C. Narrative Description
LO 1: Understanding the foundations and emerging nature of the Student Affairs profession and higher education
The following artifact provides an overview of my experience in the SDA program.
Academic Content
In reflecting on my academic course experiences in the SDA program, my most meaningful have been those centered around research, assessment, theory, and management (SDAD 591, SDAD 595, SDAD 578, MBA 516). I also value my internship experience in connecting my academic coursework with professional practice; internships have been the most significant component of my time in the SDA program, and were the precise reason why I chose to attend SU.
The most meaningful readings from my SDA experience was Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (SDAD 577 Foundations of the Student Affairs Profession), Isaac Prilleltensky’s The Morals and Politics of Psychology: Psychological Discourse and the Status Quo (COUN 511 Counseling Theories), and Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope by bell hooks (SDAD 579).
My Journey
I came into the SDA program with high expectations about my own ability to find the deeper meaning in our work as student affairs professionals with regard to social justice advocacy. I found myself increasingly challenged, disheartened, and at the same time encouraged: I found community with others who were looking for the same thing.
I have learned that I put a lot of pressure on myself. No one person can do everything, but everyone can do something. I find peace and comfort in these words, knowing that by remaining committed to my values as a person and professional, I will continue to find meaningful work and create change in my communities.
Internships
Through my internship experience at the University of Washington Bothell Career Center, I was able to make many connections between theory and practice. I identified the developmental influences at play when working with students around creating and editing resumes and cover letters. Many of the students I worked with wanted to be told the “right” way to create these materials; when I suggested that there is not a “right” way, but perhaps a “better” way, I could tell some students got frustrated. This reminds me that students are in different phases when it comes to dualistic and multiplistic thinking, and as a professional it is important to take that journey with them (Perry, 1968).
The Career Center team also demonstrates best practice in working with diverse students, including international and veteran students. I learned that creating a safe environment can be as simple as including things like visible posters and materials with resources for these populations. Partnership with academic programs also increases the likelihood that students will utilize services regardless of their membership in a special population.
Through my experience with the UPS Perspectives team, I was able to gain hands-on experience working closely with student leaders, coordinating and implementing large-scale projects, and working as part of a close-knit, highly effective team. My most important learning came from this last item: I was able to apply much of what I learned in MBA 516 Management of People to what I was experiencing with my orientation team. Our group process and norms helped us avoid conflict, give critical feedback, and overall produce high quality results. This is perhaps a highlight of my entire SDA career.
Graduate Assistantship
I have held a Graduate Assistantship in the Center for Service and Community Engagement (CSCE) at Seattle University for the past two years. I feel lucky to have had an opportunity to work in an office that is taking risks and forging the way for other universities within the realm of community engagement and university-community partnerships. I have learned so much through my experience, and have been challenged in ways I did not think I would be challenged. One highlight for me includes being able to develop a student leadership program from the ground-up, align it with other student leadership programs in the CSCE, and watch as my students learn and grow. Though the lack of direction and structure was frustrating at times, this allowed me to tap into my creative and visionary strengths in order to create a leadership program that met the needs of our students and our work. The result has been a fully functioning leadership team looking to recruit its third cohort, focused on increasing awareness of education equity on campus and increase campus participation in the Seattle University Youth Initiative (SUYI).
Another source of significant learning for me came around the area of university-community partnerships. While engaged in this kind of work before coming to Seattle U, here I was immersed in the messiness of forging and maintaining strategic partnerships that would equally benefit and support both parties. I found this to be a challenging task, both logistically and psychologically. Being a representative of a university, I have felt my understanding and commitment to the idea of university-community partnerships waver: is this partnership ever truly equal? This is an important question I will continue to live out in my professional life.
Implications for Future Practice
In my future professional career, I will carry with me my commitment to education access and equity as well as a commitment to anti-racism. I am eager to apply my knowledge and skills in a full-time professional role, and eventually to continue to develop my research interests by pursuing a PhD in Counseling Psychology. I believe that my experiences in the SDA program will continue to remind me to act with grace, listen deeply and humbly, and do my best to create positive change in my environment.
Critique of the SDA Program
Aside from the courses and experiences mentioned above, I have found my coursework to be lacking in rigor, contemporary context, and commitment to social justice. I am aware that I, as well as some of my classmates, have come into the program with a different exposure to social justice and diversity education; however, I did not find my need for deeper learning in this area met by many of my courses, and I often had to intentionally seek out this piece through projects and papers. I wish we had the opportunity to take a course around the history of higher education; I think it is difficult to see where we are going if we do not know where we came from.
My experience with Graduate Project in particular was one of the most meaningful and tangible experiences in the SDA program; I feel that this experience should be formally designated as an SDAD course, meeting weekly. Because we only met a few times, I feel as though the importance of group process in the research experience was shortchanged. In order to demonstrate the importance of this skill set to the progress of the profession, this class must be formalized and even mandatory for all SDA students.
Jesuit Context
I remember reading Stringer & Swezey (2006) in the airport on the way to Preview Days over two years ago, thinking “of course.” Of course student affairs belongs with Jesuit higher education. Commitment to the development of the whole person is what we are about, and it is what Jesuit Catholic educators value as well. I am thankful for the opportunity to explore Jesuit higher education and find comfort in Seattle University’s ability to name so clearly its values and commitments.
References
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc.
hooks, b. (2003). Teaching community: A pedagogy of hope. New York: Routledge
Prilleltensky, I. (1994). The morals and politics of psychology: Psychological discourse and the status quo. New York, NY: State University of New York Press.
Stringer, J. & Swezey, E. (2006). The purpose of a student affairs preparation program in Jesuit higher education. Catholic education.
The following artifact provides an overview of my experience in the SDA program.
Academic Content
In reflecting on my academic course experiences in the SDA program, my most meaningful have been those centered around research, assessment, theory, and management (SDAD 591, SDAD 595, SDAD 578, MBA 516). I also value my internship experience in connecting my academic coursework with professional practice; internships have been the most significant component of my time in the SDA program, and were the precise reason why I chose to attend SU.
The most meaningful readings from my SDA experience was Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (SDAD 577 Foundations of the Student Affairs Profession), Isaac Prilleltensky’s The Morals and Politics of Psychology: Psychological Discourse and the Status Quo (COUN 511 Counseling Theories), and Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope by bell hooks (SDAD 579).
My Journey
I came into the SDA program with high expectations about my own ability to find the deeper meaning in our work as student affairs professionals with regard to social justice advocacy. I found myself increasingly challenged, disheartened, and at the same time encouraged: I found community with others who were looking for the same thing.
I have learned that I put a lot of pressure on myself. No one person can do everything, but everyone can do something. I find peace and comfort in these words, knowing that by remaining committed to my values as a person and professional, I will continue to find meaningful work and create change in my communities.
Internships
Through my internship experience at the University of Washington Bothell Career Center, I was able to make many connections between theory and practice. I identified the developmental influences at play when working with students around creating and editing resumes and cover letters. Many of the students I worked with wanted to be told the “right” way to create these materials; when I suggested that there is not a “right” way, but perhaps a “better” way, I could tell some students got frustrated. This reminds me that students are in different phases when it comes to dualistic and multiplistic thinking, and as a professional it is important to take that journey with them (Perry, 1968).
The Career Center team also demonstrates best practice in working with diverse students, including international and veteran students. I learned that creating a safe environment can be as simple as including things like visible posters and materials with resources for these populations. Partnership with academic programs also increases the likelihood that students will utilize services regardless of their membership in a special population.
Through my experience with the UPS Perspectives team, I was able to gain hands-on experience working closely with student leaders, coordinating and implementing large-scale projects, and working as part of a close-knit, highly effective team. My most important learning came from this last item: I was able to apply much of what I learned in MBA 516 Management of People to what I was experiencing with my orientation team. Our group process and norms helped us avoid conflict, give critical feedback, and overall produce high quality results. This is perhaps a highlight of my entire SDA career.
Graduate Assistantship
I have held a Graduate Assistantship in the Center for Service and Community Engagement (CSCE) at Seattle University for the past two years. I feel lucky to have had an opportunity to work in an office that is taking risks and forging the way for other universities within the realm of community engagement and university-community partnerships. I have learned so much through my experience, and have been challenged in ways I did not think I would be challenged. One highlight for me includes being able to develop a student leadership program from the ground-up, align it with other student leadership programs in the CSCE, and watch as my students learn and grow. Though the lack of direction and structure was frustrating at times, this allowed me to tap into my creative and visionary strengths in order to create a leadership program that met the needs of our students and our work. The result has been a fully functioning leadership team looking to recruit its third cohort, focused on increasing awareness of education equity on campus and increase campus participation in the Seattle University Youth Initiative (SUYI).
Another source of significant learning for me came around the area of university-community partnerships. While engaged in this kind of work before coming to Seattle U, here I was immersed in the messiness of forging and maintaining strategic partnerships that would equally benefit and support both parties. I found this to be a challenging task, both logistically and psychologically. Being a representative of a university, I have felt my understanding and commitment to the idea of university-community partnerships waver: is this partnership ever truly equal? This is an important question I will continue to live out in my professional life.
Implications for Future Practice
In my future professional career, I will carry with me my commitment to education access and equity as well as a commitment to anti-racism. I am eager to apply my knowledge and skills in a full-time professional role, and eventually to continue to develop my research interests by pursuing a PhD in Counseling Psychology. I believe that my experiences in the SDA program will continue to remind me to act with grace, listen deeply and humbly, and do my best to create positive change in my environment.
Critique of the SDA Program
Aside from the courses and experiences mentioned above, I have found my coursework to be lacking in rigor, contemporary context, and commitment to social justice. I am aware that I, as well as some of my classmates, have come into the program with a different exposure to social justice and diversity education; however, I did not find my need for deeper learning in this area met by many of my courses, and I often had to intentionally seek out this piece through projects and papers. I wish we had the opportunity to take a course around the history of higher education; I think it is difficult to see where we are going if we do not know where we came from.
My experience with Graduate Project in particular was one of the most meaningful and tangible experiences in the SDA program; I feel that this experience should be formally designated as an SDAD course, meeting weekly. Because we only met a few times, I feel as though the importance of group process in the research experience was shortchanged. In order to demonstrate the importance of this skill set to the progress of the profession, this class must be formalized and even mandatory for all SDA students.
Jesuit Context
I remember reading Stringer & Swezey (2006) in the airport on the way to Preview Days over two years ago, thinking “of course.” Of course student affairs belongs with Jesuit higher education. Commitment to the development of the whole person is what we are about, and it is what Jesuit Catholic educators value as well. I am thankful for the opportunity to explore Jesuit higher education and find comfort in Seattle University’s ability to name so clearly its values and commitments.
References
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc.
hooks, b. (2003). Teaching community: A pedagogy of hope. New York: Routledge
Prilleltensky, I. (1994). The morals and politics of psychology: Psychological discourse and the status quo. New York, NY: State University of New York Press.
Stringer, J. & Swezey, E. (2006). The purpose of a student affairs preparation program in Jesuit higher education. Catholic education.