Proficient

Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

Student Athlete Services and Career Center Program: Ways to Win an Extra $1,000

Design program and learning outcomes that are clear, specific, and measurable; informed by theoretical frameworks and aligned with organizational outcomes, goals, and values (p. 14).
Prioritize program and learning outcomes with organization’s goals and values (p. 14).
Explain to students and colleagues the relationship of AER processes to learning outcomes and goals (p. 14)

The program “Ways to Win an Extra $1,000” was supposed to take place in the UNIV 3310 course for student-athletes that was cancelled mid-semester. The information then turned into a program for all student-athletes to attend. To help students begin thinking about interviewing and negotiating for their first job, I used information that I have gained from the BGSU Career Center, CSP professors, and CSP alumni to bring the presentation together.

The learning outcomes consisted of students being able to incorporate new resources for interview preparation, apply interview skills successfully, compare and contrast negotiable parameters, and demonstrate ways to negotiate a salary and benefits. Sharing this information with students who have not quite done these things yet will begin to have them rethink how to interview properly and have confidence when they hold negotiating discussions with their future supervisor.

Throughout the presentation I made it a point to explain to the students how the learning outcomes tied into the content being shared. There was an activity at the end of the presentation for students to specifically determine what parameters were negotiable and what were components of a job they were willing to be more lenient on. This allows students to determine what they consider are their “needs” and “wants” when securing their first job after graduating from college.

The assessment at the end of the presentation helps the Career Center staff and I know how to best connect with students. It is important for the Career Center to know how to best communicate to students (e.g. BG email, social media) and to find out what students know about the Career Center. Reviewing the assessments, we are able to adjust our focus on areas of improvement so students are educated on topics they view are important.

Create assessment for “Ace Your Career”

Differentiate among methods for assessment, program review, evaluation, planning, and research (p. 15).
Ensure all communications of AER results are accurate, responsible, and effective (p. 16).

“Ace Your Career” program was put together by two graduate assistants in the Career Center. We were expected to create, design, and implement a program that includes sharing career center resources to better equip students for their career preparation. We both developed our research skills because we were looking to find what student population career services could help. After doing research, Christina and I decided to direct the program toward first-year students. Research suggests that first-year students are not thinking about career services. They have just arrived on campus; career aspirations are still developing for many students.

Since we both have a background in residence life, this was a strength of ours, we knew targeting a first year residence hall would be a prime location to educate students about the career center. Research suggested that first year students need to know where to locate the career center, what services are offered for them, and what career specific programs are affiliated with their major. When coordinating with the graduate hall director, they alluded to how the residents congregate around the ping pong table.

When it came to planning for the program, we used information about how residents tend to play a lot of ping pong to help us find a spot that draws a lot of students. Utilizing a space where students are presents a captive audience. The program included a ping pong tournament and while the students were waiting to play there were three stations on Career Center resources. One station was a presentation on an overview of the Career Center. The second station was on Big Interview, a free resource for BGSU students, that provides videos and mock questions about interviewing. The third station was to have students correct resumes while learning what common mistakes students make on their resumes.

At the end of the program, Christina and I reviewed the two assessments that were given to the 15 students who attended. We wanted to know the demographics of the students who attended and the following assessment was focused on to find out the students know about the Career Center. Reviewing the assessments, we made sure to accurately input the data into the Career Center’s database for the end of the year report. Ensuring accuracy is imperative because this information is sent to upper administration to review and make necessary changes for student’s learning, growth, and development revolving around career development.

Personal and Ethical Foundations

Whole30

Create and implement a plan for healthy living (p. 26).
Share resources and support strategies with others (p. 26).
Be aware of others’ wellness and support their efforts to be well (p. 26).

Living a healthy lifestyle is important to me. Fitness is one of my values which is something I am constantly mindful of on a daily basis. During my time in graduate school I noticed I needed a change. Many cohort mates and colleagues talked about Whole30 but at first it sounded like a terrible idea. I came to the conclusion, that if I really wanted to change I must do something I have never done before. Whole30 was the direction I was going to go in order to reap the benefits of this difference.

In order to complete Whole30, it is critical to have accountability and self-discipline. These were the two attributes I learned the most after finishing the program. Creating a plan, telling others what Whole30 is, and learning new recipes helped me through the 30-day program which supports healthy living. In graduate school there are a lot of responsibilities to factor in and I have seen and experienced the physical dimension of one’s life get pushed to the back burner. I find this very disheartening and I think there needs to be more of an emphasis on wellness and healthy living.

While completing Whole30 and after taking part in the experiment, I am a huge advocate for the program. As hesitant as I was prior to committing to this life altering detox, I share resources and support strategies that would benefit someone who is looking to try Whole30. I want to give back to those who are uneasy about it and serve as an accountable person in their life while they do it. Without support, it is easy to give in and go back to old habits. From completing Whole30 I am more conscious of what I put in my body, the fewer ingredients, the better!

6890: Supervised Field Experience in College Student Personnel

Analyze personal experiences for deeper learning/growth and engage others in reflection (p. 27).
Recognize importance of reflection in personal, professional, and ethical development (p. 27).

Taking part in 6890 has pushed me to be more reflective in my coursework and field experience. Answering critical questions and thinking about how coursework and field experiences tie together is a must in this program. Juggling work, school, and personal life is a big change for graduate students; having required papers that make students analyze their growth and learning helps connect the dots. The course focuses on the 10 professional competencies and how to express our professional and ethical development throughout the three semesters. Receiving feedback from our advisor through our monthly papers helps articulate what we are going through. Plus, the advisor can direct us when we are lost and not sure how to make the most of the CSP program.

Being placed in smaller groups that build a community is a great way for folks to share their experiences and work together through the good and the bad. As an external processor, being able to express myself among six to seven other cohort mates allows me to bring thoughts I have had to the surface. They are able to share different strategies that have worked before when I was at a crossroad in my coursework or field experience. I believe having a smaller team allows folks to make closer connections with others since our cohort has 30+ students in it.

This course has challenged me to think outside of the lines but also keeps me focused on what this profession finds imperative. Reflection has been something I know I need to do more of. I have been meaning to make time for personal reflection but I push it back and find other things to fill in that time. Writing monthly reflections has shown me the importance of recognizing the benefits of reflection. Due to the course, I made it a point to reflect during my summer internship at American University (AU) in Washington D.C. along with the two-week immersive experience at Willamette University (WU). Being intentional to learn how AU and WU works helps me paint a better picture on how other institutions across the nation functions successfully.

Social Justice and Inclusion

We Are One Team (WA1T)

Articulate a foundational understanding of social justice and inclusion within the context of higher education (p. 28).
Provide opportunities for inclusive and social justice educational professional development (p. 28).
Advocate on issues of social justice, oppression, privilege, and power that affect people based on local, country, and global interconnections (p. 29).

In the second year in the CSP experience, through my practicum with Student Athlete Services, I was able to join, collaborate, and construct the We Are One Team (WA1T) curriculum for two of their sessions. The curriculum was drafted and composed similarly to the Center for Leadership’s inclusion program. Reviewing their curriculum helped guide the direction of the educational course however the intention was to tie social justice, inclusion, and diversity towards the interest of sport.

The WA1T leadership team consists of the founder (a PhD. student), a student-athlete representative, two student-athlete services professionals, and I meet on a weekly basis to discuss the upcoming topics to begin designing the two-hour class. The leadership team has been beneficial in brainstorming and designing activities that highlight points of oppression and privilege that are centered around sports to help make these key points relevant to the student-athletes lives. Working with this team has opened up my eyes on how to create a successful course on inclusion and social justice. Having this as a starting point is something I would hope to bring to the next campus I work at.

By playing a role in constructing the curriculum and witnessing how involved the students are in the sessions has made me be more socially aware and conscious of incorporating more of this learning in a higher education setting. The class consists of 21 student-athletes who range from sophomores to seniors, 10 of the 18 sports are represented, and have a variety of ethnicities and nationalities expressed in the class. The 21 students are highly engaged, motivated, and eager to learn how to be an ally, recognize power and privilege, and promote an inclusive team environment. With 25 upcoming students being in the next cohort, this will continue to add more inclusive leaders on campus and society as a whole.

ACPA Presidential Symposium on Racial Justice in Higher Education

Evaluate one’s participation in systems of oppression, privilege, and power without shaming others (p. 28).
Provide opportunities for inclusive and social justice educational professional development (p. 28).

Virtually attending the ACAPA Presidential Symposium was a worthwhile experience to help develop my social justice and inclusion competency. Listening to Stephen John Quaye, Lori Patton Davis, and Shaun R. Harper speak together on what they have witnessed and observed of late on the topic of equity was impactful. As a privileged White, cisgender, male, I cannot personally relate because of the identities I hold.

The conference was led by Stephen John Quaye, Lori Patton Davis, and Shaun R. Harper, two of whom were authors of our student theory development book. This intrigued me to hear their perspective in person on student theory and social justice. The three keynote speakers incorporated breakout sessions during their presentations in order to have dialogue amongst the attendees. I was able to partner with cohort mates where we could evaluate one another’s participation in systems of oppression and privilege without shaming one other. In this mini group conversations, it is where I feel the most comfortable sharing my thoughts rather than sharing with a large group. Discussing oppression, privilege, and power in smaller groups allows others to help me articulate my thoughts appropriately rather than negatively impacting others when my intentions are not to do so.

Had I not gone to the national ACPA conference in 2017, I do not think I would have been able to digest the topics covered in the presidential symposium. Attending conferences, forums, and discussions centered on promoting social justice and inclusion has slowly opened up my mind and heart to make myself more aware. Since I have sat in conversations and presentations throughout my time in the CSP program, I am now more in tune to what is being discussed. Prior to this program, I was unaware of power and privilege that individuals hold within our society.

I intend to expose myself to uncomfortable spaces that I may not fit in so I can further educate myself. I do believe that when someone does feel vulnerable or defensive, it is important to recognize this thought. I have taught myself to take a step back and humble myself and know there are two sides to every coin and I must know what other individuals go through on a daily basis.

Technology

Communicating with CSAs via Google Drive

Utilize social media and other digital communication and collaboration tools to engage students in programs and activities (p. 34).
Demonstrate awareness of one’s digital identity and engage students in learning activities related to responsible digital communications and virtual community engagement (p. 33).
Utilize multiple strategies for accessing and assessing information (p. 33).

As one of the Career Center Student Ambassadors (CSA’s) supervisors, we must build different avenues to communicate to our 10 student workers. The role of the supervisor is to organize and create a schedule of events so the students know which events they will be working and what role they will be playing. This being my first time as a supervisor, I had to learn how to operate various technology software that is suitable for the student workers to access in order for them to be successful within their position.

In order to do so, we tell the CSA’s that the professional way to communicate with the supervisors is to email us. It was important to set that boundary as the best line of communication. Establishing a professional line of communication through email made sure there was a consistent method for students and supervisors to speak electronically. This was the supervisor’s way of demonstrating a responsible digital communication strategy. However, if there was an emergency or if someone was running late or needed a quick update, the supervisors were not opposed to sending a text message to rely a message. Emailing and texting were the best ways of communicating with one another, with the former taking precedence over the latter.

Besides communicating electronically through email, students received calendar events on their Outlook calendar in order to keep them organized on what days they will be working events for the Career Center. Meanwhile, a master schedule of upcoming events that showcased the event name, location, time, and which CSA’s were working is available to them via the CSA Google Drive. Not familiar with how Google Drive works, I had to learn quickly on how to use this tool to help engage the CSA’s in programs and activities. After playing around with Google Drive, it is a useful resource for students to access and assess information they need in order to stay up to date on the events they are working.

American University: Eagle Summit

Troubleshoot basic software, hardware, and connectivity problems and refer more complex problems to an appropriate information technology administrator (p. 32).

Anticipate potential problems with software, hardware, and connectivity and identify multiple strategies to troubleshoot these problems (p. 32).

Technology has not always come easy to me. Not only was I working at a new institution but I had to learn how they addressed problems on their campus in a short amount time. Let alone, being given the responsibility of an area that is not my expertise is another challenge within itself. At American University, I was given the role of technology and troubleshooting during Eagle Summit summer orientation. I had to make sure all of the laptops were set up in all of the rooms that were being used for orientation, clickers were working properly, the microphones worked and the sound was not too loud, and most importantly the visual aids were working smoothly too.

The first session in the morning was the most important session to make sure technology was working perfectly. All of the administrators were speaking in the first three-hour block with parents and guests. If the technology was not working properly, parents and guests would soon lose focus to the message being shared. This is why I would have to troubleshoot and run through all of the PowerPoints at least two hours before the three back-to-back-back sessions took place to avoid any hiccups.

Prior to Eagle Summit beginning in the summer, I made sure I made connections with information technology administrators and had proper phone numbers, in case I needed assistance. Recognizing the fact that technology is not my strength and anticipating that technology never works when we need it to the most, making the decision to know where their office was and who to contact made my life easier. The administrators would have to come over to Eagle Summit every morning, prior to the morning sessions, for the first week because either the cords to the subwoofer were not hooked up or the projector would show a blue screen. Watching them play with cords and asking questions, I soon was able to anticipate potential problems and fix them myself when troubleshooting a problem. Being given the responsibility of working with technology has made me more confidence when given a similar role.

ACPA—College Student Educators International & NASPA—Student Affairs Administrators in

Higher Education (2016). ACPA/NASPA Professional Competencies Rubrics. Retrieved from: https://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/ACPA_NASPA_Professional_ Competency_Rubrics_Full.pdf.