Teena Reasoner, assistant director for fraternities and sororities at Southeast Missouri State University, is dedicated to her job and her studentsᾰso much that she often has to remind herself to take time to relax.
Being an advisor makes it difficult to separate work from home life. Teena says it is not rare for her to do some late-night counseling through texts with her students.
“Sometimes it’s difficult because I care about my students and want to be available to them, but taking some personal time makes me a better person, which makes me a better advisor to them,” Teena said. “It’s important to not make work your entire identity.”
Teena, of Bryant, Ark., received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Henderson State University in December 1996 and her master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of Central Arkansas in May 2000. As an undergraduate student, Teena joined the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority, with which she continued to volunteer while working in the psychiatric field in Arkansas.
Teena said she began working in 1996 having responsibilities that ranged from direct care to doing admissions for locked inpatient psychiatric units to working on a research project investigating depression treatment for veterans.
Teena said that after eight years of working in psychiatrics, she realized she enjoyed the volunteer work she did for her sorority more than her real job, and she decided she would use her talents to help people grow in a different way.
In 2004, she accepted her job as coordinator of Greek life at Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Va., and then came to Southeast in 2008.
“I’ve always felt a strong desire to help people. The work the fraternities and sororities do in guiding the personal development of their members was a good fit for me, so I took the leap and made a career change. I’ve loved it ever since!” Teena said.
While Teena enjoys being able to help students work through their problems, she says she also likes to talk with students about life overall.
“I love sitting back and talking about the ‘what-ifs’ and the big pictureᾰnot only about Greek life. In my opinion, those are the best conversations a person could have. I can also tell some pretty good stories about my time working in the psychiatric field,” Teena jokes.
When Teena is able to pull herself away from work, she enjoys photography, bike-riding, and listening to Elton John, although she does admit she’s becoming more of a country music fan since she moved to Cape Girardeau. Teena said she is also a book worm.
“I read just about anything you put in front of me,” Teena said. “I tend to have several books open at once and switch between them.”
With her job obviously still on her mind, Teena also offers the following advice to students: “You need to do what you love, and the money will work itself out. Let some things roll off your back and look at the bigger picture.”