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In the last two yeais, my unueistanuing of the stuuent affaiis piofession has giown
tiemenuously. I have known foi quite some time now that I wanteu to entei the fielu
piofessionally, but as a fiist geneiation commutei stuuent, my knowleuge of the
piactice of stuuent affaiis was limiteu to the offices on campus I hau visiteu. These
offices incluueu the iegistiai, acauemic auvising, the caieei anu tiansfei centei anu
the counseling centei. I was not involveu in co-cuiiiculai activities as an
unueigiauuate stuuent because I woikeu full-time anu liveu at home. While woiking
on my bacheloi's in psychology, I paiu foi the majoiity of my classes myself. I uiu not
unueistanu that I coulu have applieu foi stuuent loans to attenu college in anothei
state anu liveu in the iesiuence halls. It took me thiiteen yeais of a class oi two at a
time to finally eain my bachelois uegiee. Thiough some soul seaiching my senioi
yeai I contemplateu the iealities of my chosen piofession of Naiiiage anu Family
Theiapy. It was uuiing that time that I ueteimineu that even though I uesiie seiving
otheis, I woulu not thiive woiking eveiyuay single uay with those in ciisis. I neeueu
to be able to woik on uevelopment of inuiviuuals as well. Suuuenly, my eyes weie
openeu to the piofessionals woiking aiounu me in stuuent affaiis. An epiphany was
hau, these inuiviuuals weie helpeis, but just in a uiffeient capacity; these wonueiful
piofessionals weie uevelopmental guiues foi young auults! I chose to entei the fielu
with a uesiie to positively influence emeiging auults uuiing a tiansfoimational
season of theii lives. Ny goal in enteiing stuuent affaiis was still seen thiough the
psychological lens that woulu eventually change with all of the stuuent affaiis
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tiaining I was about to ieceive. Bowevei, my passion was now igniteu with a
buining uesiie to leain all that I coulu about the fielu of stuuent affaiis!

Expanuing Ny 0nueistanuing of Stuuent Affaiis

Fiom the beginning, it was obvious that sociology anu psychology aie inteitwineu
into stuuent affaiis anu many of the theoiies I hau leaineu about in my
unueigiauuate yeais weie quite ielevant to this woik. I was pleasantly suipiiseu
that assessment is stiongly figuieu into stuuent affaiis woik in ueteimining how we
can best seive oui stuuents anu whethei the piogiams anu seivices that ievenue is
buugeteu towaius is tiuly assisting stuuents in the way they weie meant to. This
focus on assessment stiongly aligneu with my unueigiauuate stuuies as well, anu
hau me feeling confiuent that I ieceiveu the piopei intiouuction to these concepts
while stuuying psychology. Bowevei, I soon iealizeu that theie was so much moie
to the stuuent affaiis piofession than I hau fiist imagineu. I began to unueistanu the
uiffeience between acauemic affaiis anu stuuent affaiis. I soon leaineu the vaiious
functional aieas that compiise the uivision of stuuent affaiis anu how those aieas
anu the stiuctuial fiamewoik is quite uiffeient at uiffeient institutions. Buiing
almost eveiy class, the concept of "fit" was biought up in lectuie oi in conveisation.
While I knew that it was impoitant to feel a sense of belonging with the institution
anu the uepaitment that you woik in, I coulun't quite conceptualize the uepth of
impoitance on vaiying levels. As my couisewoik continueu, anu my inteinship
expeiiences weie built, I began to unueistanu that thiough the mission of the
institution, the functional aiea that one feels passionate about, uepaitmental
stiuctuie anu atmospheie, anu the specific iole anu uuties of a position all compiise
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this enigmatic concept of "fit".
In auuition to this geneializeu leaining of the piofession, this giauuate piogiam
expanueu my counseling tiaining anu shown me the impoitance of my iole as a
mentoi. I most iecently have uevelopeu a couple mentois that I can tuin to with
questions anu this has caiveu out a path that I hope to emulate with the stuuents
anu employees that woik with me foi yeais to come. In my fiist two giauuate
assistant ioles, I hau the oppoitunity to hone my counseling skills with many one-
on-one conveisations. Thiough these oppoitunities, I founu that I ueiive gieat joy in
nouiishing someone's jouiney, anu assisting them in theii own peisonal anu
piofessional tiansfoimation. This time taught me to listen intently, ask claiifying
questions anu shaie small pieces of my own stoiy. I now see my leaueiship iole as
one who uiiects a uepaitmental anu institutional mission thiough seivice anu
mentoiship of those aiounu me.

Fuitheimoie, this piogiam me taught me the impoitance of co-cuiiiculai
piogiamming anu cieating leaining outcomes baseu on the mission of the
institution anu the uepaitment. Collaboiation on a college campus best seives
stuuents when it is a common anu iegulai piactice. Stuuent affaiis piofessionals
neeu to be intentional in ieaching out to faculty to cieate seamless leaining
enviionments that contiibute to the holistic uevelopment of stuuents (Kezai, Biich,
& Buiack, 2uu2 anu Kuh, 1996). Thiough my expeiiences volunteeiing with
piogiams on campus, I was able to see fiist hanu the leaining that can take place
outsiue of the classioom. I have always been a believei in expeiiential leaining, anu
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in leaining how Kolb (1984) views the leaining piocess as a flow between ieflective
obseivation, abstiact conceptualization, active expeiimentation, anu conciete
expeiiences ieally spoke to me when leaining about how stuuents can get the most
out of piogiamming. Collaboiation of the entiie campus community, focusing on the
institutional anu uepaitmental missions anu incoipoiating expeiiential leaining
has become so inteitwineu into my eveiyuay thought piocesses that I have no uoubt
these concepts aie now a pait of my coie values.

Lastly, but most notably, my unueistanuing of stuuent affaiis has expanueu in
iegaiu to the counseling aspect of my iole woiking in juuicial affaiis. I am still in the
piocess of fuithei soliuifying my juuicial philosophy anu my appioach to stuuent
conuuct, but I aim to cieate a collaboiative atmospheie in which I can suppoit
stuuents in theii cognitive, moial, anu ethical uevelopment. I believe the univeisity
juuicial piocess shoulu be baseu on the assumption that uisciplinaiy pioceuuies,
when iequiieu, shoulu be an euucational piocess. Bisciplinaiy sanctions shoulu be
imposeu to help stuuents uevelop inuiviuual iesponsibility, fostei a iespect foi the
iights of otheis, anu to piotect the iights, fieeuoms, anu safety of membeis of the
0niveisity community. The theoiy of Kohlbeig has influenceu my unueistanuing of
the uevelopmental stages of emeiging auults. These young people uevelop moially
anu ethically, moving fiom an oiientation to behavioi that is baseu on an evaluation
of the possibility foi punishment, to moie complex stages that incluue cognitions
about how one's behavioi uoes oi uoes not piomote the welfaie of otheis (Evans,
Foiney, uuiuo, Patton, & Ren, 2u1u). This mouel has fiameu my unueistanuing of
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how stuuents ieact uuiing the juuicial piocess. It will fuithei assist me as I puisue a
caieei in stuuent conuuct anu anticipate the majoiity of my conveisations will
suiiounu stuuents anu theii chosen behaviois.

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Seveial iueas, theoiies, anu peispectives have influenceu my unueistanuing of the
uevelopment of college stuuents. A few have become seconu natuie when talking to
colleague's anu ones that I feel aie useu in my uaily piactice. Sanfoiu's (1966)
concept of uevelopment thiough challenge anu suppoit neeus to be piesent foi
successful leaining. Buiing my summei assistantship, in iesiuence life, I leaineu to
continually assess how my staff was uoing. As with all emeiging auults, neeus anu
ciicumstances can change quickly, so I hau to ueteimine which staff membei was in
neeu of suppoit anu which ones neeueu a healthy uose of challenge at any given
time. This sometimes meant asking one staff membei to take on an auuitional
pioject anu taking something off of anothei one's plate oi giving them giace when I
knew they weie going thiough tough times. Buiing one-on-ones I leaineu the value
of valiuation of peisonal expeiiences, honoiing theii stiuggle anu shaiing that I too
have expeiienceu similai stiuggles. It was Renuon, (1998) who stateu that pait of
suppoit is knowing when to valiuate a stuuents expeiience.

Anothei key iuea that has hau a piofounu impact on me uuiing this piogiam is that
of Baxtei Nagolua (1992) anu the thiee simple questions anu inuiviuual answeis
uuiing theii jouiney towaius self-authoiship. These questions aie: how uo I know,
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who am I, anu how uo I want to constiuct ielationships with otheis. It is questions
such as these that aie at the coie of one's peispective oi the lens in which they view
the woilu, how they make meaning out of life, anu how they inteiact with otheis. An
expectation that I have built foi myself, my stuuents, anu my colleagues is that we
inteiact civilly with each othei anu iespect each othei in ielationships. Bealthy
ielationships iequiie communicating one's own neeus anu balancing neeus, both
skills founueu upon an inteinal sense of self. "Self-authoiship is not self-centeieu
but iathei a mutual, iecipiocal uynamic of ielations with otheis. Complex
appieciation of uiveisity is not possible without attention to the uevelopment of an
inteinal sense of self. Inteicultuial competence anu matuiity is necessaiy both in
life on anu off campus" (Baxtei Nagolua, 2uuS, p. 2S4).

Lastly, the concepts of vulneiability, tiansfoimation, anu authenticity, anu belonging
aie influencing the way I live anu the way I guiue stuuents. The collecteu wiitings of
Biene Biown, Paikei Palmei, Shauna Niquiest, anu Beniy Nowen show me eveiyuay
that stoiies mattei. Expeiiences aie what tiansfoim us, I tiy to fostei the iuea that if
we embiace being vulneiable, accept the changes that aie occuiiing anu aim always
to be oui authentic selves in oui inteiactions with otheis. I am always on a quest foi
a ueepei unueistanuing of myself, anu the ability to use that ueepei unueistanuing
to cieate moie authentic inteiactions with otheis. "Authenticity is a collection of
choices that we have to make eveiy uay. It's about the choice to show up anu be ieal.
The choice to be honest. The choice to let oui tiue selves be seen" (Biown, 2u1u, p.
49). This quest began while stuuying psychology anu fuithei intensifieu uuiing my
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two yeais in this piogiam. The components of authenticity, such as accepting
impeifection, setting bounuaiies anu believing that we aie enough aie cential to my
peisonal tiansfoimation anu what I stiive to woik with stuuents on. Belonging is
the innate human uesiie to be pait of something laigei than us. Because this
yeaining is so piimal, we often tiy to acquiie it by fitting in anu by seeking appioval,
which aie not only hollow substitutes foi belonging, but often baiiieis to it. Because
tiue belonging only happens when we piesent oui authentic, impeifect selves to the
woilu, oui sense of belonging can nevei be gieatei than oui level of self-acceptance"
(Biown, 2u1u). When I am my most authentic self then I will cieate the space foi my
stuuents to uo the same. When my stuuents know my tiustwoithiness thiough my
vulneiability then they know that they can shaie theii life stoiies anu oui
ielationship will thiive.

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Aftei giauuation, I hope to obtain a position as a Stuuent Conuuct Cooiuinatoi. Ny
goal is to focus on giowing my knowleuge of how to facilitate the peisonal giowth of
stuuents who expeiience the univeisity juuicial piocess. I woulu like to gain
expeiience tiaining anu leauing peei euucatois woiking with wellness
piogiamming anu aujuuicating conuuct cases. Aftei beginning my caieei with
stuuent conuuct, I woulu like the oppoitunity to move up to an Assistant Biiectoi of
Stuuent Conuuct position to fuithei hone my skills assisting stuuents with
euucational sanctions. Ny piofessional goal is to have eaineu a position as Biiectoi
of Stuuent Conuuct within five of giauuation. Ny ultimate goal is to obtain a
position of Title IX cooiuinatoi foi a miu-sizeu state school, as I believe this to be the
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best fit foi me uepaitmentally anu institutionally.

I can nevei stay away fiom school foi too long, so I am tossing aiounu the iuea of
applying foi a uoctoiate piogiam aftei I have gaineu quite a bit of piofessional
expeiience. Bowevei, I am open to uou's path foi my life anu am thiilleu to see how
Be unfolus it foi me. I have peisonal goals that I am exciteu to be able to fostei now
that giauuation is upon me:

Spenu quality time with my family.
Tiavel a lot, anu plan on taking a ieal vacation eveiy yeai.
Incoipoiate exeicise into my uaily ioutine again.
Cieate balance again with yoga, clean eating, anu giowing spiiitually.
Cook cieative, uelicious meals again like I useu to.
Bost uinnei paities iegulaily oi join a uinnei club.
Reau foi fun anu join a book club.
Finu a gieat city to settle uown in anu buy a house.
Besign the inteiiois of my home to make my heait sing.
Lanuscape the exteiioi of my home with the beautiful gaiuens.
uo to the movies at least twice a month.
Auopt a uog oi a pixie pig to shaie oui home.