Advising and Supporting (AS)
Foundational Outcome:
"Facilitate reflection to make meaning from experiences with students, groups, colleagues, and others"
During my time as Assistant to the Chair in BGSU's Department of Higher Education and Student Affairs, I advised the Class of 2019 CSP cohort into their transition into graduate school and life in Bowling Green, Ohio. These duties began even before the start of my position, while I was shadowing the 2016-2017 Assistant to the Chair. After 2 rounds of Interview Days in 2017, I remained available for candidates via email, text, and phone if they had any questions about the CSP program. Once I officially started my position, I knew that I wanted to create a more formal setting for reflection around any goals the incoming cohort had of one another, since this conversation was missing from my experience as a first-year CSP student. During Graduate Student Orientation (GSO) in August 2017, I created programming around this by facilitating dialogue surrounding establishing accountability and expectations of the themselves, the cohort, and faculty for optimal challenge and support.
As the fall semester progressed, I also set up individual meetings with each student in the cohort to check in on their experiences at BGSU so far. I purposefully requested these meetings to happen after the first 6 weeks of their time in CSP, in order to pinpoint how their transition into graduate school was going. These one-on-one meetings served as time for reflection among students on how their experiences could be improved and how I could better support them within their environment. These students were able to articulate how their current experiences were in congruence with their expectations, through my intentional design of questions and opportunities for reflection.
BGSU CSP Class of 2019 at Graduate Student Orientation
BGSU's Major Events team
CSP I-Days team 2018
Foundational Outcome:
"Facilitate problem solving"
During the Summer of 2017, I was employed as a graduate intern in BGSU's Office of Campus Activities. My largest task for the summer was the planning and implementation of Campus Fest, BGSU's annual fall student organizations fair. With the guidance of my supervisor, I was in communication with an off campus vendor to outsource a large order of tables, chairs, and additional equipment for the day of the event. While setting up on the day of the Campus Fest, it was realized that we were missing over 100 tables and chairs needed for our student organizations and partners. In order to solve the problem effectively and quickly, I worked with my supervisor to call the vendor and inform them of the shortage and communicated with our student and professional staff of our plan to mediate the issue. Ultimately, this issue was completely out of our control, but I was able to advise our team on how to fix the situation in a timely manner by providing updates on the status of our new order of tables and chairs. Campus Fest 2017 went off without a hitch and was a complete success!
During my tenure as Assistant to the Chair, I coordinated the planning and implementation of 2 rounds of Interview Days (I-Days), where 70 candidates interviewed for internships on and off campus and learned more about BGSU's CSP Program. I also advised the I-Days Team, a group of 4 first and second year students who assist in planning processes of our event. During I-Days, several issues came up that required my team and I to problem solve, to produce the best outcomes for all of our audiences. From a current student host who became severely ill, to interview schedules that needed updates, the I-Days team and I solved these issues effectively to not impede on the experiences of our supervisors, current students, and (most importantly), our prospective candidates.
Social Justice and Inclusion (SJI)
Foundational Outcome:
"Engage in critical reflection in order to identify one's own prejudices and biases"
In Spring 2017, I completed the course, CSP 6035: Multicultural Competence in Student Affairs. This class was monumental in allowing me to better understand my personal biases through various assignments and reflections throughout our time. Throughout our class periods, we spent a significant amount of time discussing our own prejudices and how not acknowledging them can negatively affect the quality of work we do with our students. One reading that was particularly impactful within our studies was Watt's revisitation of the privileged identity's explored (PIE) model (2015). Throughout this reading, I was able to identify how I have engaged in problematic behaviors to defense provoking stimuli (DPS), such as denial, deflection, and minimization. Through learning more about the normalization of these behaviors, I was better suited to discuss how they have come up within my work and how I have checked my own thoughts and actions as a rising student affairs professional.
In CSP 6035, we also had the opportunity to teach our peers about a specific area of diversity and social justice. My group decided to present to our class about white feminism. This topic was especially salient to me, as I strive to practice my feminism inclusively and intersectionally. As a group we first defined what white feminism meant to us, and reflected on how we have perpetuated it within our lives. Personally, I shared about who my role models within media were and how it was important for me to recognize their feminism as deeply flawed and exclusive to only privileged identities. Ultimately, this learning exercise was critical in my development of understanding surrounding my personal biases.
Hamline Orientation and First Year Program Student Coordinators
STLF Pay It Forward Tour 2014
Foundational Outcome:
"Participate in activities that assess and complicate one's understanding of inclusion, oppression, privilege, and power"
Throughout my undergraduate experiences at Hamline University, I participated in a variety of activities that allowed me to situate myself within issues related to equity, inclusion and justice. As a New Student Mentor and Orientation Student Coordinator, we received intensive training around understanding privilege and power to best support our incoming first year students. These trainings allowed us to reflect on what issues of diversity were most salient to us and how to broaden our knowledge of others for personal and community development. Additionally, as an undergraduate student, I participated in two Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF) service trips during spring break. We traveled to 12 cities and completed service projects for the communities within the areas. While traveling, we also engaged in activities and reflection surrounding systems of oppression and power, most notably, the privilege walk. This activity served as an important reminder of the privilege I hold and my duty to advocate and empower others who do not share my identities.
As I transitioned into my graduate school experience, I continued to participate in activities that explored and complicated my understanding of inclusion and justice, such as HESA diversity retreats, town hall meetings within the BGSU community, sessions at the 2017 ACPA conference and the Presidential Symposium on Racism, Recovery and Racial Justice. These activities complemented and often enhanced my academic coursework and were consistent reminders that my work surrounding power and inclusion can never stop. As a rising student affairs professional, I need to continue to advocate for my own learning around these pressing issues in order to best serve and empower my students.
Technology (TECH)
Foundational Outcome:
"Incorporate commonly utilized technological tools and platforms including social media and other digital communication and collaboration tools into one's work"
When I began my internship experience within BGSU's Division of Student Affairs, the new Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Gibson, was also beginning his tenure. During my one-on-one meetings with Dr. Gibson, we would discuss various strategies for him to engage with BGSU students. I suggested that he should have a Twitter account to use to reach out to the BGSU community. Dr. Gibson agreed and I was able to create a Twitter account for him. At first, I tweeted information on his behalf about events happening on campus, and engaged with his followers by retweeting and liking content related to BGSU and student affairs. Ultimately, I recognized this use of technology as a simple but effective method to engage with community members and to also better understand what is important to them. As the world becomes more technologically advanced, it is critical for student affairs professionals to stay abreast on ways to engage with their audiences in relevant ways. Follow Dr. Gibson at @VPSAGibson!
As Assistant to the Chair, I have also gained experiences implementing technology within my work life. When working with admissions processes for prospective CSP candidates, I have utilized Slate technology to easily access applications and track student records. I also have hosted 4 rounds of prospective CSP student webinars via WebEx, where current CSP students answer questions of potential students who are submitting them live and online. Both of these platforms are user friendly and allow maximum information to be obtained effectively and timely.
Foundational Outcome:
"Demonstrate adaptability in the face of fast paced technological change"
While taking CSP 6030: Theory and Assessment of Educational Environments, our class learned about what Dr. Borland referred to as "the fifth environment", technological environments. As colleges and universities become more technologically advanced, it is clear that current research and literature should reflect those changes. Our class learned significantly about the changing technological landscapes of institutions of higher education, and our duty as student affairs professionals to remain up to date on advancing practices.
In order to improve and support the digital literacy of the students we work with, it is important for educators to model the same behavior and adapt similarly in the face of change.
Within my time as a Student Conduct Hearing Officer in BGSU's Office of the Dean of Students, I learned how to utilize Maxient software to document my meetings with students and follow up with appropriate sanctioning. My training was fast paced, but I was able to successfully understand Maxient technology by the time I had my first solo meeting. Technology in higher education is constantly changing, and colleges and universities are interested in utilizing software that is effective in displaying and retrieving information. Ultimately, I feel that my experiences have prepared me to adapt quickly to new software, no matter which job I am in during my professional career.
Organizational and Human Resources (OHR)
Foundational Outcome:
"Use technological resources with respect to maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of one's work"
As a co-chair for the New Professionals in Transition (NPIT) conference, I developed the program schedule for the event by utilizing Guidebook, an application used to display event details and logistics accessibly on smartphone technology. Not only did the use of Guidebook support sustainable conference practices by limiting the amount of paper used, it also allowed attendees to access information about NPIT before the conference even began. As a team, NPIT co-chairs could easily update the conference schedule on Guidebook without hassle. By utilizing Guidebook to display information on NPIT, I maximized our ability to update current students and volunteers on the happenings of the conference.
Throughout my time as Assistant to the Chair, I have maximized my work abilities by using Qualtrics software to gather information from CSP students. Qualtrics surveys are easily accessible to our students and have allowed me to gather important departmental information effectively and in a timely manner. By using this software, I am also able to quickly generate reports to provide to members of the HESA community. Ultimately, the use of Qualtrics made my job monumentally easier, since I am able to retrieve information from HESA students efficiently.
NPIT co-chairs 2017-2018
Photos with members of the I-Days 2018 team
Foundational Outcome:
"Communicate with others using effective verbal and non verbal strategies appropriate to the situation in ways that the person with whom you are engaged prefers"
While working as a Student Conduct Hearing Officer, I met with a case load of students regarding alleged policy violations and communicated with them about BGSU's Code of Student Conduct. During these meetings, I utilized active listening skills in order to indicate to my students that I was listening to their situations and stories. If I was confused by the timeline of their experience or needed to clarify details, I made sure to ask appropriate follow up questions to best understand their incident. In some cases that required follow-up meetings with students, I used previous rapport and personal knowledge to relate to them on a deeper level and to show my investment in their holistic and academic success.
While supervising the I-Days team as Assistant to the Chair, I also developed a keen understanding of the ways each of my team members preferred to receive feedback on their work. Some of my peers responded well to constructive critiques on projects via email or text, while others were more receptive to feedback in person or over the phone. By picking up on the ways that my teammates preferred constructive criticism, I adapted my style in order to support my peers in their practice and work. All members of the I-Days team were passionate and aware of our mission to recruit a strong group of CSP students, and this shared goal allowed us all to be open to the possibility of feedback on our work in order to best serve our students.