SEAHO Report - Spring 2018 - 20

SEAHO Feature Articles
ates in their assistantship. You should strive not to fail, but know that even when you make a mistake or fail, you
are still worthy. Why am I telling you this with such surety that you will make mistakes and fail in your assistantship? Because I made mistakes, because I failed. Again, that's okay. What is truly important during these two
years of my graduate experience is that I learn from my mistakes and where I fall short so that I may improve in
the future.
Coming in as a first time Student Affairs professional and Residence Life employee, I found out quickly how
little I knew. For example, I had heard the term "first six weeks" but didn't understand just how integral it was to
student success and community engagement. I also quickly forgot how, especially in my first year, my time as a
graduate student is supposed to be developmental. I became over-reliant on email as a form of communication.
Although email is a reliable and robust form of communication, with the sheer volume of emails many professional staff and students get, email is impractical as a sole source of communication.
A common question is how the theory we are learning in class informs our practice. Using theory to inform our
practice is a great tool to assist in being intentional with housing and developing our students however, it's hard
to use theory appropriately in your first year when you don't know it well, if at all. At times I oversubscribed myself, leading to not enough time between obligations and each obligation suffering in turn. This was also reflected
in my lack of delegating duties to others as necessary. As the internship search season came about, I learned that
a lack of clear communication left me on the defense in this process and scrambling once I had better clarity.
Like you, I had at least four years of undergraduate education but it wasn't until I was a para-professional that I
understood what goes into the academic year, and spring is so much busier than fall!
The fast-paced nature of Student Affairs doesn't lend itself to 'newbies' feeling super prepared for new situations.
Sure, I have a bachelor's degree, limited para-professional experience, and a passion for student success, but
knowing what I am doing is an integral part of the role. I have tremendous appreciation for my supervisor in this
regard. Time and again as I struggled with feelings of inadequacy in my role, they have been there to remind me
that all expectations aside, I am new to the profession so there are bound to be growing pains. Growing pains
help us grow in a positive direction and learn from past errors.
I have great admiration for the developmental nature of Student Affairs, development is encoded in the DNA of
what we do. We spend two years learning about how our students develop in their identity and as moral, decision
making beings. We must remember that we too are developing as moral, decision making beings and to not be
overly harsh on our own mistakes and limitations.
Mistakes and failures will happen, but reflection on those missteps is important for growth and moving forward.
So how will I improve on my performance over the past year? I will be more forward thinking. This is easier than
it was previously because I am responsible for mapping out the upcoming year for myself and my students. I can
be more intentional in the first six weeks with programming and community building. I'll build student profiles,
including students in the process so that I can ensure that I am meeting their needs. I learned over this past year
that students and professionals are overburdened with email expectations, so group chats and face-to-face visits
were substituted when appropriate. I will connect the developmental theory learned in class to practice, knowing
how important the first six weeks are and create appropriate programs with clear goals. Being able to look ahead
at the academic year is refreshing. It offers me the opportunity to plan out co-professional experiences with this
year's insight as part of my toolkit. I will also need to practice better time management and better delegation of
responsibilities, both of which are important in my development, self-care, and the development of the staff that
works with me. Understanding expectations and asking questions in advance are important for strong job performance and limiting potential challenges. Ultimately, I have a better idea now of what to expect from the year
ahead thanks to my experience from the year that is now behind me.
SEAHO Report Spring 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Spring 2018