Michael Bourgeois
Name:
Michael Bourgeois
MSU Degrees:
BA in English and BA in History, 2022
MS in Educational Leadership, Student Affairs, and Higher Education, 2024
Any other degrees:
I intend to start a PhD program in Fall 2025 in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Oklahoma State; I am hoping to graduate in May 2029.
Favorite memories of being an undergraduate English major:
The professors and the skills I have gained as a writer. Being an English major at MSU will provide you the opportunities to obtain critical feedback for your work and put you in a position where you are forced to advance your skills. Being an English major at MSU made me a better writer, and that is a skill that is applicable regardless of career field.
Current Position:
Coordinator for Student Conduct
Organization:
Oklahoma State University
When you graduated with a degree in English from MSU, what were your plans for your future? Has your career path mostly realized those early plans, or have you discovered new plans and goals along the way?
Entering the English program at MSU, I had no idea what I was going to do post-college. My dream career was to be a novelist, but the first step to becoming an adult was to make peace with reality. Part of me wanted to go to graduate school for English and be a high school English teacher or even a professor at a university. I also considered being a journalist for a major paper, as I found a passion for political writing as an Op-Ed columnist for The Reflector. Part of me even considered Law School where I thought I could become a career prosecutor. Within my second year in the program, I began to consider Higher Education Administration and I thought that ending up in the Student Conduct Office was the best choice for my skillset.
What is your current occupation, and what does your work mostly consist of?
I work as a Coordinator for Student Conduct at Oklahoma State University. In my role, most of my time consists of meeting with students and ensuring a culture of accountability on OSU’s campus. I look at the Code of Student Conduct, determine if a violation occurred, and recommend appropriate sanctions for the purpose of education. I also investigate higher order instances of misconduct including organizational misconduct (including hazing) and sexual violence. I also work closely with the sexual violence prevention arm of the office and work to create a culture of consent on OSU’s campus. I also do presentations for students, student groups, ad staff members to educate on the Code of Conduct campus wide. I also do some compliance writing, for instance I drafted OSU’s 2022-2024 Biennial Review to comply with the Drug Free Schools and Community Act. Lastly I work with my team members to revise our policies and processes to be as fair and equitable as possible.
Which skills that you learned as an English major do you use most in your job?
My writing and researching skills: a lot of my work requires quick thinking and concise and accurate report writing, these are skills that I use daily that I learned in the English program. In addition, I collaborate with campus partners and that requires communication skills and a willingness to reach out. As an English major I was forced to collaborate with my classmates and exchange ideas on ambiguous topics.
What additional skills did you need to learn in order to do your job, and how did you learn them?
My reading material is certainly less creative and more legal/compliance focused. As a result, I had to change my way of thinking to consider alternative interpretations of the material and instead focus on the words on the page. In addition, I had to change the questions I was asking as an investigator. Instead of trying to determine what the author meant in the text, I needed to learn what occurred in the instance being investigated.
Are there common misconceptions about your career field, which current English majors might share, that you have learned the truth about?
I would say that a Conduct Officer isn’t usually the product of an English degree, but you learn so many academic soft skills that are applicable in my work as an administrator.
In what ways does your career enrich your life and help you to achieve your personal as well as your professional goals?
I am hoping to become a Vice President of Student Affairs one day to advocate for the needs of students, so the work I do holding students accountable puts me on the right track to being successful in this field. I find satisfaction in students who ended up on the wrong path and in the conduct office being retained and then graduating to make a better life for themselves. I am hoping to prove myself as a coordinator, so I can seek out more responsibility as well as the ability to impact the culture of a university.
What advice do you have for undergraduate English majors right now who might want to follow the career path you did?
Lean into the practical skills you are acquiring in your program and focus on what you can do as opposed to what you are reading. You are being constantly developed as a writer by going through the program and learning how to analyze historic works to become a better reader. Participating in discussion forces you to construct well-reasoned arguments with intelligent peers, which is an applicable skill regardless of field. Focus on what aspects of the program you enjoy the most and see if you can make a career out of that aspect.
[Updated August 2024]