Anne Crossman is a co-author of Getting the Best Out of College: A Professor, a Dean, and a Student Tell You How to Maximize Your Experience, published by Ten Speed Press in 2008.
After teaching English in public high schools and military barracks for five years, she is taking time off from her day job to publish a poetry memoir on Alzheimer's (Trying to Remember) and a humorous educational series addressing life as a high school student.
Anne studied at both Stanford and Duke Universities, earning a BA in English and a Certificate of Education, and currently lives with her husband and sons in Seattle, WA.
What led you to write Getting the Best Out of College?
The short story is that Peter and Sue were actually the ones who came up with the idea to write Getting the Best Out of College. After discussing it with each other for ten years at chance meetings on campus or at the gym, they were kind enough to invite me to join them on the project to help get it from outline to bookstore. The slightly longer bit of the story is that Peter was one of my husband's professors and mentors in college and had read many of my newsletters about our travels in Asia while we lived overseas. On a visit back to the states, Peter mentioned to my husband over coffee that he liked my writing style and that he and Sue were looking for a co-author with a student perspective ... would I be interested? Of course, I was thrilled. In a way, getting the opportunity to write this book was a prime example of one of our key points in the book -- it's worth getting to know your professors and developing a relationship with them past graduation.
Can you tell us a little about your coauthors? How did you meet them?
It has been a pleasure to write this book with Peter and Sue. We each brought distinct skills to the table, which made for some really nice give and take as we went through the process. Peter has a very impressive list of accomplishments (among which are working in the White House for both the Clinton and Bush administrations) but he is the most down-to-earth, approachable man you'd ever want to meet. Peter has some great stories about odd places he has been while editing Getting the Best Out of College (such as in a military plane flying over a war zone in the middle east at midnight) that make my job seem easy.
Sue is affectionately known as "Dean Sue" and she has spent the last 28 years genuinely interested and involved in student happenings on campus. To her credit, she told me once that in the last 35 years she has only missed two home football games. Think about that one for a moment. Even if you don't keep track of college football, you probably know that up until 2008 Duke has had a horrific record of loses for many many seasons -- that she has attended those games so faithfully says a lot about her character. It's no mistake that both Peter and Sue ended up writing a book like Getting the Best Out of College -- they have both gone out of their way on countless occasions to help students reach their maximum potential.What do you think is the biggest mistake students make that prevents them from getting the best out of college?
I think the biggest mistake we make as students is a failure to plan. Oh, we think we're planning ... but, because we don't have a deep understanding of how the collegiate system and our career paths work, we don't plan all that effectively. It's the main reason why we don't realize that we're doing anything wrong until after we've graduated and there is no way to go back for a do-over. Could I offer up a bold bit of advice? Read this book. Seriously. Given the cost of tuition, you (speaking to the student here) cannot afford NOT to read it. If you aren't able to fork out the $14 for your own copy, just drop on by your local library. It's not that I'm trying to make bank for an early retirement (little known fact: an author's cut is generally about a buck per book ... since we have three authors for this book, you can see why I'm saying that this is for your benefit and notsomuch mine...). Getting the Best Out of College makes the collegiate system accessible and success attainable for any student at any college in the U.S.
What is the most important thing students need to know before starting their first year?
Aim high. Students often enter college with great momentum coming out of high school ... and then coast for the next four years. It's too bad, really, because those the undergraduate years are over faster than any of us dream possible, and there are no do-overs. Being a good student isn't enough in this game -- and I wish that was something someone had told me when I was a freshman. I did fairly well as a student, even graduating with honors, but definitely did not get the best out of Stanford or Duke. I aimed high in my academics and I aimed high in my personal life, but I missed out on so much more that both campuses had to offer. So, my advice to incoming freshmen (and even upperclassmen) would be to read Getting the Best Out of College ... see what the possibilities are ... and, when you make your plan, aim high.
Similarly, what is the most important thing students need to know or do before graduating?
As is true of life, college revolves around relationships. And, I don't mean networking ... that's a superficial version of being relational that has its place elsewhere in the world. I'm talking about stepping outside of your comfort zone to hang out with profs at office hours, getting to know people with "weird" interests (i.e., anyone different from you), and getting involved within the machinery of the campus so that you can see a bit of life from the other side of things. If you spend the next four years fostering genuine relationships with professors, administrators, and peers, you will graduate with a diploma and something far greater.
For more information about the book or Ms. Crossman herself, visit the Getting the Best Out of College website.
To contact Anne directly, visit her website.
