Running head: FIELD EXPERIENCE REFLECTION

Field Experience Reflection

Christina Fritz
Western Michigan University

FIELD EXPERIENCE REFLECTION

Field Experience Reflection

Over the past several months I have completed a three hundred hour field experience with
the Office of Admissions at Western Michigan University. Throughout my experience I
shadowed admissions counselors as well as other interns in order to learn more about this
specific area of student affairs. I also helped develop plans for student appreciation week,
develop and facilitate a program called leadership academy, and began giving presentations to
prospective students. In the following text I will highlight the activities I participated in
throughout my field experience as well as the skills that I developed and honed throughout my
experience.
Learning Outcomes
There were three key learning outcomes that I hoped to develop and gain during my field
experience. The first learning outcome was to gain an understanding of the role of an admissions
counselor. I feel that though my experience I was able to gain insight into this role. I was able to
shadow an admissions counselor as they met with prospective students and observe their
interactions. Admissions counselors act as a key resource to prospective students and their
families. Through my observations I learned that the role of an admissions counselor focuses on
customer service values. By this I mean, the admissions staff would consistently strive to go
above and beyond expectations to make sure that students have a positive experience on campus.
If there was a question that they did not know the answer to, they would make sure to find the
answer, or at least direct them to the individual or department that would be able to assist them.
The second learning outcome I sought was to gain experience in event facilitation. I was able to
develop this skill by facilitating a weekly event called leadership academy. This is a program that
went on for several weeks and allowed students to delve into specific facets of leadership in great

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detail. These topics included conflict management, leadership styles, communication techniques,
and diversity. My third goal was to hone my public speaking skills though my field experience. I
achieved this goal by facilitating leadership academy sessions as well as giving admissions
presentations to prospective students. Both of these experiences required me to speak to both
small and large groups of people.
Cultural Reflection and Self Reflection
Throughout my field experience I was able to gain insight into the overall culture of the
Office of Admissions at Western Michigan University. The office culture is very focused on
customer service. The student staff members also have interpersonal relationships with one
another as well as with many professional staff members. Along with that, professionalism is a
key part of the office culture in making sure that anyone that interacts with their office is treated
with respect and that all of the student staff members are representing the office of admissions in
a positive way. The office culture is also very busy. There are consistently many events,
presentations, and activities taking place in the office and this created a very busy atmosphere.
The office seems to run smoothly, with many veteran student staff members taking on leadership
roles and each student having clearly identified roles and expectations.
My supervisor has very positive relationships with all of the student staff in the office. He
is very friendly and laid back. In an office environment that is so busy, it was refreshing to see a
supervisor seem so calm. My supervisor also seemed to adopt the leadership style of not asking
others to do anything that he wouldnt be willing to do himself. I feel that this is a very effective
leadership style and this seemed to be well received by student staff and professional staff
members as well. I can become overwhelmed at times if there are a lot of different projects going

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on around me; however, through my experience with my supervisor, I was able to learn how to
remain calm while working in a busy environment.
In the Field Reflection
There were many items that I found challenging about my field experience. The key
challenge for me throughout my field experience was learning about a completely different side
of Western Michigan University. I have attended this institution for several years and I felt that I
knew a great deal about the institution when I began my field experience. However, I quickly
learned that while working in the Office of Admissions at Western Michigan University it is
important to be well versed in many areas of the universitys culture and have the contact
information for individuals on campus. This is helpful because if one does not know the answer
to a question, the question can be directed to someone that can answer it. There were many
requirements for admission as well as transfer requirements that I memorized in an effort to
assist prospective students. I also learned a great deal about the institution through my weekly
presentation to prospective students. This experience allowed me to learn even more about this
institution. While these items were challenging for me, it was also the most rewarding part of my
field experience when I was able to learn key facts about Western Michigan University and help
prospective students.
An overarching theme throughout all of my courses in the Higher Education and Student
Affairs Masters Program at Western Michigan University is to put students first. Again, this was
something that I felt was a common theme throughout my field experience as well. For example,
prospective students and their families were made the top priority by student staff members and
professional staff members from the moment they stepped into the office of admissions. My
supervisor also put the student staff members first when communicating with them, making sure

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to address their concerns and see how they were doing. This was inspiring because I feel that it
would be easy to focus only on the prospective students, however, my supervisor was able to
effectively make the student staff members in the office of admissions a top priority as well. An
additional item that I took from this experience was the importance of being an active listener.
This was a topic often covered throughout the Interventions in Higher Education course that I
took at Western Michigan University. It is important to be an active listener when
communicating with anyone, particularly prospective students. It is very common for students
and their families to come to the office of admissions with many questions about the admissions
process, the institution as a whole, scholarship opportunities, and many other items. It is
important to actively listen to their concerns and questions in order to assist them to the best of
ones ability. While I spoke with prospective students I definitely utilized my active listening
skills to assist the students in answering their questions.
Competencies and Skill Set Reflections
I feel that through my field experience I have grown to be a more effective student affairs
practitioner in many areas, particularly in the area of equity, diversity, and inclusion. I have
developed in this area through my experience in leadership academy in which I facilitated two
session on diversity and inclusion. This experience helped me to gain confidence in discussion
topics that I felt uneasy discussing previously and beginning conversations with students that
provided insight and thoughtful discussion for both students and myself. I also worked with
current students and prospective students with unique experiences, learning styles, and
backgrounds which helped me to further develop in this area as well.
There are three other competency areas in which I feel that I have developed a great deal.
Those competency areas are advising and helping, history, philosophy, and values, and

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leadership. I was able to gain experience in advising and helping through meeting with
prospective students one on one and being able to answer their questions about the admissions
process and about Western Michigan University as a whole. I was able to apply my own personal
experience to answer some of their questions as well as apply the newly found information that I
had learned through my field experience when working with prospective students and their
families. I was also able to learn a great deal about the history and philosophy of Western
Michigan University. I presented information about the institutions history every week during
my presentations to prospective students and their families and this gave me great insight into the
institutions development. Finally, I was able to learn a great deal about leadership through my
experiences with job shadowing both interns as well as admissions counselors. I was able to see
how these individuals honed their own leadership roles in the office and how they inspired others
to be positive leaders within their job but also on campus and in the future. I was able to apply
the leadership skills that I saw and developed when I facilitated the leadership academy program.
I greatly enjoyed this program and I hope to continue to work with leadership programs in some
capacity in the future as well.
Conclusion
Throughout the course of my field experience I have learned a great deal about myself,
and the role of an admissions office. Through working with prospective students, facilitating
leadership programs, and job shadowing professionals in the field, I feel that I have a much
greater understanding of the key role an admission office plays within an institution. This
experience confirmed that this is an area of student affairs that I hope to work with again in the
future. Regardless of my student affairs position, I will take the information and experiences that

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I gained with me in any position that I hold in the future. I look forward to applying what I have
learned through my field experience to my student affairs career in the future.