Finding her place

Amanda Burris arrived at Kansas State University’s Counseling and Student Development PhD program with a clear sense of purpose, helping students and interests that spanned higher education, but without a definitive road map for getting there. Rather than seeing that ambiguity as a weakness, she leaned into the people and opportunities around her to find her way.

Burris was no stranger to the higher ed environment. During her time at Fort Hays State University, Burris built connections through the many student organizations she was involved in. From the student alumni association, student government association, and president of the communications club, her interest in student life during her time at Fort Hays State gave her an understanding that there is so much to a student’s higher education experience that happens outside the classroom. After earning both her undergraduate and master’s degrees in communication studies from Fort Hays State University, Burris stayed on as an instructor.

Recognizing her interest in student life and her desire to build a career in academia, but not necessarily on the tenured faculty track, Burris began looking into what might be next. Her mentor at Fort Hays was heavily involved with the NACADA program, based at Kansas State University, and nudged Burris to check out the student affairs program. Burris made the trip to Manhattan to learn more. A few conversations later, she applied and was admitted to the doctoral program.

As Burris joined the program, she realized that she was pursuing her degree at a much faster pace than her peers. That left her feeling disconnected from the rhythm of campus life. Her major professor, Linda Thurston, encouraged Burris to get involved with the Graduate Student Council (GSC), and it turned out to be exactly what she needed.

Burris didn’t ease in slowly. She went from chairing the professional development committee to president-elect to president. The GSC gave her something that can be hard to find in doctoral programs: a genuine community of peers across disciplines, all navigating the same demanding stretch of life.

“I think especially when you are working on your PhD, you are so focused on what you are doing,” she reflected. “Having a group of people who are in this same place as you doing this same really hard thing in life, but that you never would have met otherwise, that was such a great place to make connections and learn about different fields of study.”

That spirit of connecting beyond her own department shaped not just her graduate experience, but the direction of her career. As she neared the end of her program, Burris applied for jobs across the country. Graduate school, for her, was always meant to be a launch pad. She just didn’t know where it would send her.

That launch point turned out to be a small but well-connected organization based right on the Kansas State University campus, the Innovative Digital Education Alliance (IDEA). IDEA is a consortium of 19 institutions across the United States offering fully online degrees in human science and agriculture, allowing schools to pool resources to offer full programs they wouldn’t have had the capacity to offer alone. With the support and encouragement from friends and mentors, Burris took the job and didn’t look back.

Ten years later, Burris’s role has evolved and grown along with the alliance. Today, Burris heads up the data collection and distribution, student services, orientation, and works closely with the board of directors and CEO. The graduate coursework that once felt abstract gave Burris a better understanding of institutional decision-making and the complex responsibilities administrators balance every day.

Manhattan also grew on Burris in ways she didn’t anticipate. “I never expected to love the town so much and feel so at home here.” She has remained involved with the university and the community by volunteering with various organizations. Her number one piece of advice to current graduate students is to “get involved and be willing to step outside your department to broaden your experience and connections.” For Burris, that willingness made all the difference.