Running head: LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE STRENGHTS

Dario Ogaz
Learning Outcome Narrative Strengths
Seattle University

LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE STRENGTHS

Learning Outcome Narrative - Strengths: LO #2, 4, 8, 10; Artifacts C3, B, C2, D, J)
LO# 2 Key Dimensions: fostering intentional relationships with students; authenticity in sharing
my experiences with students; and syntheses of personal experience with professional
motivations.
LO #4 Key Dimensions: critical social justice analysis of institutional responses to student
issues; empowering students to educate themselves and their community about issues of power
and privilege; openness to furthering my own understanding of social justice and diversity.
LO #8 Key Dimensions: presentation of critical reflection and assessment in writing, using my
voice to advocate for student needs, and presenting my ideas and self authentically.
LO#10 Key Dimensions: professional practice with a foundation in personal experience and
values; frequent and intentional reflection of professional practice; and pursuit professional
development opportunities that foster personal growth.
Introduction
When I entered this program, I felt confident that I was aware and knowledgeable about my
identities and the impact that they had in my personal and professional experiences. I had
experienced tremendous growth during my undergraduate experience, and many of my courses
required me to reflect on my racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual identities. Connecting concepts
from my courses to my personal experience was something that I was familiar with and hoped to
do more of within the Student Development Administration Program. As I progressed through
the program courses and gained more experience through my graduate assistantship and
internship, the concepts of self-reflection and starting with self were constantly present and
expected of me. This meant examining how my identities as a queer, Latino male were
impacting my interactions with students, peers, and colleagues. This theme is something that I

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am able to incorporate into all aspects of my personal and professional life and frames many of
the strengths that I developed during this program.
Connection to Personal Experience (LO #2, 10; Artifact C3)
This field requires professionals to engage in work that focuses on the personal, academic,
professional, and spiritual aspects of a students identity. Some of the most intriguing and
powerful experiences Ive had with students in my experience have been when we are discussing
how an experience in the classroom or with their roommate is influenced or impacted by another
part of their life. In order to authentically engage in these types of conversations, I have learned
that it is important to recognize how my own personal experiences and feelings are impacting the
way I navigate the conversation or shape the advice that I am giving the student. I see this as a
demonstration of LO #2: understanding students and student issues. I am better able to
understand student issues because I take the time to find similarities and differences to my own
experience as a student and come from a place of empathy.
In artifact C3 that was created in Leadership in Education I (EDAD 5700), I discuss the
development of my Leadership Philosophy and the various frameworks that influence my
understanding of my leadership identity. In this artifact I discuss the impact of understanding
personal identities and contexts in the leadership process. I reference Heifetz et als (2009) The
Practice of Adaptive Leadership, which argues that leaders navigate unique contexts that are
shaped by their social identities, life experiences, cognitive and emotional abilities, and
personality traits. This understanding is deeply meaningful because I believe that I cannot be a
leader and professional without recognizing those factors and their impact in my work. This
framework has created a way for me to develop my identity as a leader and professional that is
authentic to my lived experiences and has the ability to continue developing as I progress in this

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field (LO#10). I am committed to being a reflective professional that will be intentional about
incorporating my personal experiences and identities into my practice and encourage those
around me to do the same.
Many of the professional development opportunities I have sought out in this program and at
Seattle University were chosen because they connected to my personal identity and/or
experience. My internship as a Trans* Inclusion Intern was largely inspired because I am
passionate about creating inclusive spaces for the LGBTQ community and the internship gave
me the space to advocate for students and make our community more inclusive (LO #4).
Through this internship, I was able to contribute some of my personal experiences with feeling
othered because of my personal identities and experiences and used that as motivation to
advocate for changes on campus.
Community Building (LO #2, 4, 8; Artifact C2)
Like many of my peers and colleagues, I became aware of student affairs after connecting
with a mentor who was in the field and provided me with support and helped me feel like I
belonged at my undergraduate institution. This opened up a door for me to become involved in
Housing as a Resident Assistant where I thoroughly enjoyed creating communities that were
welcoming and inclusive and provided opportunities for residents to connect and learn with and
from one another. As Ive progressed in this program, I am finding that community is still
something that I value and believe is crucial to a students success at an institution. An
opportunity that came from this program was the ability to learn more about community at the
macro level of an institution and better understand how initiatives on campus can create
communities across the various functional areas on campus.

LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE STRENGTHS

In Leadership & Governance of Post-Secondary Education (SDAD 5760), I had the
opportunity to address a crisis on a campus and analyze it from the viewpoint of leadership and
governance. In Artifact C2, I discuss the crisis that my undergraduate institution (University of
Denver) currently does not have an official mascot and how there is dissent among the
stakeholders about what the best option for the university should be. In this artifact I discuss the
institutional dynamics and history that created this crisis and how issues of power, privilege, and
oppression are intricately involved in the situation. This artifact shows strength in LO #8 in my
ability to address the concept of community at a macro level and how an important part of an
institutions identity (ie its mascot) can either make students feel connected to the university or
marginalized from it. This artifact also demonstrates LO #2 and # 4 in that I am critically
analyzing and critiquing an institutional response to a student issue that is steeped in diversity
and multicultural competency as well as providing suggestions for what the university response
should have been. In this artifact I take my value and strength of community building and apply
it beyond the context of a program in a residence hall to the way an institution choosing to create
community for its students, alumni, faculty, and staff. This is a strength that will be helpful as I
continue in this field and begin seeking opportunities to create institutional change so that all
students can find community.
Social Justice (LO #2, 4, 10; Artifact B, D, J)
The most consistent aspect of my experience before and during this program is my
commitment and passion for social justice advocacy and education. As a first-year
undergraduate student, I remember being challenged to think about my identities and being
formally exposed to the concepts of power, privilege, and oppression. These conversations
changed my understanding of the world and began giving me the language to start putting my

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experiences into words and gave my passion for change some direction. I saw this program as an
opportunity to continue these conversations and to continue challenging myself to discuss these
issues and become more aware of how they not only impact my own life, but the lives of my
students, peers, and colleagues.
Some of the most rewarding experiences during my time at Seattle University have been
the numerous opportunities I have had to engage in social justice education with students,
especially student leaders. As part of the Social Justice Committee in Housing & Residence
Life, I had the opportunity to create and facilitate numerous social justice workshops and
presentations for the Resident Assistant staff on campus. Artifact D is a presentation that I
developed with a fellow Housing Graduate Assistant (Michal Jones) in Spring 2014 that
addressed the concepts of advocacy and bystander intervention. Using Pope et als (2004)
framework of Multicultural Competency we provided the students an opportunity to develop
skills to articulate their advocacy as well as to interrupt oppressive behavior. We focused on
skills, rather than awareness or knowledge in response to students voicing that while they
understood many of the social justice issues, they were having trouble putting their knowledge
and passion into effective action. The presentation demonstrates LOs #2 and #4 because it was
created to address students needs and to empower them to create more inclusive spaces for
diverse populations on campus. A component of this presentation was giving students the ability
to articulate how they choose to advocate for social justice based on Nashs (2010) What Is The
Best Way To Be A Social Justice Advocate?. This provided students the opportunity to discern
what motivates them to engage in social justice work and better understand how their personal
motivations impact the way they engage in conversation about social justice concepts. This
artifact demonstrates my ability to educate others about social justice in a way that gives them

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the tools to be effective educators, while also providing space for them to make meaning of why
they engage in the work and continue to learn about themselves in the process.
Looking to the future, I see my personal and professional mission statement (Artifact B)
as a testament to my dedication to incorporate social justice in my practice as well as a
representation of why I believe this is a strength that I have continued to develop in this program.
I am dedicated to incorporating social justice to my professional practice because I see my
presence in the field of student affairs as an opportunity to advocate for, support, and empower
students who are underrepresented and marginalized in higher education. This commitment is an
integral part of my professional identity (LO #10) and I have been intentional about using my
time in the Student Development Administration program and at Seattle University to continue
building on my passion for social justice. This is a strength that I am proud of and will continue
to incorporate into every aspect of my personal and professional life.

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References
Heifetz, R., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). The practice of adaptive leadership: Tools and
tactics for changing your organization and the world. Boston, MA: Harvard Business
Press.
Nash, R.J. (2010). What is the best way to be a social justice advocate? Communication
strategies for effective social justice advocacy. About Campus, 15(2), p. 11-18.
Pope, R., Reynolds, A., & Meuller, J. (2004). Multicultural competence in student affairs. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.