Personal Narrative: A Career In Student Affairs

I would define Student Affairs as the field where the individuals that work in Higher Education provide a supportive role for the students. Those individuals in these roles work to ensure the enhancement of the student’s experience and development. I used to think that the way to define Student Affairs professionals was that they were non Faculty members, but have had to rethink this definition. Every individual in student affairs brings different qualities to the field, which is important. I associate a number of equally important attributes with the profession. Patience and caring come to mind when thinking of student affairs. Other attributes that I associate with a professional in Student Affairs are openness, supportive, developer, enhancer,

Also, leadership development in others as well as myself became a topic of importance during my undergraduate career. I found that learning about Student Affairs became more interesting than Psychology (my major) and many of the other subjects I studied. All of my employment during my higher education career fell under Student Affairs and I felt comfortable with that. Before transferring to a four-year institution, I did not know much about Student Affairs , or that I could have a career in it. Many of my mentors and supervisors also tole m that I needed to pursue this field. One particular professional encouraged and challenged me to get involved, apply for student employment, seek opportunities and go to conferences about leadership and diversity. This person was one of the first that inspired me to think about ways that I could do the same for incoming students. Much of the support I received during college was through the Student Affairs professionals. I aspire to have the same influence on students that those individuals had on

I know what ways I differ from others in learning and am open to try things to figure out if they work for me or not. I had to be resilient in my experience as an undergraduate student, as a person in general and believe that this will be helpful as I continue my education and development. I tend to look for challenging and rewarding experiences that have the basic outcome that I will learn something new, and graduate school will incorporate both of those qualities. Professionally, I have been prepared through my experience as a leader and student employee. I have had the opportunity to take part in professional development and trainings through the departments for which I have worked. My experience as the student manager of the Kirby Program Board (KPB) at University of Minnesota Duluth taught me so much about myself as well as well as expectations that one has when in a position with more responsibility. The staff supervisor for KPB took another position at a different institution and my responsibilities became greater. I had to learn the position of student manager and take on some of the tasks that my supervisor would generally do. I sat on the search committee for the replacement of that position and had to think about the needs of all the other students that this person would work with. I