Running head: NARRATIVE REFLECTION 1

Narrative Reflection

Fernando Arce

Loyola University Chicago

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I knew from the moment I was completing my undergraduate career that I wanted to be in

education. I was on track to be a high school English teacher before I decided to not go through

with it. Once I graduated, I worked on temporary contracts throughout the city of Chicago to

build up my resume. These positions were all data entry for startups and other companies—from

fashion to technology before going back to education. During that summer, I realized that I

missed working with students while I worked on academic affairs in two different for-profit

universities. What I did not know about being in the field as a student affairs professional was

the amount of theories and models that would be essential for my success. While working at the

for-profit universities, I was either working away from students in the registrar’s office or

working in admissions were the only time I had interactions with students was through the phone

where I followed a script on my computer. I am thankful for the opportunities because without

them, I would not have been able to understand the importance of the lessons taught while in the

higher education program at Loyola University Chicago.

During my time in the program, I had amazing faculty members and participated in

classes that were challenging as they were pivotal to my development as an emerging

professional. Two classes, though, stand out from the rest as they have directly impacted the way

I see the field and the literature that I read in them have informed my practice.

The first course was ‘Student Development in Higher Education’ taught by Dr. Darren

Pierre. This course taught me about important theories and models used to understand the

development of students in campus as well as ways for student affair professionals to support

students on campus. Both the theories and models were important for my understanding of how

students developed during their time in college, but it also affirmed my own experiences by

giving what I went through a name. Particularly, I appreciated how Darren challenged us to
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situate ourselves in the literature by reflecting almost weekly on the readings that we had been

assigned and explaining how we could use it to support students. I still remember how I

discussed the benefits of being involved on campus by incorporating my own experiences and

supporting them with the literature, specifically with Alexander Astin’s Involvement Theory

(1984) that describes the countless benefits of extracurricular involvement in college. This theory

will inform my practice because I want to work in an area where I support student organizations

and promote student involvement across campus.

In a similar regard, it is important to also have documentation to support initiatives,

programs, and series that we may host for students on campus. This past spring, I took

‘Evaluation in Higher Education’ taught by Lisa Davidson where we delved into the importance

and often misconceptions surrounding assessment and evaluation in higher education. In that

class, not only was it research heavy but was also the most thorough and impactful course I have

taken in this program. Frankly, I was intimidated by it before I even stepped foot inside the

classroom but by the end of the course, I was extremely thankful to Lisa for having provided an

amazing foundation for us to learn about assessment. The takeaway for me was that assessment

is not complex and should not be an area of intimidation. The way that she structured the final

project by having check-points throughout the semester provided a feasible strategy for us to use

once we need to perform assessment in our departments. During the course, I was completing my

internship in the Office of Student Conduct & Conflict Resolution (OSCCR) where we were

undergoing through our own assessment efforts and thank to this class, I was able to contribute

to the assessment efforts of the office.

While the courses I have taken have prepared me for the work that I will be exposed to

once I enter the field, the program has afforded me opportunities to develop personally. When it
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comes to my own development, I learned the importance of asking for grace and giving grace.

When I began the program, I felt as though I needed to perform and show no weakness. I was in

a prestigious graduate program and felt as though if I felt short, I would be a failure. Later, I

realized that I was suffering from imposter syndrome and was continually comparing myself to

my cohort mates. It was during my course entitled ‘The Student Affairs Profession in Higher

Education’ taught by Dr. OiYan Poon that I learned about the concept of providing and

requesting grace. This small thing has provided me with the ability to ask for help and made me

a stronger person for it. In the past, I would suffer in silence and hope for the best but after

learning about ‘grace’ and self-care from this course, I know that it is important to avoid the

infamous burnout that our field is plague by.

Additionally, I have learned about the importance of transparency and the power of

validation and affirmation. Towards the end of my first year in the program, the higher education

program went through a period of turmoil that was fueled in part by the lack of communication

between leadership in the School of Education and folks within the higher education program.

The lack of transparency created an environment of uncertainty and confusion for many of the

faculty and students in the program. The idea of being transparent to the program’s constituents

was something I continued to think about as I was elected President of the Higher Education

Student Association (HESA) for the 2017-2018 school year. During my tenure as president, I

was constantly reminded to be transparent with the rest of the board and by extension, to the

students in the program. It was important for us as a board to share as much as we could with the

rest of the students in the program since we had witnessed firsthand the repercussions of being

guarded in the processes of the board.

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Just as I learned from my time as President and from previous obstacles faced by the

program, I learned that ‘difficult’ conversations are not as difficult as they appear to be. This

lesson was taught by my internship experience in OSCCR which lasted for a full school year.

The reason why I applied for this position initially was because I have never felt comfortable

having these types of conversations and never liked to be involved in conflict. I wanted to be

challenged by being in a position where I need have these types of interactions so that I would be

prepared to have them once I left the program. Through my experience in the office, I developed

strategies on deescalating situations that may cause students to shut down and make it difficult

from getting students to be receptive. On the flip side, I developed an affinity to building rapport

and making students feel comfortable which results in better outcomes from students and case.

Using the experiences from my time in conduct, I have been able to initiate conversations that

are difficult to have and facilitated disagreements between peers and students. I know that

wherever I go, there will always be disagreements and thanks to my year in conduct, I am better

equipped to handle those situations.

Finally, during these two years, I have been exposed to several new ways to be inclusive

and live a more socially just life. Before this program began, I did not know the impact of what I

now consider ‘simple courtesies’ such as asking for preferred names and personal pronouns. This

allows students to speak their truth and present themselves as their authentic self. Similarly, in

the course with Dr. Bridget Turner-Kelly, I learned the power that language has how using

certain terminologies and words can result in us oppressing folks that have traditionally been

marginalized in society. By having this knowledge, I have created a list of words that are

inclusive to substitute words that exclude members of our society. Thanks to this program, I have
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developed an ability to identify problematic jokes, words, and sentiments and can share those

lessons with students and colleges once I enter the field.