Closest Alligator to the Boat: How College Students Can Get an A in Class and Life

"Closest Alligator to the Boat" is a book about professional and personal development for college students. Think of it as a series of office hours sessions with a professor but in a short, written format. These "office hours" will address students' objectives, logistics, and morale for navigating college and life.

This book is for college students who want to learn about themselves, make a change in their lives, get somewhere, achieve a goal, improve themselves, help others, or just get some different perspectives about professional and personal development options. This book will be especially useful for students who are feeling overwhelmed, behind, confused, unsure, or scared about their classes, major, the "world of academics," interacting with professors, handling professional relationships, conflicts with individuals or institutions, and trying to "do it all."

The book's title "Closest Alligator to the Boat" comes from an old military saying that applies to a variety of situations. It refers to dealing with the most vital and urgent issue first. If you want to survive and thrive, you will need to "attack" whichever "alligator" is directly in front of you. It is important to tackle the things in life that are "mission critical," i.e., prioritize what matters most. This book will help students to prioritize certain ways of thinking and acting in order to achieve their short- and long-term goals.

Dr. Jennifer Epley Sanders's teaching, research, and service facilitate critical thinking, cross-cultural understanding, and productive learning experiences in the classroom, university, profession, and diverse communities in the United States and Southeast Asia.

Dr. Epley Sanders currently works at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi as a professor in the Political Science Program. She graduated from the University of Michigan with an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science as well as a Certificate in Southeast Asian Studies and a Certificate in Survey Methodology. Her B.A. in Political Science is from Vassar College. As a political scientist, Dr. Epley Sanders uses qualitative and quantitative methods to study the politics of identity with the aim of deepening and advancing our existing knowledge about what constitutes "identity," its influences in our lives, and why identity matters for us personally, professionally, and politically.

Dr. Epley Sanders loves her family, friends, sweets, lumpia, traveling, asking questions, adventures, and South Texas.