Chris McCarthy

Name:

Chris McCarthy

Job Title:

College Adviser

Joined the L&S Office of Undergraduate Advising in:

March 1988

What is your approach to advising?

I love my work as an L&S adviser because it offers an ideal mix of helping students figure out what they want to get out of their education at Berkeley, giving them practical information and advice, giving them referrals to other people and offices on campus, and providing them with emotional support when that is called for.

Education:

M.A. in Counseling, Sonoma State Univ., 1976
elementary teaching credential, UCB, 1971
B.A. in English, UCB, 1970.

How did you get here?

I had a number of jobs working with students at UCB and other colleges and universities before I started working in L&S.

What's your favorite part of your job?

Advising students (much more enjoyable than doing paperwork!).

Most unusual job you ever had:

Driving an ancient blue Chevy pickup truck while working at a girls' summer camp.

What's the best class you've ever taken?

English 125D, "The Modern Novel," taught by an excellent professor who has since passed away: Prof. Parkinson.

About me:

I continue to have a strong interest in many of the things in which I got an academic foundation as a Berkeley student, including literature, psychology, art history, movies, and many kinds of music. I also learned a lot outside the classroom about social justice movements and student activism, and I treasure that part of my undergrad experience at Berkeley, too.

What advice do you have for L&S students in general?

Where to begin? A few suggestions:

Get in the habit of going to office hours with your professors and GSIs.

Consider going on the UC Education Abroad Program. My son went to Chile and my daughter went to Ireland, and both of them loved EAP.

Keep things in perspective.

Have fun!