Perry's Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development

It turns out that my question mark tattoo on my ankle (pictured below) is based on one of the Student Development theories I'm studying for class. Who knew?!? Let me explain...

When people ask "why do you have a question mark tattoo on your ankle?" I generally struggle explaining it to them exactly the way I want to. I usually say that it has to do with growing up and asking questions in order to form my own opinions; it also has a lot to do with the fact that I love learning, I'll never stop learning, and the only way to learn is to ask questions.

Well this lovely Sunday afternoon as I'm reading just a chapter of the hundreds of pages I have to get through this week, I realize that Perry's Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development deeply captures a piece of my own development in college and movement from dependence to independence. Parry's theory says the three concepts that represent fundamental differences in the meaning-making process are duality, multiplicity, and relativism.

Here is a quote from my book:

If ideas are essentially swallowed whole from authorities such as parents, teachers, group advisors, or textbooks, if little or no questioning is part of the process of adopting these beliefs  then the process demonstrates a dualistic mode of thinking. By contrast, relativistic thinkers, when presented with ideas by an authority figure, may adopt them as their own. Along the way, they critically examine ideas and perhaps even reject them for a period. The rationale for current adherence to the beliefs reflects a more complex process of coming to conclusions, a process that includes some questioning and a contextual basis for the stance taken.

 After reading this section I had to set my book down and take a breath (and write this post) just to say "WOW!" This whole time I have been interested in and have truly valued the development of the college student to such a degree that I tattooed a piece of my own development on my body permanently; before I started studying this sort of thing! Making these personal connections to the theories I'm learning has been incredibly helpful in comprehending content.

Well, back to reading. Happy Sunday!

The future is becoming clearer

my ideal career future, that is.

(I wrote the following yesterday morning, actually. I just couldn't post because we didn't have Internet and I didn't get to the public library!)

I think I'm finally starting to figure things out when it comes to my future career.  After discovering the student affairs field and consequently choosing it without hesitation for my future, I've come to realize it is a much larger field than I initially thought. Not only are there many specific areas of student affairs (student activities, student career centers, civic engagement, et cetera) but of course there are different levels and positions within those areas that I did not consider before. For instance, managing the student affairs office, assessing the development of a student affairs department, managing a student union, it's facilities, or directing the entire student life department.

I chose the field for several reasons. 1) I know that advising students is something I can be good at with practice and something I want to excel in. I moved from Milwaukee, WI, my hometown, to St. Cloud, MN for my undergraduate studies completely alone.  I turned to whatever department I could find for advice, activities, and advising because I just didn't know what to do with myself. It quickly became an identity crisis; a common phenomena of new students like I was. Searching for advice became a game; each department I visited gave me pamphlets, resources, and/or calendars of events and I gobbled it up. Resources! Free! What can I do with all this! Cool! I wanted to utilize all of them to better myself, make friends, and truly take advantage of my college experience; and that's what I ended up doing, though after some peer encouragement. 2) The university/college setting is where I feel that I fit in when it comes to a work place. Some would argue that I just don't want to leave my college life behind or I'm too afraid of change to start working in a company or firm. Let me lay it out for you: I thrive in changing environments, working with people, and being in more open minded communities. I've worked as a campus event planner for the last two years of my college career, so I already know what it is like to work in such an environment, and I already know that it is the environment for me. 3) Education is constantly growing/improving and education is everywhere. Student affairs may not academically instruct students, but it is still an incredibly valuable part of post secondary education, as I am beginning to learn in my studies at SU. When I was young the job I wanted "when I grew up" was to be a teacher. I couldn't explain it then, but now I know it was a precursor to my desire to work in an educational setting. When I say education is everywhere, I mean education can take me anywhere! Even if I don't work in a university, the things I learn from a student affairs program is going to be incredibly applicable in different educational institutions and I'm even looking forward to grasping that opportunity.

Of course, I could go on, but those are the main reasons I chose the field. The past few months it has been a struggle whether or not to decide what specific area I wanted to specialize in, if any. I loved the idea of working in a student career services center; helping students establish career paths, helping them find jobs in the area, et cetera. However, I couldn't find a passion for it. I considered student activities, where I have years of positive experience as an undergraduate, but my heart wasn't in that path 100%. The past year or so I've been looking at what I can do abroad, and I've dappled in researching working in an education abroad office, but I hadn't really been serious about it until recently. Here in Seattle I have been fortunate to come across several job postings that have helped me clarify the skills I want to attain and the responsibilities I want to practice in my daily work. It's a match made in heaven: I can advise students, I can work with people abroad, I can travel abroad, I can run orientation programs, I can use my Spanish skills, the list goes on! I have more research to do, but I'm confident that this is the area I want to work in. 

I do have one reservation about my career aspirations. Many can argue that student affairs in general doesn't exactly save lives, its not changing the future of a third world country, nor does it have much to do with national social justice issues. A long time ago I decided I wanted to work in whatever field would make an important difference in the world. You can argue that student affairs has the capability to make worldly and significant changes, but I can't get over the fact that in this day and age, the rich and privileged are still the majority of college students. The last thing I want to be is some superficial director of a study abroad office designing incredibly expensive programs for upper class students who might not take the program very seriously anyway. 

Well, what exactly do I want to do with an education abroad position, then?

There are a few things I am sure of:

I want to make programs affordable for everyone. I want to include civic engagement in all abroad experiences. I want to be a resource and friend for all the students who walk into my office and tell me how badly they want to experience the world around them. I want to design orientation programs and return programs for study abroad students in order for them to get the most out of their experience. I want to expose students who have never left the country to environments they'd never imagined before. I want to make sure they never forget their experience, and never forget that there is more to the world than their city or state. I want to involve them in something bigger than themselves.

And so my journey continues. I'm going to start searching for professional development opportunities that would give me an advantage in the education abroad field, as well as search for positions in Seattle that will help me develop relevant skills. I'm looking forward to everything I'm going to learn in the next few years in the Student Development Administration program at Seattle University so that I can apply it to my career plan.

Its an incredible relief and excitement to finally know what I want to do with my future.

The Job Search

is downright daunting.

Of course I'm looking at jobs that I'm qualified for, but I don't feel qualified for them. We all know I've spread myself thin, all over campus and all over town with my jobs/internships/responsibilities, but having ONE job to put all of my time/effort into? I can't imagine it yet. I've never worked somewhere "full time" (I put that in quotes because I've worked 30-40 hours a week somewhere before, but I was in high school/college, so it wasn't during the day nor my focus nor professional.)

I feel confident I can do these jobs, but I am unsure of how to express it in my cover letters and resumes. I honestly think it's going to take a lot of research and drafts to get it right. Thank goodness we have a Career Services office I can utilize! They really helped me with my resume and cover letter for grad school, so I'm sure they'll be helpful in my job search materials.

So far I've mostly looked at administrative positions in community colleges, mental health facilities, and a few in customer service. I haven't been limiting my search at all. In fact I have about 20 positions bookmarked in my browser, about 25-30 saved in higher education sites, and maybe 15 tabs open right now. And the best/worst part? Seattle Craigslist posts SO MANY jobs every single day that I am qualified for and could apply for. I really just have to sit down and DO it.

Before I dive into the job hunt/applications, I have a few midterms to finish up and papers/journals to do. It's so hard to concentrate on them, though, when I'd much rather have my future lined up and waiting for me. It's time for me to study counseling ethics and personality psychology now, adiós!

The end result:

isn't actually an end result. As you might know, I applied to grad school. In the beginning of February, I received the letter I had been waiting anxiously for since January 14. I cried when I read the words "unfortunately" and "regret;" however after a more cautious read, it turns out I'm on a waiting list for the program.

I turned to the Internet and asked what this could mean. Some say my chances are very high, some say it depends on the school, most say to wait on getting any word until at least after most universities host their preview/interview days because that is when candidates are most likely to chose which school they want to attend.

The excitement and strong desire I have to attend this school and program weighs so heavy on my chest: I can't believe I have to wait even longer!  At least I can say I don't know where the month of February went and I'm hoping the rest of the time I have to wait goes just as fast.

But now, the back up job search.
Where to even begin?
One of the graduate assistants in the University Program Board office helped me find a lot of resources. Man, we have THE BEST graduate assistants in our department this year. They're all so kind, intelligent, and willing to go out of their way to help you! By now, it has added up to multiple hours that Anthony has sat down with me and showed me where to find jobs I'm qualified for. Him and Nathaniel (the graduate assistant for student organizations) have both shown me websites to find the best programs in Student Affairs and where they are. I feel so incredibly grateful that I've met them and they've been so willing to help me. After I received the waiting list news, I felt so hopeless, and now I'm not!

My spring break will consist of filling out a multitude of job applications. For everywhere. I'd like to set a goal of about 5 applications a day. If I don't have something lined up in my field or in something related to my field by the end of April, then all of May will be spent looking for jobs that don't require a bachelor's degree, but will at least afford to keep Zach and I out of debt/trouble when we move out there.

Life in general has been better lately.
The two biggest events of my year as National Events coordinator with UPB are officially over and I couldn't be more happy/proud. Cornel West came on January 28 and Sherman Alexie was just this past Wednesday on February 22. Both were very trying experiences, but also incredible learning experiences when it comes to LARGE event planning, and much collaboration.

Sherman Alexie, the author of SCSU's common reading program text, had 900 attendees! Cornel West had 1200, if I didn't mention that already. I am blown away at the success of the National Events this year! As stressed as I've been, it has been so worth it finally being in a position that I'm passionate about. I know I'm going to look back on this year as a difficult one, but also an incredible one. I'm really going to go out with a bang. 

My internship with Element Mental Health Services is going well too. So far I've contacted hundreds of schools and area organizations in the search for support and advertising of the LGBTQA friendly prom we are planning for the St. Cloud area. Someday I'll make a much longer post about it. For now, this post has already been too scattered. I must get ready for a meeting with my supervisors. Adieu! 

Student Affairs; why?

I'm very curious as to how my friends, coworkers, and supervisors feel about my goals to pursue a degree in student development administration and work in student affairs.

When my husband was revising one of my essays for the graduate school application, one of his comments was "include why you feel the need to be involved; is it just to relive your college days?" and since then I've been wondering if that's what people assume when I tell them my goals; that I don't want to leave college campuses because I don't want to leave my "young self" or something.

Let me lay it out for you.

In my quest for the perfect major, I found a heartfelt passion in community psychology. Each and every class was relevant to my interests, though in the end I resolved that I didn't want to be a counselor, like the program steers you to do. I learn about human differences, human development, personalities, counseling strategies, conflict resolution, working effectively in groups, and more. The combination of classes, the supportive department chair who was kind enough to answer all of my questions, the structure, the ethics, it all spoke to me, told me that the helping profession was where I belonged.

But where to go from there, I asked myself?
I didn't want to work with children, social work was not quite my forte, and one-on-one counseling didn't feel right for me.

Working in student affairs exposed me to higher education administration and student development theories and practices. Though when I joined student activities my second semester of college I had no idea I wanted a future in student affairs, I know now that my commitment to campus involvement over the past 3.5 years has proven to me I'm doing the right thing by applying for programs in student development administration.

I love being a resource, helping my friends, and doing everything I can to make those around me comfortable and smiling. In a position in student affairs, I can be a resource for students every day, whether they're eager and excited for the future, or need a little motivation and help.

We hear that college is an experience; more than a place you take classes and eventually earn a degree, and everyone who has been through college before would most likely agree. In my college experience I have discovered so much about myself, and made something out of myself, whereas before, I had no hope for my future.   I want to pass on my passion, stories of growth, counseling experience, and people skills to the future students of the world. I want to make my mark on education and be innovative in the student development field. I can't see myself being content in any other type of work.

Right now, I wish I could be more optimistic about my grad school app. I'm pretty confident in myself about my application materials and ability to complete the program, but at the same time I want to be overly realistic and not set myself up for a huge disappointment just in case. It should be a crime making us wait an entire month to know the fate of our educational future!