Katie Dabbs Artifact I Professional Development Action Plan To continue my professional development in student affairs after graduation from

the SDA program, the most important first step I will make is to join professional associations that are relevant to my functional area within the field. While my functional area may change over time, thus causing me to add/change membership with other associations, I have recently joined JASPA in order to further my understanding of the mission of Jesuit higher education. Though I may not have the opportunity to work in Jesuit higher education within my first five years, I seek to incorporate the values and mission of JASPA in my work with students. I entered the SDA program almost two years ago with the goal of becoming an academic advisor upon graduation. Throughout my experiences and learning opportunities, this desire has only grown stronger. To continue to improve my understanding of the mission, values, and best practices of academic advising, I have also recently registered to become a member of NACADA, the National Academic Advising Association. This spring I am excited to attend their Region 8 conference in Vancouver, BC. As a member of these professional associations, I will seek out leadership roles within these associations. Within my first or second year as a professional, my goal is to commit to a volunteer position with NACADA, JASPA, or other professional development committee. Through this, I hope to challenge myself to grow as a leader, deepen my understanding of the profession, and learn from others on the committee. One of the greatest features of this graduate program has been the wealth of knowledge faculty and administrators have around emerging theories, relevant research articles, and current student issues and dilemmas. To remain up-to-date after graduation, I will commit to reading articles through professional development associations such as NASPA, NACADA, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and more. Throughout my professional mentor relationships I will also ask that my mentor(s) send me any emerging research or theories they find as well. I have grown to appreciate the application of theories and best practices in my work, and my goal is to increase my application of research in my professional positions. Leadership development is the skill that I feel I still need the most growth in. In all of my professional jobs after graduation, I will look for a supervisor who is a strong leader, and who will model examples of leadership that I can incorporate in my own leadership style. A supervisor with a strong leadership style has been an area I have lacked in my previous positions, so this is a non-negotiable requirement for my next position. As a leader, I hope to empower my staff to seek out leadership opportunities on campus, and to create an atmosphere of trust and teamwork. Through the use of supportive and influential supervisors, I hope to gain the skills to make this possible.

As with everything I do in student affairs, my mission to represent the voice of underserved students will be at the forefront of my work. To gain a deeper understanding of how I can commit to equity, diversity, and inclusion, I will actively seek out trainings, workshops, and service that will further deepen my knowledge of underrepresented student populations and how I can best advocate and support these students. Within the first five-years as a student affairs professional, I will research applicable theories to working with specific student populations, development a commitment to intercultural advising techniques, and develop programming within academic advising that will actively seek out and support at-risk and marginalized students.