Brandi Smith (foods and nutrition '00) found out that someone else's problem drinking could land her in legal trouble. Rand Cournow (business '00) learned to use relaxation techniques to cope with college life. And Jennifer Evans (community health education '97) is well on the way in her job search, thanks to the university's Career Services Office.

These students all took advantage of optional, non-credit programs offered through the Student Affairs division to ensure that Virginia Tech students prepare not just for a career, but also for real life. Programs like getting along with a roommate, stress reduction, and contraception are just a few of the more than 100 topics university personnel present each semester.

At a recent presentation for athletes, Student Health Services' health educator Carolyn Penn handed each participant a list of consequences of binge drinking. They ranged from "cleaning a drunk student's vomit out of your car" and "arrested for underage drinking with fake ID" to "having unprotected sex" and "developing alcoholism." Working in groups, the students had to select the two consequences with which they could most easily live.

"I don't want to deal with any of these," one student protested.

The consequences weren't pleasant, Penn agreed, but they occur all too frequently among college students. For example, no one ever chooses "having unprotected sex" as a consequence they could live with, she said, but they must be making a choice that leads to that consequence because the university's HIV testing clinic is filled with anxious students who had unprotected sex.

All of the groups at the recent presentation chose "having to baby-sit a drunk student" over getting a formal reprimand from school for abusing alcohol.

"So, you don't think it's so bad baby-sitting a drunk student? What can happen when you're taking care of someone who's drunk?" Penn asked.

"It could give us something to laugh about all week," one young man said.

"Sometimes it's not funny," Penn replied. When she pressed the group for the worst possible scenario, one student said, "They could pass out." Another added, "Or they could die."

If the person they were baby-sitting died of alcohol poisoning and the sitter had not summoned help, the sitter could feel responsible for the death.

"I know now that I would never baby-sit a drunk," first-year student Smith says. "I'd call for help, even though it might get the person in trouble if he or she is underage or on an athletic scholarship."

One group selected being arrested for underage drinking with a fake ID as a consequence they could live with. Penn told them that the local judge takes this "crime of moral turpitude" very seriously. "You are talking about a $1000 fine or maybe jail if you're caught drinking with a fake ID," she said.

Penn's no-nonsense talk upset the students at times. She referred to the designated driver program as a form of "enabling " because it gives a mixed message that it's okay to get drunk as long as you don't drive. "Getting drunk is always high risk. Certainly we don't want someone who has been drinking to drive, but you are assuming a greater responsibility than getting these people safely to their destinations," she said.

Binge drinking, she told them, is defined as five or more drinks for a man and four or more for a woman at one sitting. Research indicates that drinking that is less likely to cause health problems is no more than one drink a day for most women and two for most men.

A recent survey indicates that more and more college students are choosing not to drink. But of those who do drink, more are choosing to binge drink, she says. Friends are often the first line of assistance.

Alcohol-abuse education is one of many programs Student Health Services puts on each semester. Penn and her staff present programs on cancer awareness, contraception, tobacco, drug abuse, and many other subjects in classes, residence halls, and at meetings of student organizations.

Nakeina Douglas (political science and sociology '98) invited Penn to present a program on contraception and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) for Lee Hall, where she is a resident advisor.

Penn began by having the students do a "knowledge hunt" about contraception. They had to find someone else who knew answers to questions such as "What type of contraception is 100 percent effective?" (abstinence) or "What types of contraception also can prevent STDs?" (condoms used with spermicide).

Penn's programs appeal, Douglas says, because they involve the audience and make even delicate subject matter easier to discuss. "Students said they learned things they didn't know before," she says.

Despite common perceptions that college students know everything about sex, a 1992 report by the Sex Information and Education Council of the U.S. reported that only 10 percent of U.S. students receive comprehensive sexuality education.

"I would have been lost without Career Services," senior Evans says. Over the course of a year, she met individually with counselors five times. In one session, she put together a resume. In others, she learned how to present herself in letters to prospective employers and how to be successful in job interviews.

"I don't have a job yet," Evans says, "but I know what I need to do to get the job I want."

Evans attended a Career Services program, "Getting Started on Your Job Search." Career counselor Kimberly Ware led the group through fine-tuning their resumes, preparing for interviews, contacting prospective employers, and gave specific tips on how to impress employers.

"Keep a tablet and pen in your portfolio, and use them to take notes during the interview," she said. "That way, when you do your follow-up call or letter, you can mention specific things that impressed you."

Ware offered students who had several unsuccessful interviews the opportunity to be videotaped during a staged interview and reviewed by career counselors.

In addition to helping students in the office on a walk-in or appointment basis, Career Services presents programs for clubs, student organizations, and classes. The office also offers a candidate referral service, a data base of alumni willing to give career advice, career fairs, on-campus interviews, and online resume posting.

Last fall, Career Services provided some type of assistance to nearly 25,000 students, including setting up nearly 15,000 job interviews.

This type of help doesn't come cheap in the real world. According to Career Services Director Jim Malone, employment agencies typically charge about one-third of the first year's salary for helping someone find a job using the same methods Career Services provides students at no charge -- such as setting up interviews, providing information about employers, holding mock interview sessions, and critiquing resumes. Since the average starting salary for Virginia Tech graduates last year was $26,240, that would mean a fee of nearly $9,000.

First-year student Cournow had been using relaxation techniques to prepare for swim meets since high school. But after attending a stress reduction class led by Brian Warren, director of the university Student Health Service and Counseling Center, the freshman began practicing these techniques to deal with the stress of campus life. "It really works," Cournow says.

Cournow sometimes uses "quick" relaxation techniques to prepare for tests. "Even if I really know the information, I can freeze up if I'm worried about how I'm going to do," he says. "But if I take a few minutes to do relaxation, I'm able to focus better and to remember what I've studied."

Warren and his staff also present programs on study skills, test anxiety, and understanding your personality. He told the students that the relaxation program is an introduction to more in-depth services the health and counseling center offer, including self-hypnosis, how to study, and time management.

"Getting through college is difficult even under the best of circumstances," Warren says. "We're available to help with everyday issues like stress or roommate problems as well as with serious problems like depression or eating disorders."

Vice President for Student Affairs Landrum Cross believes learning how to live is just as important for Virginia Tech students as learning how to make a living.

That's why the Division of Student Affairs offers programs and services designed to complement the academic component of students' education. "We try not only to enhance the quality of life our students experience while they're in college, but also to provide tools they can use for the rest of their lives," Cross says.

The overall aim, Cross says, is to foster student development -- as leaders in their fields, as citizens in their communities, as members of their families, and as residents of an increasingly diverse world.

"When our students leave this university to join the work force," Cross says, "we want them to have developed their full potential not only as career people but also as human beings."

SIDEBAR

Interviewing -- it's all about eating

by Laura Rosback '97

Julienne vegetable consomme, mixed greens salad, chocolate mousse, and roast chicken breast coated with walnuts and finished with raspberry sauce. The menu for "Interviewing Over Dinner: Rare, Medium or Well-Done?" was enough to make anyone's mouth water. The program on dinner etiquette was sponsored by Virginia Tech's Career Services and Signet Bank, and led by Laura Worley (marketing '91) former assistant director for marketing and conference services in Residential and Dining Programs.

I have never had a proper etiquette class, although I picked up some of the basics in high school while working for the catering department of a local college. Yet I found there were still important things I didn't know.

I shared the etiquette-class experience with about 60 fellow students who seemed just as uptight waiting in the lounge as they would before a real job interview. Our four-course meal/etiquette lesson was divided into four sections: meeting, seating, and greeting; ordering, table topics, and body language; forks, knives, and; and getting down to the meat of things. The last topic dealt with how to handle dining disasters.

One of the areas covered was sipping soup. Although some may think sipping soup out of the side of the bowl is a sign of satisfaction, it is really just a way to embarrass yourself and your potential employers. You should dip your spoon in sideways and bring it out of the back of the bowl toward you, at least in this country. In some cultures sipping directly from a bowl is an expected sign of courtesy, so do your homework before interviewing with a foreign company.

Another useful tip was how to handle cherry tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes are cute, but tough little fellows. They are small enough to pop in your mouth in one fell swoop, yet hard to bite into once there. So while you are demurely trying to get that tomato chewed, your hosts are probably laughing inside. I wouldn't suggest popping whole cherry tomatoes during an interview. Instead, prick your tomato with your fork, so the air can escape. Then cut your tomato into smaller bites.

Then there is the dilemma of that gravy that was so good you can't bear the thought of letting it sit on your plate. Your dinner roll is not the answer. Just grin and let it sit. Habits that you employ in front of friends sometimes shouldn't be displayed before potential employers.

Some things I picked up in this class aren't common knowledge in today's college set. For example, "double dipping" is a big no-no. It's simply not hygienic to dip your chip, bite it, and dip it again. Worley got this across to us by showing a clip from "Seinfeld" in which George was caught double dipping at a social function.

Learning the correct way to eat before those you are trying to impress is fun but a tad stressful. I feel prepared for anything now. Four Seasons, here I come!

Laura Rosback (communication studies '97) was an editorial intern for the Virginia Tech Magazine.

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