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Professional Statement of Practice

Angelica Flores

Department of Counseling and Higher Education, Northern Illinois University

HESA 586: Internship in Higher Education and Student Affairs

Danae Miesbauer, M. Ed.

August 2, 2022
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Professional Statement of Practice

As an educator, I most value compassion, autonomy, and in line with NACADA (2017)
core values of academic advising, I value empowerment, integrity & openness, and finally,
respect. These are all values that I uphold during my everyday practice, but most importantly, I
hope that these are all emotions that students feel or lessons that students learn while working
directly with me.
Beginning with compassion, I hope to build meaningful relationships and rapport with
my students by showing that I care for their academic, career, and personal goals. In my regular
practice as a graduate assistant, I do this by asking my student workers intentional questions such
as, “How are your summer classes going?”, “What lead you to choose your major? What is your
overall goal with the degree/dream job?”, “How was your weekend? How is your second job
going?” Aside from regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings, I also make it a point for my
student workers to know that if anything is bothering them, they can always pull me aside to
have a one-on-one meeting at any time. Many of the students have expressed to me how much
they appreciate that I care about them in all aspects—work, academics, personal.
Similarly, I make it a point for my students to feel empowered in all that they do. During
my time as an intern with the College of Health and Human Sciences, I always make sure to ask
my students if there is anything that I can do or if there is any information that I can give them
(besides advising/schedule building information) to help ease their anxiety or help make their
transition to NIU smoother. Truthfully, I do this because I know how scary it can be to start NIU
without even knowing where the buildings are, how to use Blackboard, or how to manage paying
of what was left of my balance. If I can ease their stress in any way, I hope that this will help
them feel empowered when starting in the Fall. While helping incoming freshman create their
schedule, many of them have reassured me that I have given them tips/resources for them to
utilize.
I do the same with my student workers who are going to start their graduate school
applications soon. I empower them to recognize their potential and ensure that they can
overcome this new challenge. Although one of my student workers was unsure of applying to a
graduate program, she ultimately felt empowered to begin her application early this week.
Finally, I also motivate them to complete all work-related tasks in a satisfactory manner by
regularly expressing gratitude for their work and ensuring that their work is contributing to our
department in a meaningful way.
Autonomy is my personal favorite and one I still struggle with. I want all my students to
feel empowered to make their own decisions. I do this by always trying to give students a choice
—asking would they like to take BIOS 103/105 or CHEM 110/111 first? Always emphasizing
“the choice is up to you, however most students/most faculty recommend, etc.” I believe that
college is a time for individuals to grow more comfortable with making their own decisions, and
while it may seem silly, small decisions like which science course will be taken first aid in
growing this confidence.
Of course, I want my students to feel comfortable to ask for help when needed, but again,
I want them to feel empowered to be able to self-troubleshoot some of their challenges. For
example, if a student asks me for the contact information of a department, I may send them the
NIU website link for that department and encourage the student to use the link to find their
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contact information, as well as any additional information. My intention is for the student to be
able to find the contact information for the next department they will need to get in touch with.
Within my practice, I will also uphold the value of integrity. I will be honest, transparent,
and accountable to the student, institution, and the profession’s code of ethics. I am honest and
transparent when working with my students at my internship. If I am unable to answer one of
their questions, I refer them to the department that may be able to answer their questions, or I
call over one of the advisors that are available. In my future career as an advisor, I hope that my
students will feel that they can be open and transparent with me regarding their course grades,
personal issues that may interfere with schoolwork, etc.
Respect is the final value that I have within my toolbox thus far. When working together,
my overall goal is for students to feel comfortable and respected within my office. I hope to do
this by actively being an advocate for marginalized student groups and populations on campus.
This can be done through regular training or conducting my own research.
As I continue in my career, I expect to add/change my core values. However, these are
the values that I have been using within my GA and summer internship! Finally, I will know
when I have been a successful in my role as an advisor when my students have graduated,
achieved their goals/dream career, and when they know that they can come to me for help,
advising, recommendations, and/or resources. I will always do my best to make sure that my
students' needs are met!
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References-
NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising. (2017). NACADA core values of academic
advising. Retrieved from https://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Pillars/CoreValues.aspx