Running head: LO NARRATIVE STRENGTHS

Learning Outcome Narrative Strengths

LO NARRATIVE STRENGTHS

Integrative Theme: Student Centered Professional (LO #2, #3, #5, and #10 Artifacts D, J, E,
G, A1 and A2)
The integrative macro theme for my strengths during the SDA program is being a student
centered professional. This is important to me because students are the reason that I started
working in higher education and students are the reason that I continue to work in higher
education. I feel that my strengths in advising, mentoring, and caring for students in crisis all
contribute to my strengths as a student centered professional. I am particularly motivated in
these areas by Schlossbergs (1989) theory of marginality and mattering and her transition theory,
Sanfords (1966) theory of challenge and support, and Maslows (1954) hierarchy of needs.
Kuhs (1999) best practice of having high expectations for students success has also played a
large role in developing my strengths in being a student centered professional. I believe that we
must meet students where they are at with care and support in order to help them grow and
develop meaning in their lives.
Learning Outcome Dimensions
Advising and student care encompasses learning outcomes #2 and #10. Three key
dimensions of learning outcome #2 are identifying specific student issues, listening to students
needs, and care of the student. Through my internships with both Career Services at Seattle
University and Academic Advising at Bellevue College, I was able to learn and hone these skills
through my one-on-one advising interactions with students. Advising of any sort in higher
education cannot happen without caring for students as human beings and being able to
understand the basic needs of and unique issues that students are facing today. Maslows (1954)
hierarchy of needs has come to define my personal philosophy of caring for students, as I really
believe that our students have to have basic needs met in order to move onto higher-level

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learning. Through working with students in transition and in crisis I have been able to apply
Maslows hierarchy and how I can use this in an advising capacity to assess student needs and
provide care for students in a way that will be intentional and impactful.
Artifact D: Best Presentation showcases my ability in my internship with Career
Services to determine the specific needs of students and provide the support and care that they
need individually to be successful. Artifact J: Distinctive Contribution is evidence of my
ability to create a piece of curriculum around advising that helps students to understand how
advising can help them in their own individual educational journey and attempts to help students
feel that academic advising is a place where they can feel listened to, cared for, and supported.
Learning outcome #10 also supports the subtheme of advising and student care through
its three key dimensions of identifying what type of professional one wants to become,
establishing ones identity as a professional in the field, and working towards professional goals.
I feel that both of my internships have allowed me to explore all three of these dimensions. I
have been able to experience different work environments, supervisors, and colleagues, and from
these experiences I have been able to identify that I want to be a student centered professional
who exhibits care for my students and works in an advising capacity. My artifacts D and J both
illustrate the work that I have done to start to establish myself as a professional in the field of
advising. They also have helped me to achieve and develop future professional goals. In
addition, I was inspired by the Human Resources View of Academic Leadership that we learned
about in SDAD 5760: Leadership and Governance and the idea of a currency of care. This is
something that I strive to make a part of my identity as a professional in the field.
Supporting specialized populations encompasses learning outcome #5. Three of the key
dimensions of learning outcome #5 are adaption and flexibility, openness to other viewpoints

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and ways of being, and understanding unique student populations. I think that Kuhs (1999) best
practice of having high expectations for student success coupled with Sanfords (1966) model of
challenge and support have really helped me grow in my strengths in supporting specialized
populations. By having high expectations for all of my students, I am letting them know that I
believe in them and their abilities no matter who they are. Using this with the challenge and
support model, I am able to also acknowledge what may be challenging or unique to a particular
students situation and support them through the process in the way that they need and that will
best help them while keeping my expectations for their contribution to the situation high.
Artifact G: Research and Programming Development demonstrates my ability to take
on a specialized student population, identify their needs, and propose best practices for working
with that population and creating more successful students. For this particular project I was
focusing on transfer students, and I found during this research project a great passion within
myself for working with this population of students. I also found that Schlossbergs (1989)
concepts of moving in, moving through, and moving out were brought to life through working
with transfer students, who are almost always in a state of transition. I was able to really
understand how I can be with a student in all stages of their transition and meaning making while
keeping high expectations of their abilities to succeed. Artifact E: Beyond Campus: Jesuit
Context and Commitment demonstrates my ability to recognize a need within a particular
student population, in this case student leaders who had missed a critical student leader training
event, and adapt a curriculum to help this population of students be successful in their student
leader roles. This training required me to, in collaboration with my colleague, pare down a three
day training into a four hour training and really bring out what our specialized population needed
at that point in time. It also required me to continue to challenge and support those staff

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members throughout their time with the program to continue to re-visit parts of this training, for
example the multicultural competence piece, and what it meant to their position on an ongoing
basis.
Effective Communication encompasses learning outcome #3. Three of the key
dimensions of learning outcome #3 are clear and concise writing, effective oral communication,
and adaptability. Artifact A1: Original Resume demonstrates where my communication level
started in this program and my ability to clearly outline my strengths and passions as well as my
ability to be successful in a graduate program of study. Artifact A2: Current Resume
demonstrates my growth in my ability to communicate my skills, strengths, and passions in the
field. I would hope that all of my artifacts would demonstrate my ability to write clearly and
concisely on a given topic. I also think that my internship seminars have given me the ability to
practice and demonstrate my oral presentation skills in this program. My interactions in my
internships with my colleagues and supervisors, as well as my advising with students have
demonstrated my strength in one-on-one or small group oral communication. My ability to go
from an intern to a full time employee at Bellevue College also demonstrates that communication
of my goals, passions, and my ability to communicate well with students are all strengths.
I feel that the sub theme of effective communication as a strength also benefits from my
practice of Kuhs (1999) best practice of having high expectations for students success. Once
cannot have high expectations and hold students accountable for those expectations if one cannot
articulate those expectations to students. Being able to communicate in a way that makes sense
to students, helps them develop self-efficacy, and makes them feel cared for as a student is a skill
that I have been working on for a long time. Being able to effectively challenge and support
(Sanford 1966) students in my interactions with them requires a high level of communication

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skill as well.
Demonstration of Development in Learning Outcomes
Past
Before coming into the SDA program, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in advising
in some capacity. I did not know all of the options available to me however, and I certainly
didnt know where I wanted to pursue this career. I also knew that it was important to me to be
able to support students through care and direct service. I spent a year of my undergraduate
studies serving students who were experiencing hunger, homelessness, and poverty on campus
and I knew that I wanted to be directly connected to students and the issues that they were
facing. The SDA program has given me more language and skills to talk to and about these
students and advocate on their behalf. It has also helped me to determine where I can most
effectively combine my passions and my skills to create a career path that is meaningful and my
own (Baxter Magolda, 2010)
Future
As I move into the future, I plan on continuing in my position at Bellevue College in
Academic Advising. I am excited to keep developing my strengths in advising and student care
through one on one academic advising appointments and group first year student advising
presentations. I will continue to develop my strengths in supporting specialized populations
through working with specific student populations, such as first time to college students and
transfer students, and advocating on behalf of these student populations. Lastly, I will continue
to develop my strengths in effective communication through continuing to strive for clarity in my
one-on-one interactions with students and by continuing to write and create materials and
presentations for the advising department. I will also strive to be a professional that my

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colleagues know they can count on and communicate with through the rough and the good times.

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8
References

Baxter Magolda, M., Sanford, N and Schlossberg, N In: Evans, N., Forney, D., Guido, F., Patton,
L., & Renn, K. (2010). Using Student Development Theory. In Student Development in
College. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Kuh, G. D. (Eds.) 1999). Good practice in student affairs: Principles to foster student learning.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Manning, K. (2013). Organizational theory in higher education. New York: Routledge.
Maslow, A. In: Hanvey, D., Heeg, A., Kreitl, B., Lloyd, K., & Yarnelle, A. (2010). Setting the
Stage. In Ready or Not: Beginning Your Career Journey. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana
University.