Charlotte Scott, an alumna from College Student Services Administration program, will become a student care case manager for OSU-Cascades in summer 2025
Charlotte Scott
By Jessica Florescu, CLA Student Writer - May 21, 2025
Charlotte Scott, M.Ed. ‘21, grew up on college campuses; her parents were part of the faculty and academic advising team at Washington State University and the University of Washington. Because of her familiarity with universities at a young age, Scott knew she not only wanted to attend college, but also pursue a career at one. After graduating from the College of Liberal Arts’ College Student Services Administration (CSSA) program, Scott now helps college students navigate their own personal and academic challenges as a case manager at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Starting summer 2025, Scott will be moving to Bend to become a student care case manager at OSU-Cascades.
“I knew that college would be my next step for education, and I attended a high school that specifically prepared students for college,” said Scott. “My parents both went to Oregon State and encouraged higher education, but they didn’t view it as the only way to achieve success in life.”
After considering Oregon State, the University of Washington, and other Pacific Northwest universities, Scott pursued her undergraduate education in Spanish at Whitman.
“Looking back,” Scott explained, “some of my favorite memories were just the traditions that took place on campus. Every year, Whitman hosts a scavenger hunt for rubber ducks around campus, outdoor movies throughout the school year, and more. They were silly events, but it was such a fun way to connect with other students.”
Despite going to a college preparatory high school, Scott still struggled with her transition to college, because she no longer had the same structured environment as before.
She explained, “the change from attending five to six classes per day alongside extracurriculars, to having hours of unstructured time to fill was challenging for me. Although I was in good academic standing, I struggled to build a support system for myself at first, but by sophomore year, I was able to figure out how I learned best personally.”
In addition to academics, Scott played tennis for Whitman and traveled across the country for matches; however, playing for an NCAA team was very different from high school sports.
“College was more competitive and required a greater time commitment,” Scott explained. “During the spring season, we practiced two to three hours everyday. On top of that, we also gave up entire weekends for matches and traveling, but it was a great opportunity overall, and taught me more about leadership within communities.”
Scott’s major in Spanish led her to study abroad in Spain and then, after graduating from Whitman, she moved back to Mazarrón for two years, working as an English language assistant at a public elementary school. Scott loved her time working with students in Spain, which pushed her more towards exploring higher education.
“In Spain, I was the international visitor that had to adjust to a new educational system. The enriching personal experience that I gained through that opportunity guided me towards my current career.”
Scott spent five years working in residential life at a boarding school in the Seattle area before deciding to become a student again herself. Choosing the CSSA program at the School of Language, Culture, and Society, Scott joined a small cohort of multidisciplinary graduate students looking to learn new approaches to student development, success, and leadership.
Scott also received a graduate assistantship and the opportunity to apply her student services skills as an advisor for World Languages and Cultures and the Outdoor School’s Juntos program, which is a college readiness program for Latinx families and students.
“Working as an advisor during the initial months and years of the pandemic were definitely challenging,” said Scott. “But to have that experience prior to re-entering the professional student services world was so crucial for me.”
Currently, Scott returned to Whitman as a non-clinical case manager. Scott’s duties include responding to student concerns and connecting them to the appropriate resources on or off campus. Many of the issues presented to Scott are related to mental health prompted by the stress of living costs, food insecurity, or other external pressures.
“We have seen an increase in serious mental health concerns partially attributed to student stress regarding their future plans, which has also led to bouts of severe depression.” explained Scott. “However, this has come with a positive shift towards a greater utilization of mental health support resources at the same time.”
Scott also highlighted that she does interact with students that need more help than the resources offered, and it can be difficult to navigate the best approach for them.
“One of the most difficult aspects of my current position is how to help students build a strong support network when there is a shortage of mental health resources on a national level. Sometimes it can also be hard because I wish that I could make some of their lives easier considering the difficult circumstances that they are dealing with.”
Scott highlighted her strong interest to continue serving in a type of student support role and her passion for improving student belonging through collaborative efforts. She has worked with the Summer Fly-In program at Whitman that prioritizes community building for first generation students and Pell Grant recipients, which helps to make new students feel more welcomed in an unfamiliar environment.
Scott commented, “Seeing the growth of new students that start out a little lost and find their footing by the end of the year is really special,” said Scott “I greatly appreciated having the ability to jump into Whitman, while already having that behind the curtain look at higher education from the CSSA program.”