All her life, Andrea Bartley has wanted to help people. Now she’s doing just that as the Odessa College social services coordinator.
Removing barriers for college students and helping them with hardships outside the classroom are two of her main objectives.
Among the initiatives Bartley is involved with is the Atmos Energy Pantry Garden at OC, which provides fresh produce to students.
“Food insecurity is pretty big on campus, and pretty much everyone who comes into my office leaves with food. I always make sure they’re taken care of. We also refer them out to other pantries if they need it …,” Bartley said.
She can also help get students enrolled in health insurance.
“We also have a partnership with MCH (Medical Center Hospital), which allows our students a very small co-pay. That … helps with their medical health. And then for mental health, we typically have a counselor on staff. We are searching for one, so I’ve been involved doing as much counseling as I can. …,” Bartley said.
The Odessa native earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from University of Texas Permian Basin and her master’s in the same field from UT Arlington. She noted that most all of the services she provides are free to students.
“If their situation is more complicated than I can handle, then I do refer them out to our community partners. Community referrals is another huge part of my job because I don’t just have one thing I do. Students come in for a variety of reasons and so I really rely on our community to access resources for our students,” Bartley said.
Kristi Clemmer, director of student support services, proposed having Bartley’s position.
“Being involved with Students in Philanthropy during my bachelor’s really opened my eyes to all the possibilities, so I switched my major to social work because I just felt like that is the avenue where I can be the most help to the most people,” Bartley said.
Before she went for her master’s, Bartley said she spent four years as a teacher. She noticed that the children she was teaching don’t outgrow their hardships.
“… It tends to get harder because they get more responsibility, so this is not something I’m particularly new at. I feel like this is a great job that matches my education (and) my experience,” she said.
What shocked her the most was that students don’t often think they’re in an emergency.
“… It’s very heartbreaking,” Bartley said.
She said students will often think that they shouldn’t use the food pantry or COVID relief funds because someone else needs it more.
“Right now a huge project in the works for us is getting an emergency aid fund,” Bartley said.
The college received funds for COVID relief, but she would like to build them up.
“I think that would improve this position tenfold because the majority of students who come to me need money …,” Bartley said.
If anyone would like to donate to the emergency fund, they can contact Jacqui Gore, vice president for advancement, business and government relations, at 432-335-6815.
“… We don’t know what the students are facing, so it would be nice to have a plan where we have freedom to use it because the majority of the students need money,” Bartley said.
Bartley said having someone in a position like hers is becoming more common at colleges and universities.
“It’s something that isn’t on all campuses yet. I feel like that’s definitely where the future is going. We base my job off of Amarillo College. They’re the ones that are really trailblazing this and making headlines for (it). … Then, of course, we want to serve as many students as we can …,” Bartley said.
Kristi Clemmer, director of student support services, proposed Bartley’s position.
Clemmer said in the past, OC had professionals that would help students with this kind of work, but no one that was fully dedicated to social services.
“Since Andrea has been on (board), she can help students pretty much with anything. She’s been really great to jump in with both feet to help develop the program and … offer kind and nonjudgmental support to the students,” Clemmer said.
When OC started down the OC Cares Pathway, they did a lot of research.
“Amarillo College was really a leader in the poverty initiative. They still are. … They actually had a team of social workers at that time. … We realize how much support our students need. As we grow, we want to encourage people from all walks of life to come in and they really need some support to be able to come to college full time to get their education,” Clemmer added.
The whole idea, she said, is to create a one-stop shop where students can get all the help they need and they don’t have to go from office to office.
“… A lot of our students don’t have transportation, or they have kids that they have to bring with them so that’s really cumbersome on the student. … We feel like this removes those barriers,” Clemmer added.
Bartley noted that all students can use the services she offers.
“… If they have a need, they can definitely use my services because, especially with the pandemic and with the oilfield, you never know when there’s an emergency,” Bartley said.
She gave an example of a student she had whose husband made $100,000 a year, but it was too expensive for her to get on insurance, so Bartley was able to help the student.
“That saved them a lot of money because … even though I may make $100,000, I don’t know what their bills look like. I don’t know what their life looks like. I don’t know what hardships they may be facing,” she said.
Lower income people’s income hasn’t really grown since the 80s, Bartley said.
“… But the lower class that needs education to become middle and upper class, their lives are getting even harder because college is getting more expensive and their lives are just getting more expensive,” Bartley said.
She added that many students can be helped through financial aid, which Bartley said she can help them navigate.
Bartley said the financial aid office is really the “rock star” of OC.
Some special populations like very young single parents or recently incarcerated people come to her because they don’t know where to start when it comes to college.
“… I also have students who just come in here because they just need to talk, so I get a little bit of everyone,” Bartley said.
She said they have been trying to advertise her services on campus to faculty and staff. Her fliers are on Blackboard, the college’s learning management system.
“… I know our advisors are doing a really great job because they’re kind of their front line … and also our college life coaches. I get a lot of referrals mail from faculty because they’re the ones that form the relationships with the students and I connect with a lot of students because they hear about the food pantry and then I introduce myself and I’m able to further assist them that way, too.”
