Marjie Blicharz '11

An interview with Marjie

What was your hometown when you came to TCNJ?

Bayonne, NJ

Where do you currently call your hometown?

Lawrenceville, NJ

When you were studying here, where did you picture yourself after graduation?

While at TCNJ, I knew I just wanted to help people. As I went through my major, I narrowed this interest and I recognized I wanted to improve on educational systems and policies, especially for under-supported students. When I graduated TCNJ, I went right to graduate school to get my Master's in Counselor Education - Student Affairs. This counseling and student-focus lens aligned so well with my major, and gave me this micro-mezzo-macro approach to how I did my work, especially as I began to pursue opportunities in supporting college students as they faced barriers. Although I left higher education for 7 years where I worked in the non-profit setting supporting students with access to college, I knew I would find my way back to higher education.

What was your first job after graduating?

I went to Graduate School at Clemson University, where I worked as a Graduate Hall Director; first professional role was a Community Development Coordinator at the College of the Holy Cross in MA

How do you use your Sociology degree in your current career and other activities?

All the time, everyday. And this has been true since the moment I graduated. Being a Sociology major gave me the tools and just overall approach to question things, to think things through, and to look at the larger systems at play. In my current job at the Career Center, I work with students everyday who are looking ahead to their future and wondering where they fit, or how best to tell their story. With a Humanities and Social Sciences background, I love talking about the transferable skills that are in these majors, as well as the range in opportunities and occupations that can use these skills. Problem-solving, critical thinking, analyzing and synthesizing, effective communication - these were all things that I developed in class discussions, seminars, term papers, and out of classroom opportunities. When working with TCNJ students now, sometimes it is helpful to talk to someone who has that same education background who "gets it" - and then I add in the career development focus to see how these are shown on a resume, or how you can talk about your research project or internship in that interview. I would not be where I am today without my major and being able to connect with others meaningfully. I am also currently getting my PhD in Education and the research tools, academic writing, and acknowledgment of social systems is so important in the courses that I take now, and this education from TCNJ really supported me when I started this degree, and still serves as the foundation for the work and research I am doing now.

What is your favorite "major memory" from your time as a Sociology student?

What a question! Anything that was 'research' related. I am having a flashback to the night before "Paper B" was due for Dr. Bates' Quantitative Research Methods courses, and our entire class was working independently in one of the computer labs. We all had different projects and were running analyses and I felt like that was the first time I understood what community and collaborative learning was. I also had a chance to work with Dr. Borland with one of her research projects with a group of 5 others; this was my first opportunity working with qualitative research and coding through Atlas.Ti - I loved it. I never thought building categories and finding themes could be so much fun. Both of these memories definitely lay a foundation for where I am now.

What is some advice you would give to your undergraduate self?

Embrace the learning. There will never be another time in your life where you get to figure out who you are and have so many opportunities, support, and resources right there. Ask questions. Connect with faculty and staff and build those relationships. I still have countless connections to individuals who were there for me as a student- many of them are my colleagues now! Also, don't take yourself so seriously - enjoy these 4 years!

Is there anything else you would like to add?

There is not one "right" path to do the work that you want to do. I technically have changed careers two, three times, yet they were all connected in different ways or with similar goals - supporting college students. Also, the experiences I gained from TCNJ really allowed me to showcase how I could benefit that company or organization. No path is linear and I am grateful for all of the academic and professional experiences that I have had, because they got me to where I am now. A large piece of this is building your team and your community, whether it is those mentors, supervisors, and advisors who connect you with opportunities, or who just support you when you have questions or are unsure. Some might call it networking; I like to think of it as finding your team and those individuals who will support and even challenge you in different ways along the journey.