Lauren Bell Higher Education Practicum Midterm Reflection 10/2/2013

During my summer practicum experience, I worked with Josh Curtin, the Director of Campus Life at Georgia Southwestern State University. I had just graduated from the institution just a year before and was very involved with campus life there. Josh had been my advisor for Orientation Team and Order of Omega while I was an undergraduate student, and he was someone that I already considered a mentor and professional influence. GSW Student Affairs department has a very relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, and I felt that when I returned for my practicum. While I felt already accepted, my challenge was being seen as more of a professional and less of a student. This was especially difficult when working with the orientation team because I had been teammates with many of those students. I had to set myself apart and engage with those students in a more authoritative way. I would rank my experience with my work at GSW as a 4. Although I really enjoyed it, I think it would have been better had I not squeezed my 100 hours into a short amount of time. Perhaps spreading it out by working on it in a part time type of schedule would have allowed me a broader frame of reference about the type of work that Josh does. Also, student affairs in the summer is not the most accurate depiction of the profession. My current practicum experience at Brenau University has been a new and unique challenge. I am new to the university, so to gain the respect of my mentor, Debbie Thompson, I have just tried to observe and learn as much as possible. Working with Greek Life has been so educational and rewarding. The Greek Life system at Brenau is structured very differently than the Greek system I was active in. By participating in this practicum, I have seen the bigger picture of Greek life and gained a much deeper understanding of the complexity that it entails. Debbie has been working in higher education, and specifically in Greek Life, for many years, and she is an incredible mentor to have. I would rank my experience thus far as a 5. I am getting more opportunities to work directly with students and getting to actually implement ideas rather than just plan them. As I have been creating my portfolio, I think the most useful activity has actually just been compiling the assignments from each course I have taken. It is amazing to see my growth and development over the span of the program. There were times when I did not feel confident that my graduate education was worth it, but seeing how I have become more competent, knowledgeable, and critical in my thought process has shown me that every minute and cent has been paying off. I have been asked to do presentations several times in my practicum and professional position at Brenau, and I have prepared to do so because of the base of knowledge I now own. Even when interviewing for jobs, on two incidences I was asked about what my favorite student development theories were. I was prepared to answer confidently.

When I was at Georgia Southwestern working in Campus Life, I was most surprised by how much the job required working with the community. I think I had a picture that Student Affairs worked in bubble separate from the outside world, but that is obviously not true. Both sides need to work together to positively influence students and young people. For example, a community initiative to reduce underage drinking worked with Josh on developing better weekend campus activities to give the targeted group more choices other than partying. The biggest eye opener in Greek Life has been how complex the Greek system is. Watching the ICS numbers system play out during recruitment week was mind boggling. As an active member of a sorority, you never know how the system truly works. Also, I never realized that there were many structures schools can follow for recruitment and other functions of the Greek system. As an active member, you just assume the way your school runs the Greek system is how it is done everywhere. I have really enjoyed obtaining a new perspective and expanding my understanding. Most importantly, I have garnered a new level of respect for Greek Life administrators. It is a very demanding position and requires A LOT of work outside of normal office hours. Throughout my practicum experiences, I have been able to work very well with my practicum supervisors. I think our differing philosophies are a reflection of our different backgrounds. Josh is actually just beginning his formal education in student affairs at the Ed.D. program at UGA. His undergraduate and graduate degrees were in business. Applying student development theories as we were planning was actually something we were learning together. In that light, I think we were both developing our philosophies simultaneously. He has worked in student life for several years, so he had already developed a certain approach to the job. I would say his philosophy is to have work and play. He seems to view activities as one or the other, and I dont think he had previously considered blending the two into productive yet enjoyable programming. He also previously did not base his programming in theory, although I think this is something he will improve upon as he learns. Debbie has a background in sociology and adult education. She is definitely has a philosophy of nurturing individuals and groups so that they can grow. She is not the type of administrator to frequently punish or reprimand others. Her philosophy could best be described as instill the utmost trust in students and expect that they will not let you down. I think my philosophy encompasses bits and pieces from these mentors, but it is still distinct. My background is in psychology and sociology, and before choosing to pursue higher education administration, I was very interested in counseling and therapy. I think that is reflected in my approach. I believe that my ultimate goal as an administrator is to provide resources to students to facilitate their growth and development. I want to empower them to be leaders, engage them in the campus culture, and promote their interpersonal relationships. My programming tends to involve a lot of warm fuzzy activities. I rely heavily on theory to guide my planning to ensure that my programming is purposeful and effective. I also believe in incorporating learning theories into our practice because student affairs is a key component in the educational process. That being said, I believe in holding students accountable for their actions and using mistakes as a learning opportunity.

I think the biggest areas I still struggle with are practically applying theory. I had some classes that really challenged us to come up with ideas of how to implement a theory, but other classes that did not. I think the main problem may be that the Higher Education Administration program is so broad, and it is very difficult to know what functional area you will be working in the future. It is much easier in my practicum to plan an original program based on theory than to use theory in the existing activities that I am being asked to plan in my professional role. I am sure it is one of those wisdoms that will come with time and experience.