Overview of Plan

After completing a review of current knowledge and assessing the growth I have achieved in the ACPA and NASPA Professional Competencies, I have selected four knowledge areas and four competencies that I wish to focus my development upon over the next three years.  Below is an explanation of each of these areas of development and why I have selected them.  Please click the button below to review my three-year plan for developing in these knowledge and competency areas. 

 

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​Professional Development of Knowledge

During my time at Bowling Green State University, I have expanded my knowledge of a myriad of aspects of higher education and student affairs.  I have enjoyed dedicating significant time to my knowledge endeavors and know that I need to establish a concrete plan if I am to continue to embrace the philosophy of lifelong learning.

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In specific, the four areas of knowledge I intend to develop over the next three years are:

 

Leadership Development

Leadership development has been a strong professional interest of mine ever since I completed by coursework in the McDonough Leadership Program at Marietta College.  My work at BGSU gave me a chance to put into practice much of what I had learned at Marietta.  Although I do not yet know my career trajectory, I know I want leadership development to play a significant part.  Developing this area beyond my current knowledge levels can be valuable to my work as supervisor, educator, and advisor.

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Learning Communities
My interest in learning communities stemmed from my work in the Chapman Learning Community at Bowling Green State University as well as my work on first-year transition practices for The University of Auckland.  With my job search focused on positions in residence life, continuing to fully understand the nature of this high-impact practice will help inform my work with living-learning communities wherever I work.  In addition, learning communities are a great example of collaboration with academic affairs and student affairs.  As I have an interest in continuing to work with faculty, it will be important for me to understand both the research related to learning communities as well as best practices for assessing their effectiveness.  Having such knowledge would help greatly in enlisting the support of new faculty members.

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Collegiate Athletics
Although such a knowledge area seems to be a non sequitur in comparison to the other knowledge areas I wish to develop, I believe it to be one of the most important.  When growing up, I did not have a great deal of opportunity to engage in athletics either as a participant or as a spectator.  As such, I did not develop a large pool of knowledge relating to sports in general.  During my time at Bowling Green, I have come to realize that my lack of knowledge of collegiate athletics is a barrier that prevents me from connecting more effectively with student athletes and understanding the importance of athletics within an institution.  By developing my knowledge, I hope to further my ability to understand the whole student and help support an important part of an institution of higher education.

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Second-Year Experience
First-year transition has been an interest of mine after working in a first-year, living-learning community and researching the topic for The University of Auckland.  After becoming familiar with much of the research and best practices surrounding first-year students, I am interested in turning my attention to second-year students.  In literature I have read, I have continually come across the growing interest in student affairs to better understand and support the needs of sophomore students.  Because of this growing trend, I am hoping to learn more about this area of student development and support.





Professional Development of Competencies

The practical experiences of the College Student Personnel have provided me with a great deal of development in the professional competency areas outlined by ACPA NASPA.  The “Professional Competencies” page on this site outlines how I have developed throughout the program.  By assessing the skills I have gained, I have identified competency areas that will be the focus of my continued professional development over the next three years.



In specific, the four professional competency areas I intend to develop over the course of the next three years are:



Advising and Helping

Advising has been a core part of my responsibilities at BGSU both in the context of a living-learning community as well as working with different fraternities on campus.  This competency area addresses skills relating to counseling, advising, guiding, and referring students to individuals or groups on campus.  As I am pursuing a career in residence life that will involve a range of activities from addressing student behavior to advising hall councils, I am interested in strengthening my skills so that they are both effective and strategic.  This will also help when considering that I only have two years of experience in such activities.

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Assessment, Evaluation, and Research
Working at The University of Auckland and with NASPA Region 4E were my first two opportunities to do proper assessment work.  Because that work focused on designing and collecting data rather than using it to support and implement changes, I am looking to advance my skills both in the collection and use of data.  This also includes the assessment of programs and outcomes for long-term institutional experiences (such as the residential experience).

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Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
The Multicultural Competency course in the CSP program has provided me with a strong foundation of knowledge, awareness, and skills in multicultural competence.  Although my self-awareness has greatly improved, I believe I have great potential for development of my knowledge and skills relating to multicultural issues.  This includes feeling comfortable and competent enough to present on the topic, as well as incorporating conversations around multicultural competence in the work that I do.

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Human and Organizational Resources
Taking a course on leadership, management, and administration has drawn to my attention the need for me to increase my breadth of skills in the area of Human and Organizational Resources.  Although I have had experience in interviewing and selecting student staff and graduate interns, I have not had the experience of participating in the hiring process of a full-time professional since departing my undergraduate institution.  In addition, I have yet to have sufficient experience being the sole manager of budgets and other departmental resources.  I believe expanding my skills in this way will help me be a more effective and well-rounded student affairs professional.