Running head: STRENGTHS

Learning Outcome Narrative Strengths

Eric Lopez
Seattle University

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Integrative Theme: Equity and Inclusion (LOs 2, 4, 6, 10; Artifacts B, C1, C2, D, E, F)
My experiences in the Student Development Administration (SDA) program have
transformed me into a new professional, mentor, advocate, activist, son, and friend. Entering the
program I felt that I was extremely self-aware of whom I was and that this program was merely a
stepping stone into my next chapter that did not require much self-interrogation or reflective
commitment. My experiences being a queer person of color at a private, predominantly white
university has shaped my framework on the ways in which I serve students, how I navigate
spaces while carrying my most salient identities, and remaining an advocate for my community
that does not have a space in where I have the privilege of doing so. I have grown not only as a
professional, but a professional advocate that has a purpose in trying to create equitable spaces. I
came into the program suffering from severe imposters syndrome, thinking that I did not have
the same skills and abilities that my peers did. I had my first transformational experience in
theory when I read Yosso state "those injured by racism and other forms of oppression discover
that they are not alone and moreover are a part of a legacy of resistance to racism and the layers
of racialized oppression. They become empowered participants, hearing their own stories and the
stories of others, listening to how the arguments against them are framed and learning to make
the arguments to defend themselves" (2005, p. 75). There were moments in my SDA experience
where I felt that I wanted to give up. But I reminded myself of the reasons of why I wanted to
continue to engage in this work and what brought me to this very moment. I have solidified my
professional identity and become more in tune with the strengths that I have as a queer
professional of color. This narrative highlights areas that I feel particularly strong as I prepare to
leave and enter the profession full time.
Theme: Student Issues and Student Needs (LOs 2, 6; Artifacts: C1)

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Key dimensions: adapting services to fit student needs; redesigning student services; innovation
and research
The SDA program has strengthened my understanding in looking at services and how
they are serving or not serving particular student populations. Throughout the graduate program
innovation, restructuring, and organization have been central themes in my work in the Office of
Multicultural Affairs (OMA) and the Student Development Division. Also through my
coursework I have been able to critically examine organization charts to see ways they can better
serve students. Through my role in the Student Development division I have been able to witness
first-hand how to reimagine the work being done as student affairs practitioners and how to make
services more accessible to students. There have been areas of success in creating cross
collaborations with campus colleagues and areas of push back in students feeling that the
division was homogenizing the experiences of marginalized students. These events have been
crucial in me shaping my professional identity. Although the restructuring process was often
heavy at times, it was crucial in how I reacted to it as both an advocate and as a professional staff
member, something that I know will occur in my professional journey.
A project where I have demonstrated recognizing student issues and needs was the
Learning Communities project for SDAD 5400 (Artifact C1). The Learning Communities area at
Seattle University was also undergoing an innovation process that called for how Learning
Communities could be (re)constructed to serve different student demographics. There was a need
to do this because the data and research shows that students involved in Learning Communities
will more likely be retained and graduate. My group was tasked to specifically look at how a
Learning Community can be (re)constructed to serve domestic transfer students at Seattle
University. Through research and collaboration (LO #6 ), my group was able to come up with

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concrete ways to adapt a student service like a Learning Community to serve domestic transfer
students. Our group was a blend of full time professionals and part-time graduate assistants who
blended academic and professional experience to partner with Seattle University Learning
Communities. Using dated and contemporary research, best practices, and professional
knowledge our group was able to develop recommendations to give to Learning Community
stakeholders on how they can re-envision the spaces during this restructuring process. This
opportunity allowed me to grow working as part of team in an academic and professional space
to works towards a common goal. Collaboration is an important part of the student affairs
profession so this opportunity allowed me to blend many elements together.
Theme: Social Justice and Inclusion (LOs 4, 10; Artifacts: B, C2)
Key dimensions: multicultural competency; student issues and concerns; institutional response
to student activism; enhancing social justice in professional identity
Pope, Reynolds and Mueller mention that multicultural competency and advocacy is the
responsibility of all student affairs practitioners, not just a select few (2004, p. 93). Through my
coursework and graduate assistantship I was able to gain knowledge on how to use my
professional placement within the context of higher education to help create equity and inclusion
as a professional advocate. My passion for social justice stems from my identities, my
upbringing and my experiences in higher education as an undergraduate student. My entire life I
was socialized through deficit lens until unknowingly I began to tap into the various forms of
capital that I possess (Yosso, 2005) to become empowered in those identities. I saw some of
what was lacking in feeling connected to my undergraduate institution and was able to get
involved in a space that help me grow in my understanding in my sense of self. My experience in

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the SDA program has held a mirror and I feel I have gained skills on how to incorporate
advocacy and social justice into my professional practice.
My experience in the SDA program has allowed me to develop skills that will allow me
to continue helping marginalized students on any college campus I work at and beyond. Before
entering the program I had the mindset of a student who was involved with a lot of grassroots
activist movements/spaces in undergrad that advocated to create systemic changes within the
university to make it more accessible to students. It was part of me that I did not want to lose but
I felt the need to incorporate into my professional practice. Part of multicultural competence is
learning that student affairs practitioners need to be able to challenge and advocate personal and
organizational levels to create systemic changes on college campuses (Pope, Reynolds, and
Mueller, 2004, p. 93). I knew I was committed to this so I started this process by being
intentional about choosing this graduate program for its commitment to social justice and
through obtaining a graduate assistantship in the Office of Multicultural Affairs. Learning
Outcome #4 of understanding diversity through a global perspective was something that I
strengthened during my time in the SDA program, through professional experience, classroom
projects, and reflection. Both through academics and my professional graduate assistant role I
was able to find language, develop professionally, and incorporate those elements that I did not
want to leave behind in my undergraduate career. I felt that I possessed the awareness and
knowledge on issues of social justice and the last missing piece was developing skills to
implement that in my professional and academic work (Pope, Reynolds, & Mueller, 2004). This
can be seen through Artifact C2 titled "The Black Bruins - UCLA." Here I wrote a crisis opinion
paper about the issues faced by black students at the University of California, Los Angeles
campus. I was able to use my personal experience, coursework, professional experience to come

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up with suggestions on how to create system and initiatives to support black students on that
particular campus. As shown in Artifact C3, my internship presentation, Through my internship
at George Washington University in the Summer and Special Programs office, I was able to use
my knowledge to incorporate elements of multicultural competency into the Resident Assistant
training. This was something that was never incorporated although they worked with diverse
student populations that came from very different lived experiences. My experience in the SDA
program made me self-interrogate the ways in which I viewed myself as a professional, how to
challenge revisionist history to ensure new interpretations of minority experiences (Delgado &
Stefanic, 2001, p. 20) within higher education.
My integrated personal and professional mission statement (Artifact B) also showcases
the type of commitment I have to social justice and inclusion. It names specifically my identities
and the reasoning I even pursue a career in student affairs. In creating I wanted to make sure that
there was no big separation of my personal and professional. In my personal life I consider
myself an advocate and I want that to translate into my professional work as well.
Theme: Self Reflection (LOs 10; Artifact D)
Key dimensions: self-awareness; establishing professional identity; implementing reflection into
professional practice; leadership
Throughout my time in the SDA program I have become in tune with my sense of self. I
knew my story but I did not realize the ways in which my identities and background connect to
how I engage as a professional in the work that I do. Reflection has been a key component in me
being connected to how I make meaning and see my relation to students, the work, campus, and
community at large. The SDA program has given me a tool set to really enhance the way in
which I approach my work. Now that I have new skill sets I need to hold myself accountable to

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make sure that I am reflecting about what I have learned and putting it into action (Reason &
Kimball, 2012).
Another way that I feel reflection has become integral is in my view of leadership.
Courses like Leadership in Education and Foundations of the Student Affairs Profession have
made me shift my perspective of leadership. Coming into this graduate program I had a very
particular framing of leadership as being those who hold titles and have systemic power. The
courses in the SDA program allowed me to deconstruct what leadership means to me through our
readings, assignments, and reflection. The reading that influenced it was Yosso's Community
Cultural Wealth model and its incorporation of Critical Race Theory to forms of capital. The call
for marginalized identities to occupy theorizing spaces is something I saw in how I positioned
myself in the lens of leadership (Yosso, 2005, p. 69). Through my graduate assistant role I have
also been able to enhance what those leadership skills and traits mean. As seen in Artifact D, my
supervisor can attest to the ways in which my leadership shows up in the work that I am doing in
my role and developing student leaders.
The SDA program has given me the tools to create meaning of my experiences. Through
this new found knowledge, I connect to Baxter-Magolda's theory of Self-Authorship in the sense
that I am able to identify my values and how those connect to my relationships both personally
and professionally (Evans, et al., 2010). I resisted the idea of reflection when first arriving to the
program but it is something that I have learned to value and will continue to incorporate into my
professional practice as I leave Seattle University. Reflection can be incorporated to the work
being done with students to make sure that they too are in tune with their academic, personal,
and professional roles.

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Conclusion
In closing, student issues/needs, social justice, and self-reflection are areas that I feel are
very fortified in leaving this program. I find myself leaving a stronger queer professional of
color. The imposter's syndrome I felt so heavily when I first got here has eased. I do not know if
that will ever go away but I have become better at managing it. I know that I have a lot to learn
in these areas. I established a professional identity during my time here through coursework,
mentorship, and professional work experience. I look forward to my personal and professional
growth as I enter the field as a fulltime professional.

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References
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., & Guido, F. (2010). Student development in college: Theory,
research, and practice (2nd edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Pope, R.L., Reynolds, A.L., & Mueller, J.A. (2004) Multicultural competence in student
affairs. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Reason, R.D., & Kimball, E.W. (2012). A new theory-to-practice model for student affairs:
Integrating scholarship, context, & reflection. Journal of Student Affairs Research and
Practice, 49(4), 359376.
Yosso, T.J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race discussion of community cultural
wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69-8