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Narrative Description Caitlin Cairncross February 23, 2014

NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION My path into student affairs was more backwards than many of my peersmy interest in the field came from what I felt was a lack of support at my undergraduate institution. I did not have a sense of community, and I wanted to go back and make sure

that no other students felt like their experience was as impersonal as mine was. However, without any prior experience in student affairs, I was unsure of how well I would actually do once in the field. Overall, SDAD 578: Student Development Theory was one of the most meaningful classes for me. Not only did it help me build the foundation that I felt like I was missing, but it also helped me name the experiences I had in my own education. Theories like Astins (1984) theory of involvement, Baxter-Magoldas (2001) theory of self-authorship, and Schlossbergs (1984) transition theory (amongst others) resonated with my own experience, and gave me some context for understanding how theory translates to practice. SDAD 580: Higher Education Finance was also a meaningful class for me. I gained true understanding of how different institutions operate, from both a macro and micro level, which will be incredibly helpful both in the job discernment process as well as in my overall development as a professional. As I have already discussed, I was new to the field when I entered the program. In addition, I was working full time when I started the program, which made it really difficult for me to get as involved as I wanted to be, and made me feel slightly isolated from my peers who worked on campus. However, I decided that I was in control of my own experience, and I attended every event that I could, mingled with my peers as often as possible, and was intentional about seeking out any opportunity to be involved on

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campus. Now, I feel like I have built a fantastic community of peers and mentors, and my experience in the program has been much different as a result. I am proud of the way that I rose to the challenge, and decided not to let fear or discomfort control me. My internship in SU athletics reinforced the importance of being independent and creative. Because I was not working on site, I had to be very self-motivated to organize and complete projects (particularly the peer mentorship project), and had to challenge myself to keep the big picture in mind so that I could make sure I was staying on track. In my internship in advising at Cascadia, almost all of the advising I did was on a drop in basis. As a result, this internship forced me to be incredibly familiar with policies, and to be prepared to assist a variety of students with different needs. Often, I had to fill the role of advisor, evaluator, and career counselor all at once, and had to be able to support students through very different stages of development. In conjunction with my work at Cascadia, my graduate assistantship has also provided me with incredible experience in academic advising. I have had the chance to develop a number of different skills, from advising to drafting newsletters to engaging in campus outreach events. However, one of the most important skills I have learned from my assistantship is the importance of good listening. Communication goes both ways, and although it is my job to provide guidance and communicate policy, I have learned that it is just as important to sit back and give students the space to verbalize their thoughts. It is nearly impossible to qualify how much I have learned this year, both through academics and professional experiences. However, one of the things I am most proud of is the diversity of experiences I have had throughout my time in the SDA program I

NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION have had multiple different positions at different institutions (some of them at the same

time), and have consequently developed an understanding of many functional areas. This experience has helped me formulate specific interests within the field, and will hopefully help me be a more effective professional in the future. One critique that I have of the masters program is that I felt like there was a lot of overlap of content in certain classes (namely Social Justice/Multicultural Perspectives and all the different leadership classes). In my opinion, some of this redundancy could be reduced, and other important classes (like Higher Education Finance) could be introduced. Overall, my experience in Jesuit education has reinforced my interest in serving the community. As I begin my search for my first post-graduate position, I find myself drawn towards positions that actively engage the larger community, whether through access work, outreach, or other forms of community engagement. My time at Seattle University has certainly influenced this interest in community-oriented work, and I am appreciative for all the values that my Jesuit education has inspired.

NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION References Astin, A. (1984). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal of College Student Personnel, 25, 297-308. Baxter-Magolda, M. B. (2001). Making their own way: Narratives for transforming higher education to promote self-development. Sterling, VA: Stylus. Schlossberg, N. (1984). Counseling adults in transition. New York: Springer.