Power
"If Tommy jumped off of a bridge, would you jump off, too?" As a permanent campus parent of sorts, the Dean of Students must invoke this age-old nugget of parental caution. While he or she probably would not ask this eye-roll inducing question during a counseling session, the goal is the same—help students develop good judgment, make wise decisions, and become productive and socially engaged contributors to the world.
As parents, teachers, and administrators know: If they can have a positive and long-lasting influence on anyone between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two, then they have wielded some serious power. Think of something life-changing that a teacher or administrator said to you during your academic journey. That's power.