Select Artifacts & Coursework
Below are a list of documents that are separated by my competency categories and by coursework. Feel free to click on the document image to review samples of my work. References are listed in the majority of the documents present, and quotes in boxes derived from the selected work it pertains to.
Personal & Ethical Foundations
Spirituality Book Reflection
The Scalpel and the Silver Bear is an autobiography about Dr. Lori Alvord, it details the journey on how she infused her Navajo culture into her practice of western/modern medicine and the intersectional challenges between the two. I was able to use this book to reflect on how my spirituality has grown, and how I have infused spirituality practices into my work as a student affairs professional.
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“If all the members of my team worked together harmoniously and in concert… and if we tried to gain the trust, respect, and understanding of the patient, we could create better surgical outcomes. We ourselves would be happier and less stressed as well” (Alvord & Pelt, 1999, p. 75).
Environmental Assessment Reflection
This document will highlight how I make meaning of the impact of environments and how it can influence how engagements between staff and communities shape over time. I as a professional have large influence on how environments are shaped up to be, and this document will show readers how much thought I have put in to the power of environments on development and morale.
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"The culture of an environment can be heavily shaped by the people who inhabit it, as the collective of their characteristics outlines the dominant features that are within it" (Strange & Banning, 2015).
Facillitating Educational Meetings Reflection
The following reflection paper outlines how I can add topics around diversity, equity, and inclusion into meetings. The lessons learned from larger group meeting creations can be trickled down into more personal 1-on-1 meetings, with the overall goal of facilitating intentional meeting times to better advise/support students through the work that they do
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"There needs to be some kind of increased focus in staff meetings on how to educate students on topics like privilege, race, identity, dominant narratives, etc and how to prepare them to combat systemic oppression" (Patton, 2015).
Competency Reflection - 2018
This competency highly resonates with me since I believe it is important to develop a strong understanding of self and others in order to fully know who you are as a person and in order to work in a team. Even though I find myself constantly exploring this competency, I don’t want to consider myself a master of it since I can always find new ways to absorb different perspectives on it.
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This reflection was written during my first semester in the IU HESA program, and it shows that I have engaged in reflection with this competency since the start of my experience.
Advising & Supporting
This workshop/training is an opportunity that I would love to implement with future staffs after noticing how taxing the work in Residential Life can be. This program is designed to get students thinking about how they respond to situations when emotions are playing an active influence, and how they can navigate those feelings in a healthy way. Created for a NASPA application I submitted.
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"Emotions can elevate your craft, or they can set you back if you’re not careful; by understanding how these wide range of feelings can manifest within one’s own self and in others, a deeper sense of mindfulness can be gained on how to navigate emotion in the work place and throughout student leadership."
Emotional Intelligence Workshop
Challenge & Support Presentation
This presentation was created for the NASPA Undergraduate Student Conference, and is intended to serve as a resource to guide students on how to lean into tough situations. I see this as a training/workshop that I can share with future staffs that I work with, since conflict is a naturally occuring element in daily life. While I was not able to physically present due to COVID-19, I will be able virtually present this a later point in May 2020.
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"Nevitt Sanford’s Challenge and Support Theory (1966) states that optimal learning experiences occur when students are met with challenges in which they have ideal support that helps them balance things out."
Graduate Intern Transition Document
This transition document was created for the next set of NODA interns at The University of Texas at San Antonio. My four co-interns and I decided to create this document as our legacy project that we would leave behind with the office, and all contributed with our own individual sections.
We talked about what a day as an intern at UTSA looked like, what was specific to our program tracks (I worked with families for example), some growing pains, and how did this impact our professional development.
Bulletin Board Feedback Form
In my last semester of my Master's program, I wanted to think of an approach that would help my Resident Assistants (RAs) receive and incorporate more feedback on their bulletin boards. My goal was for them to "ACE" the presentation of their work, and that is what led to the creation of this form. ACE stands for Aesthetic, Creativity, and Education, and these are different areas that go into the creation of a well presented bulletin board in my opinion.
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The majority of my staff appreciated the written out thoughts I was able to share, some RAs implemented feedbaack right away, and a housing colleague even asked if he could use the template himself.
Program Delivery & Management
Family Orientation Program Script
I was given a script of how the family orientation program looked like at the beginning of my internship, and I was told to keep an eye out for areas of improvement as I navigated the experience. Being able to work with this type of living document showed me that there are various details that need to be accounted for (transition slides in PowerPoint, A/V preparation, keeping people on time, etc.). This serves as an excellent example of how I can break down presentations and/or projects into its individual components, and make observational edits when needed.
I made updates to this document when I noticed there were awkward pauses during our presentations, when guests kept asking for specific information and in areas where staff felt ongoing confusion. All updates created are in highlighted colors.
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Family Orientation Program, Summer 2019 Assessment
This document is the collection of all available questionnaire and attendance data that was collected throughout the duration of my internship. I was asked if I could compile all the information that was collected, and create conclusions based on the data that I saw. I ended up re-designing the format for the excel spreadsheets that I was given, I enhanced the aesthetic behind how the data was presented, and I gave the office an excel template file that could help with ongoing data compiling as the programs go on.
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Completing this project reminded me that excel is not scary, and that putting together a puzzle like data sets can be enjoyable. It additionally showed me how having an easy to comprehend data collection tool/tracker can help with ongoing assessment.
Crisis Management
Redacted CARE Reports
CARE Reports refer to moments of crisis with students that require intentional engagement in order to support them through their moment of need. For the protection of all students involved, these reports have been re-written with pseudonyms, fictional locations, and different context pieces.
These reports illustrate how I navigate moments of immediate crisis with students, and how I am able to inform various care team members of the university with information that may be critical in providing appropriate care to students. Understanding protocol and being able to process a wide range of information is crucial in these moments, and this is a skill that will be important to further develop moving forward in the various roles I find myself in.
Mental Health First Aid Certification
I engaged in an 8 hour training in the early Spring 2020 semester that was focused on mental health response in student affairs. This training provided me with a brave space to ask questions in regards to responding to students of concern, and it gave me mini tools to remember in my support of these students. Below is one of main lessons that was encouraged when supporting students of concern
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A: Assess for risk of harm and/or suicide
L: Listen non-judgementally
G: Give reassurance and Information
E: Encourage appropriate professional help
E: Encrouage self-help and other support approaches
Select Coursework
ISAA Executive Brief & Presentation
As part of my Intro to College & University Administration course, I was given the opportunity to partner up with a classmate to create a presentation that focuses on a specific student population. My classmate and I presented on the challenges and the areas to consider when working with First-Generation College Students at the 2018 Indiana Student Affairs Association (ISAA) Conference.
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The document on the left is a summary of my presentation, while the document on the right is the final poster that was created. As a first-gen student myself, this project helped me reflect on this identity and what I could do to better support this population moving forward.
Technology Competency Report
This report was created as a part of my Professional Development course in the Spring of 2019. This assignment helped me explore the depths of my digital identity as a student affairs professional, and it helped me reflect on the areas that I want to grow in through this competency.
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"We have entered a new age of society where technology has not only become intertwined into everyday life, it could be seen as essential to the accomplishing of a variety of tasks and responsibilities. Technology is dynamic and influential in nature, its constant changes have an impact in the way that higher education is approached" (Jones, Schuh, and Torres 2017).