Growing up in the Bahamas, Student Employee of the Year Ethan Bain wanted to attend college in a place that felt like home. At College of Charleston, he found just that. Along with the beautiful subtropical campus and moderate class size, Ethan found his niche as he chose his major.

Freshman year was challenging for Ethan as he adjusted to life in college. He found himself only going to class and then going straight home to study, which made it difficult to make friends. He changed his major multiple times before landing on economics with a minor in business administration and data science. Once he found the right fit with his major, things started falling into place. Classes became truly engaging for him, he was able to start making connections with friends, and he landed a job as a Peer Advisor in the Academic Advising and Planning Center. Through this position, Ethan has been able to help students going through the exact same thing he experienced as he changed his major.

In Ethan’s student employee position, he meets with students individually to answer questions related to academics and walks them through how to make decisions.

“Often times, students come in with a lot of stuff going on, and they worry about classes. After they come in and have the meeting, you can visibly see a weight lifted off their shoulders. It makes me happy to know I’m helping them achieve their goals.”

Ethan excelled in this position and became the recipient of the 2020 Student Employee of the Year award! Ethan practiced and honed his skillset to help him succeed in this position, and says:

“Put others before yourself. When you’re working, especially in my position working with a team, it’s not so much about you; it’s about what’s important for the entire team. Don’t be afraid to voice your own opinion because it is important to have your voice heard, but you should make decisions ultimately to benefit to the team.”

Ethan takes his role seriously and has grown to understand the significance that student employees have at the College.

“We take a tremendous load off the professional advisors which gives them the opportunity to see more students. I also work in the Center for Student Learning, and in that role, we meet with students and help them have a better outcome in their class. Their grade in that class may determine if they get to keep their scholarship or not. I know how important that is.”

Not only does Ethan’s role as a student employee allow him to help others, but it is also preparing him for his career aspirations to go into economic and policy research in order to advise governments on monetary policy. He hopes to apply his advising skills on a larger scale by advising governments. Finding the right fit for his major has led him to succeed at CofC and has prepared him to enter a profession he is excited about.

 

-Camille Hamrick, Career Counselor