The Undocumented Student Resource Center at Northern Illinois University presented a

poetry writing workshop on March 22nd at the Holmes Student Center. It featured Angelica Maria

Aguilar, a Chicana writer and musician from Los Angeles. The purpose of the presentation was

to empower and educate Latinx students to tell stories. I wanted to gain experience in writing

more poetry but also connecting it to my identity. I have learned about various aspects of higher

education, especially regarding self authorship. The workshop allowed students to tell the

narrative behind their name and as well as the cultural significance of their family name.

I have also learned many things about myself including rediscovering my love for poetry

and spoken word. I have also rediscovered how important self-expression is on a college campus

it is important in order to allow students a chance to represent and express themselves in a

manner that they so choose. I have learned that just like in poetry, there is no typical student.

There is no typical way a student should act or behave, just like a poem does not have to rhyme

or make sense. I learned that it's the beauty of being a student in that you can write your own

stanza and give it your own meaning. The poem can be only for you, or for the whole world.

Whoever gets to read it is up to you and nobody else.

From my conversation with the author, I've learned that society often places a expectation

on gender, poetry, and ethnicity. The author mentioned that they often dealt with not feeling

“Mexican enough” or “American enough”. She mentioned that She explained that she sees this

with other members of the community, especially with undocumented students. At times it is

easy to not feel part of the community enough. It is also easy to feel like they are not part of

either community as the resources may not be there because undocumented students do not have

access to scholarships and financial aid that documented students have.

 I chose this photograph because it symbolizes my experience in the internship as well as

in the HESA program. It is symbolic of my time because I have learned how important it is for

community to support students, especially those who are from a underrepresented background or

are not from a background with the resources to support them. I have been able to apply student

development theory by the seeing students search for university resources like the

Undocumented Student Resource Center. To me, this served as an example of student

involvement theory. Without a student becoming involved on campus, it is not as likely that a

student will succeed. In short, involvement outside of the classroom helps increase their chances

of success because they have been involved in co-curricular activities. Astin (1984) states “Quite

simply, student involvement refers to the amount of physical and psychological energy that the

student devotes to the academic experience.” This highlights the importance of a students

seeking campus resources and communities that can help them graduate and succeed. In my

internship experience, when a student reaches out to the USRC, they are assisted by Sandy

Lopez, Angelica Martinez, and the rest of the staff. Thanks to this initial outreach, they are

provided with resources that can help them overcome barriers related to their studies.

During my second year at Northern Illinois, I had the privilege to intern with the Office

of Undocumented Students Support. I had the opportunity to organize an event where a Queer

activist was able to talk to and encourage students. I was able to ask questions such as what

would help the event be successful and logistical questions as well. I was also able to help

mentor and guide students who are part of the undocumented student organization on campus.

Another way I was able to help was advocating for students on campus Here I was able to be a

support undocumented students and create and organize events for them. I was able to learn the

needs of undocumented students aI learned that it is important to practice helping skills

(Reynolds,2009 ) in conducting intakes with students who identify as undocumented. it is

important to ask clarifying questions such as “so you are saying…..” and “why do you say that?”

This aligned with the helping skill of summarizing and reflecting (Reynolds,2009).

Thanks to my internship with the Undocumented Student Resource Center, I have learned

how to help students make the most of their time in college. I have gained so much experience

on how to organize events for students and give them input and make the most of the event. Not

only will I be able to help students, but I can help them have meaningful experiences in college. I

also learned that it is important to create and maintain a welcoming environment. In the book

used in class Helping College Students, we learned that there are many useful ways to practice

helping skills.
 References

Astin, A. W. (1984). Student Involvement: A Developmental Theory for Higher Education. Journal

of College Student Personnel, 25(4), 297–308.

Reynolds, A. L. (2009). Helping college students: Developing essential support skills

for student affairs practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. [Helping]

.
Photonarrative Project (10 points)— Students will complete one photonarrative project over the course of
their internship. Students will take an appropriate photograph, title it, and write a 2 page narrative about
the photograph and their internship experience. Photographs and narratives can relate to an event, an
emotion, or other learning experience they are having during their internship. Students should consider
the following questions:
• How are you connecting student development theory to practice?
• What have you learned about different aspects of higher education?
• What have you learned about yourself as a professional?
• What challenges are you facing?
• What learning moments have you encountered?
• How are internship experiences contributing to your professional development and competencies?
• Why did you choose this photograph