Registrar's Staffer Displays Grace Under Fire

By Shanicka Ball

            Do you think that you could efficiently complete your job if you had to deal with thousands of different personalities and attitudes on a day-to-day basis?

            Well, this is what Crystal L. Brown has to do as a part of the Bowie State University's Registrar Office's staff.  Brown must accommodate the countless number of students, faculty, staff, and parents that contact her every day. Regardless of what she feels like, she must set that aside and ensure that the students, faculty, staff, and parents get what it is that they are asking for; this must also be done in an expeditious manner.

            How long would you be able to put up with that kind of hassle?

            Brown has been a member of the staff at BSU for three years and six months.  Before becoming a member of the Bowie State staff, Brown was always working to help the public in one way or another. 

She has a love for young people and their well being.  That is one reason why she decided to become a part of this university.  Brown says the reason she took her job in the Registrar's Office was because she wanted to aid in the well being of the students. 

            Along with having to keep a positive attitude towards her job, Brown has a plethora of other duties as a member of the Registrar's staff.   Among her many duties, Brown holds the responsibility of handling the order and production of transcripts, verifications, and the budget.  She also assists faculty and students with the university's operation system, PeopleSoft.

            Brown processes continuing-education applications for persons who have decided to carry on with their higher level education ventures.  She answers the telephones.  She maintains the office equipment; she orders supplies and maintains the Registrar's Office as a whole.

            Her ultimate goal is to assist the Bowie State community in any way possible.

There are certain aspects of Brown's job that she enjoys.  She enjoys helping the Bowie State community. She also thoroughly enjoys witnessing the hard work, dedication, commitment, and perseverance of the students of the university and seeing them walk across the graduation stage and begin the next chapters of their lives. 

            At the graduation stage of the students' lives there is so much potential, and for most of the students, they will be provided the opportunities to fulfill that potential.  It is satisfying to her seeing the students that have been coming into the Registrar's Office for so long now step foot into the world where they will be granted the chance to make something great of themselves. 

            Just as there are ups to the job that Brown has, the job also has its challenges.  The biggest challenge for Brown is dealing with the different personalities of the Bowie State students.  Even though every Bowie State student's goal is to obtain a degree, whether it is a bachelor's, master's or doctorate, the students still have different ways of going about achieving that goal. 

            Dealing with the various attitudes and personalities of the students comes with assisting the BSU community in any way possible.  Another challenge for Brown is changing the way people think about the Registrar's Office.  Apparently, there has been some type of misconception of what the Registrar's Office is about, so Brown has made it her duty to try her best to change the perception of the office. 

            Above all, the part of Brown's job that makes her the proudest is helping out a distressed student.  There has to be some contentment and fulfillment in knowing that you were able to turn a negative situation into a positive one for a student that may have been feeling as though nothing else was possible.  To some people transcripts and schedules are not important, but to others those things determine the future of their college careers.

            After everyone is helped and the office is closed, Brown lives her life outside Bowie State.  She is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree at the University of Maryland. 

            She also has aspirations and goals.  Her goals are to finish her time at UMD and obtain her degree; then, she wants to pursue her life dreams. 

            Brown is extraordinary because while she is working full-time and pursuing her education part-time she is a single mother.  She still finds the time to spend with her child.  That is what some people would call a "superwoman."