Implications for Professional Practice: Personal Development (LO 4, Artifact A,

D, F)
Although I can certainly name that I am terrified to go out into the real world, I am
very excited to see what I can achieve within the field of student affairs. I feel that my strengths
of strong personal foundation and my advocacy for different student communities can set me up
for an enlightening and empowering career. I also believe that this recognition of my areas for
growth within policy, assessment, and communication can provide me the opportunity for
exploration and continued learning.
Professional Promise (Artifact A, D). Upon looking at my resume (Artifact A) and
experiences I have developed from my alma mater to my last two quarters within the Student
Development Administration Program, I am very excited to see how I can further expand the
work that I have done. At first, looking at the office types I have looked at, I noticed how my
personal experiences had been within a wide range of offices. When writing my cover letters and
tailoring my resumes, I initially felt like I had doomed myself by having too much breadth and
not enough depth. However, upon further reflection and self-exploration, I realized that I do
bring value into the field of student affairs.
I am thankful for all of the opportunities I gained to meet a wide range of students and
listen to personal stories involving a wide range of experiences. As someone who learns from
Concrete Experience (CE) and Reflective Observation (RO), I realized that I accidentally created
an ideal experience to best match how I learned (The Kolb Learning Style Inventory, 2007). I
was able to meet with stakeholders at four different institutional types- private, public,
community college, Jesuit and reflect on my observations after listening to the experiences of
many different students.

I was talking with Jennifer Wascher, the Assistant Director at Seattle Universitys
International Student Center, about my job search (Artifact D). We had talked about what area I
wanted to continue working in after I was done with my assistantship. I shared that I wanted to
continue working with underserved communities in order to meet with my long-term goal.
Currently, as I prepare for TPE, I am applying for positions that provide me with the opportunity
to work with the API or international community or a position working with any student
population that is located in a city with an International District or Japan Town. After much
discernment, I had decided to let go of my regional search due to the limitations in being able to
find a job within the area. If I were to move away from my Western Washington community, I
need to find a student community that I can relate to or find an environment in which I can
continue to stay involved with my personal communities. Just as much as it is important for our
students to find their psychological sense of belonging, I have also come to recognize how
important this is for myself, thanks to the research I have done with identity-based spaces
(Hurtado, 2008).
Continued Personal and Professional Development (Artifact F). Within
EDUC 5130 Adult Learning, I have learned about the different settings of learning. There have
been many times in which I have discussed with my colleagues, mentors, and friends on how I
am both excited and terrified to no longer be considered a student. Ever since I was four years
old, I have had only a few summer vacations where I was not in school. Now, twenty years later,
I realized that I will need to discover who I am outside of academia.
This implication for my professional practice is important to me, because of that classic
interview question of So tell us a little about yourself. Well, who will I be? My goal, which I
would meet by utilizing my Five-Year Plan (Article F), would be to create a personal

environment of continued learning within an informal, independent setting. Professionally, I

want to be able to learn more about the conduct process, best practices for advising students,
communication, and HR policies. These were some of the areas that needed to be developed, in
accordance to my ACPA/NASPA competencies, other areas include specific topics that I know I
need to understand in order to become a higher-level professional. I also want to find
opportunities to learn more outside of my work. I plan on continuing my education within music,
community involvement, and learning about the local history of any community I am a part of.
Reflection (LO 4). To conclude my Learning Outcome Narrative, I have to add my
final section on the reflective process. Before coming to the SDA program, I had always
considered myself to be a spiritual person but never had an educational opportunity to explore
my spirituality and faith. Although faith, spirituality, and religion are different from one another,
I believe that the SDA program had enabled me to understand my identity within all three
domains.
Back in my first quarter, in SDAD 5400 Student Development Theory, Research, and
Practice, we had the opportunity to read about Fowlers (2000) Theory of Faith Development
(Evans et. al, 2010). Between the exploration of the reflective process and my trip back to Japan
for the first time in eight to nine years, I began to recognize that I was not agnostic or atheist.
Instead, I recognized that I identified closely with both Buddhism and Shintoism, and could not
practice it because I was living in the United States. When I had the opportunity to return to
Japan, I felt empowered and in a space of solidarity. This made me appreciate the reflective
process even more.
Learning Outcome 4 states that we are expected to understand and
foster diversity, justice, and a sustainable world formed by a global

perspective and a Jesuit Catholic tradition. Earlier, I talked about the diversity, justice,
and globalism piece of this learning outcome. However, I want to take a moment to talk about
the Jesuit Catholic concept. There are aspects of Seattle University that I struggle to identify
with, such as the policies on discussing sexual health and pro-choice issues. However, I love the
reflective process. There are moments in which I believe we should talk about the reflexive
process and study our own perspectives while implementing changes rather than only focus on
looking back at the process used to implement change. But I think that the transformative,
educational experience was where I had learned the most within the program. With the many
opportunities to explore my personal growth and identity within each course I have taken, I feel
that I have a deeper connection and understanding of the theories. Rather than being able to
name theorists, I can connect the theories with experiences that I learned about, felt, or heard.
To conclude this narrative, I have to take a moment to express my appreciation for all
who have supported me throughout my higher education journey. I had many people help me get
into the Student Development Program, and then had even more people support me as I struggled
my way through this experience. As I had stated at the beginning of this narrative, this was the
most difficult two years of my life, and I would not have made it without the remarkable
community I have created.