CEHD and WMU will miss her greatly. We, along with all of her students are forever grateful.