Running head: LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE: STRENGTHS

Learning Outcome Narrative: Strengths Catie Holker Seattle University

LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE: STRENGTHS Strengths (LOs # 1, 2, 6, 8, 10; Artifacts A2, B, C1, C2, C3, D, E, F1, F2, G, H2, J)

The integrative, macro theme of my areas of strength in the 10 SDA Learning Outcomes is collaboration and relationships. This is apparent through three unique dimensions that include my regular practice of introspection, my desire to serve in the helping profession, and my hope to foster environments that generate community. Relationships and collaboration is important to me personally because if I did not expand my network I would not be the woman I am today (LO #1, 2, 10). This theme is important to me professionally because as an advisor and mentor to students it is both valuable and vital to build rapport through collaborative educational planning before I can support them academically or vocationally (LO #6, 8). LO Dimensions: Strengths Introspection The Jesuit value of reflection was evident to me from my first quarter at SU. Many of my artifacts include reflections upon assignments or experiences (C1, C3, D, H, I, K1) and each class incorporated some type of self-assessment or self-awareness activity. Before my education at SU, I was not one to reflect on my own work or experiences, nor was it required of me in class. I value its use now especially because it helped me determine my next career move. Vocation is rooted in the Latin word for voice and Parker Palmer put it succinctly when he said our career transitions arent for working toward a vocational goal, but a calling, and that calling is to grow into our authentic selfhood (1998, p. 45). Between reflecting on my college access journey (C1, SDAD 559), writing my personal career profile (C3, COUN 512), and creating a five-year professional development action plan (I, SDAD 579), as well as other employment experiences, Ive resolved that my calling lies in working as an advisor to students. Reflecting on

LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE: STRENGTHS

my own experience has helped me better understand the students that I work with (LO #2) as well as my own vocational calling (LO #10). Service I call this section service in the sense of the helping/advising/mentoring profession. In my resume (A1, A2), mission statements (B), and Summer Search Internship (SDAD 565/566) its evident that my vocational calling is to support students academically, vocationally, and mentally. Currently I enjoy the challenge I face working in the Enrollment and Registrar Services office at Bellevue College; there I guide students through the admissions and registration processes. The challenge is adapting to the wide range of students who show up with a variety of education and experiences; this information must be extrapolated from the conversation in order to support them in the best way possible. This most recent employment has influenced me to seek jobs in admissions and advising post graduation. Not only has this helped me understand students better (LO #2), but Ive gained a working understanding of the meaning of the student affairs profession in higher education (LO #1). Community The concept of community has always been important to me, but more than ever I value how it benefits individual college students. Both when I arrived at St. Cloud State in August of 2008 and when I arrived at Seattle University in June 2012 I came to a place where I knew nobody and was forced to both communicate effectively (LO #8) to make friends and collaborate with my neighbors and peers (LO #6) in order to build the support system that I needed. Since those days, Ive been able to reflect on and analyze my collaborative leadership journey through courses such as STML 561 Transformational Leadership and SDAD 596 Independent study in Mentors and Career Empowerment. My desire to understand and take part in my community is

LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE: STRENGTHS

evident in my resume (A1, A2) as well as my mission statement (B) because it shows my involvement and experience in communities of varying structure and diversity. In EDAD 570 Leadership in Education I I learned that my leadership style is that of a servant, catalyst, and coach. I believe in the potential and capacity of human development and my goal is to create a supportive and liberating work environment that fosters learning and growth (Bolman & Gallos, p. 91). Demonstration of Development in LOs Past Prior to starting the SDA program in the summer of 2012 I was not self reflective, I feel I did not communicate as eloquently as I wanted to, and I most certainly would not have considered myself a leader. Had I not entered the SDA program, I would have settled for a job or volunteer experience that would have occupied my time, but not helped me grow. Formerly I was not very outgoing, nor did I put much effort or value into the communities I claimed to belong to. Present / Future Perhaps the most revealing and relatable student development theory to me is William Perrys Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development (Evans et al., p. 85). I deeply identify with his stages of development that starts with duality, moves to multiplicity, and finally reaches relativism. In terms of my own development and knowledge of students/student issues, I used to have a black and white understanding of people, institutions, and outcomes. After engrossing myself in such theories, identifying their weaknesses, and applying them to my work, I better understand the profession and can tap into the experience of college students today (LO #1, 2).

LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE: STRENGTHS

Ive also been able to take advantage of employment, internship, and involvement opportunities more readily than in the past. Before developing confidence in being vulnerable, I used to stay put in stressful or upsetting environments because I thought that I had to. The empowerment implied through courses here at SDA, such as those in leadership and selfdiscovery (STML 561 Transformational Leadership; EDAD 570 Leadership in Education I; COUN 512 Lifespan Career Development), have developed my sense of ethical leadership and effective collaboration (LO #6). Finally, my ability to communicate in speech and writing has improved tremendously during my time in SDA (LO #8). Prior to my reflective and social justice oriented education at Seattle University, I wasnt able to articulate myself as an advocate or educator. The growth Ive experienced as a student, leader, and professional has been profound and it aided me to discover my best self by providing me with the language Ive always needed to communicate my true feelings, passions, and hopes.

LEARNING OUTCOME NARRATIVE: STRENGTHS References

Bolman, L., and Gallos, J. (2011). Reframing academic leadership. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass Evans, N., Forney, D., Guido, F., Patton, L., & Renn, K. (2010). Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Palmer, P. (1998). Let your life speak: Listening for the voice of vocation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass