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David M. Sayrs
Assistant Director, Advising Policy and Procedures
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Hi, I'm Dave Sayrs. I grew up in Eastern Washington and went to Odessa High School. Like many students I went straight on to college after high school without really thinking about it; that's just what comes next, right? I went to Gonzaga University (before they were a basketball powerhouse--great rugby teams, though!).
My path to a major and plans for a career had some twists and turns, like many of yours probably did or will. I started at Gonzaga with the intention of majoring in Chemistry; I loved CHEM in high school. So I took CHEM my first semester at Gonzaga...and realized I didn't really like it anymore.
I found my first love elsewhere in my first semester: History. It was the greatest! I was sure I was going to major in History until the second semester of my freshman year when I discovered the next class I needed was an 8:00 class.
So much for History.
My next love--the one that lasted--came in my sophomore year when I took Introduction to Psychology. Within a semester I had declared Psychology as my major and was on my way.
At that time I was thinking I might like to go to law school after graduation, so I added a minor in Criminal Justice. I didn't know that I didn't need a minor in Criminal Justice to go to law school, but it was interesting anyway so I don't regret it.
Sometime in my sophomore year I was in an English literature class; in fact, it was in that class that I met my best friend to this day. He was majoring in English, so I thought I'd major in it too so we could take classes together. Good a reason as any! Now I had two majors and a minor.
Alas, it was not to be. I took the Shakespeare class and it was terrible. I ended up dropping the class--which was devastating, by the way--and since it was required for the English major I decided to drop the major, too. At that point I upped my Criminal Justice minor to a major and pursued the double major in Psychology and Criminal Justice. As it turned out, this was what I ended up graduating with, but my story's not over yet!
I did my best to do out of classroom experiences to find out more about these disciplines and related careers. I took a seminar that was taught by a judge, and the class was held in his courtroom. I also did an internship in the public defenders office; my job was to go to the Spokane County Jail and do the first interview with the new clients. It was interesting--and sometimes frightening!--but this experience led me to the decision to no longer pursue law school.
Meanwhile, I delved more deeply in the field of Psychology. I worked with a professor on her research into a particular protocol for interviewing abused children. I did an internship and later had a part-time job at Child Protective Services, working with children in foster care. I also took some of my own research from a PSYCH class--in the form of a poster presentation--to the Western Psychological Association conference. All of this, combined with lots more PSYCH coursework, led me to the desire to work in social services in some capacity.
All this I figured out sometime late in my senior year. From all sides came the dreaded question: "What are you going to do after you graduate?" I hastily put together an application to the Counseling Psychology master's degree program at Gonzaga, and was just as hastily denied. I was crushed. In retrospect, of course it was the right decision on their part not to accept me. I was not prepared for graduate school. I needed something else.
I ended up spending a year in Spokane working in the community with adults with developmental disabilities. It was good work, but I realized that while I could help my clients in the short-term, day-to-day, I wasn't in a position to be able to help long-term, big picture. About that same time I noticed something else strange: whenever someone would tell me something I didn't know, I got really excited. I realized that I missed learning! I'd been in school non-stop since I was 5 and didn't really appreciate just how cool it was to learn stuff. I would need more education.
I worked with my undergraduate adviser and mentor at Gonzaga to find the graduate programs that made sense for me and my interests. I ended up going to the University of Nevada-Reno and earning my Ph.D. in Psychology, specializing in Behavior Analysis. Over the course of that program I had opportunities to work in elementary education settings, business settings, state hospital settings, and at the UNR Psychology Department itself--as the undergraduate adviser! I absolutely loved it, and realized I had found my calling. After graduation I sought jobs in the field of academic advising and, after landing my first professional gig at Pierce College-Ft. Steilacoom in 1999, came to the UW in 2000.
And I've been here ever since.
Whew!
But enough about me. Come on in and chat with me about your plans, hopes, mistakes, and redirects. May your path be as twisty--and ultimately as fulfilling--as mine!
