Running head: LO NARRATIVE AREAS FOR GROWTH

Learning Outcome Narrative Areas for Growth

Becca Van Drimmelen
Portfolio Spring 2015
Seattle University

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Integrative Theme: Inclusion and Reflection in Practice (LO #1, #4, #7 and #9 and Artifacts
C1, C2 and C3)
The integrative macro theme for my areas of growth during the SDA program is inclusion
and reflection in practice. During the SDA program, I have had significant opportunity to grow
in areas that have shown me the importance of being an inclusive practitioner that has the
awareness, knowledge and skills to work with diverse student populations. In addition, I have
had the opportunity to gain experience in research, assessment, and finance that has helped me to
understand the importance of also being a reflective practitioner that understands situations and
stakeholders before jumping to conclusions and decisions. Raechele Popes (2004) and Tara
Yossos (2005) work on Multicultural Competence, The Human Resources View of Academic
Leadership (Manning, 2010), and Nancy Schlosbergs (1989) Transition Theory all inform my
growth in the macro them of inclusion and reflection in practice.
Learning Outcome Dimensions
Multicultural Competence encompasses learning outcome #4. Three key dimensions of
learning outcome #4 are understanding and fostering diversity, working towards a more just and
sustainable world, and upholding Jesuit values to inform a global perspective. Popes (2005)
work on multicultural competence has greatly influenced my ability to understand the
importance of continuously working towards becoming a more socially just and culturally
competent professional. Her concept of having awareness, knowledge, and skills in developing
multicultural competence has given me a framework to continue to develop through in my
journey. It has also helped me to understand that becoming a multiculturally competent
practitioner is a process that is always in motion. There is no reaching the finish line when it
comes to multicultural competency development, as there is always learning to do. I have come

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to understand that understanding the identities that I hold as an individual is essential if I am to

help others understand their own. This process of better understanding my own identities has
also helped me to better understand the concepts of privilege and oppression and how they play
out in our daily lives. Yossos (2005) concept of community cultural wealth also inspired me to
start to shift my frameworks from deficit models to abundance models. It has greatly influenced
the interactions that I have with students who hold identities that are different from my own or
who are beginning to explore their own identities and what they may mean in their particular
contexts.
Attending Seattle University has also helped me to better understand the Jesuit values and
how these values apply to my personal practice in the field. I have become a much more holistic
practitioner since coming into the SDA program. I am much more aware of serving my students
full needs, as well as taking care of myself as a whole person. This includes work life balance,
setting boundaries, and taking care of my emotional well being in addition to serving students. I
have also become a much more reflective practitioner since starting in the SDA program. I have
come to value the power of reflection and taking the time to truly discern what the best path or
course of action is.
Artifact C3 is evidence of my growth in multicultural competency and social justice
during my time in the SDA program. This artifact is a reflection on my personal philosophy on
social justice after a year and half in the SDA program. It emphasizes my desire to be an
inclusive and socially just practitioner in the field of Student Affairs. It also acknowledges that
multicultural competency work and social justice work are processes that I will need to continue
to work on throughout my tenure as a professional as one is never done engaging with this kind
of work. This is also an example of the Jesuit value of reflection and discernment in practice and

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how this has affected my practice in the field and my interactions with studnets.
Assessment and Research encompasses learning outcomes #1 and #7. Three key
dimensions of leaning outcome #1 are understanding the historical context of the Student Affairs
profession, researching best practices in the field as they happen, and looking for new and
coming trends in the field as they emerge. One area of growth for me during the SDA program
has been truly understanding where the field has come from and where the field is headed. This
was something that I had engaged in minimally before starting this program. Three key
dimensions of learning outcome #7 are understanding how to conduct and use research in the
field, using technology to enhance practice in the field, and using assessment and evaluation to
consistently revise and improve programming and practice. During my time in the SDA
program I have had the opportunity to better understand what make research and assessment
effective and incorporate these practices into my work. Schlossbergs (1989) Transition Theory
has greatly informed my practice of research as I find her model of meaning making through
transition to be readily applicable to many situations in which research is being conducted. Her
concept of moving in, moving through, and moving out of transition and how students make
meaning at each point along the way, offers places for research to be grounded at any point of
transition. Since students are constantly moving in and out of transition, her theory is almost
always an applicable starting place for research in the field.
Artifact C2 is evidence of my growth in research and assessment during the SDA
program. This artifact is a paper on best practices in first year experience programs in relation to
retention. This research paper allowed me to use literature, campus visits, and personal
interactions in order to inform my research and recommendations for best practices in the field
along with my colleagues. Research and Assessment are two areas that I would like to continue

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to develop in as I move into the field, as these skills are invaluable in enhancing and improving
programs and services for students.
Understanding Structures, Budgets and Governance in Higher Education encompasses
learning outcome #9. Three key dimensions of learning outcome #9 are understanding how law
and policy affect practice in Student Affairs, working effectively in different structures of higher
education, and understanding finance in different structures of higher education and utilizing
responsible resource management. Before coming into the SDA program, I really only
understood my undergraduate institutional context of structure, budget, and governance. It was
important for me to understand other contexts so that I could better understand how institutions
of higher education function and where my skills and passions would best be put to use. I
learned through studying governance, policy, and finance that the community college setting was
one that I found very interesting and wanted to learn more about. This lead me to take an
internship in this setting and later find that the community college is where I am being called to
carry out my service to students at this time. SDAD 5760: Leadership and Governance allowed
me to better understand how different types of institutions are governed, as well as what type of
leadership style I bring as a professional and what types of governance I would work well within.
The Human Resources View of Academic Leadership (Manning, 2013) resonated with me as
being the type of academic leadership that I could bring to an institution. I learned that I needed
to find an institutional type, governance style and budget allocation that would allow me to use
my skills in this area of leadership to its fullest potential.
Artifact C1 demonstrates my ability to articulate how community colleges can
financially benefit students. It also demonstrates my ability to take a stance on an issue and
argue my opinions effectively. Working on this research paper allowed me to further develop my

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research skills while discovering my passion for a new institutional setting. This artifact was
developed in the SDAD 5850: Higher Education Finance course. This course informed my
knowledge on how different types of institutions function, budget, and spend their resources. It
also helped me to better understand the issues of law and policy around budgetary issues in
higher education. If I had not chosen to take this course, I would not have gained this valuable
information in my graduate studies.
Demonstration of Development in Learning Outcomes
Past
Before coming into the SDA program I had minimal exposure to theories and practices of
multicultural competency or to governance, structures, and policies outside of my undergraduate
institution. I spent my senior year of my undergraduate experience serving students experiencing
hunger, homelessness, and poverty on Oregon State Universitys campus. This experience
exposed me to many different identities that were different from my own for the first time. This
was a significant learning experience for me and it spurred me to choose a graduate program that
I knew would address issues of multicultural competency and identity development because I
knew that this would be an important area of growth in my professional practice. I also knew
that I would need to further my knowledge of how different institutions functioned in order to
have a successful job search and career in the future.
In regards to research and assessment, I did have some experience with these subjects
before coming into the SDA program because I went to a research institution for my
undergraduate degree that required that I engage with research and assessment on some level.
However, I did not really enjoy research in my undergraduate experience because I was not as
engaged with the material as I have been in my graduate experience. I have come to embrace

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research more fully as a useful and likable tool through the SDA program.
Future
In the future, I will need to continue to work for growth in all of the sub areas mentioned
above because all of these sub areas are processes of continually gaining awareness, knowledge,
and skills in order to be the most effective and compassionate practitioner. Growing in all of
these areas will allow me to continuously evaluate where my skills and passions can best be used
to serve students. It will also allow me to continuously evaluate where I can strengthen myself in
order to continue to be a student centered professional who is aware and competent in the issues
that are affecting students everyday. By working towards multicultural competency, keeping
current with research and assessment in the field, and better understanding structures, budgets,
and finance in higher education, I can be a student centered professional who is truly working in
service to students and the field.

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References
Manning, K. (2013). Organizational theory in higher education. New York: Routledge.
Schlossberg, N In: Evans, N., Forney, D., Guido, F., Patton, L., & Renn, K. (2010). Using
Student Development Theory. In Student Development in College. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Pope, R., Reynolds, A., & Mueller, J. (2004). Multicultural Competence in Student Affairs. San
Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.
Yosso, T. (2005). Whose culture has capitol? A critical race theory discussion of community
cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69-91.