Higher Education Action Plan

Entering the Higher Education program at Loyola, I thought after two years I would gain
knowledge from the research and texts about the history, theories, and governance of higher
education. What I did not realize was that I would be gaining much more. Throughout my time
as a masters student, I have not only gained knowledge and acumen surrounding the field of
higher education, but facilitation, dialogue, and communication skills along with a more
informed commitment to social justice. Though I feel I have mastered some of the
NASPA/ACPA core professional competencies for student affairs professionals, there are some I
would like to strengthen and gain more knowledge on as I progress in the field. I am excited to
put these skills to practice as a new professional, and to continue to learn, improve, grow, and
reflect throughout my journey in higher education.
One of the most important things I have learned at Loyola, is that context is extremely
important. From the History of Higher Education class to learning about the creation and origins
of student development theories, many of what has happened in the past has informed and
shaped how higher education operates today. I am committed to always search and understand
those contexts in every institution and functional area I touch throughout my career.
Second, I have a better understanding of leadership as a process, and I have been exposed
to a multitude of facilitation and curriculum styles that help to bring a variety of folks along in
the process. Coming from a business background, a lot of leadership literature was surrounded
around leadership as a skill or person. Through all of my course work, I have seen this rhetoric
flipped upside down for the better. I am excited to use many of the activities and facilitation
styles learned in both my classes and the institutions I have worked at, to help students along
their own leadership journeys while I continuously reflect on mine.

In addition to my increased knowledge on leadership and context, I feel comfortable

critically examining and deconstructing student development theories, a core professional
competency outlined by ACPA and NASPA. However, this is a competency that I am
committed to staying up-to-date with as the theories that define our practices are always being
critiqued with different viewpoints. Also, through various assistantships, programs, and projects,
I have been exposed to additional technological tools and resources available to make learning
and communicating more interactive and engaging. This increased knowledge of the
technological tools, is a second core professional competency I am excited to utilize in practice.
Third, I am excited to couple my experience working in finance and the skills I gained through
that position with my experience working in higher education to round out my organizational and
human resources skills a third core professional competency outlined by ACPA and NASPA.
Finally, I made an intentional move to Chicago from Iowa to surround myself with
people who hold multiple different identities than myself. I was fortunate to meet peers and
colleagues from all over the world over the past two years and their stories, with the help of our
coursework, have helped me to see the importance of social justice as it relates to the power,
privilege and oppression within institutions of higher education and the folks who engage with
them. I am committed to listen to the stories of staff and students I work with to better create
space for conversations and action to make higher education a safer, more welcoming and
thriving place for all.
All of the aforementioned competencies do not come without constant reflection,
practice, and learning. For the many years to come, I am committed to continuously seek
development opportunities to grow and add to what I have learned over the past two years. To
begin, I will seek opportunities to engage with other colleagues to further educate myself in the

broader field of higher education. This engagement may take the form a conference, or simply
informational sessions and collaboration with other departments outside of my functional area.
In these professional development opportunities, I will seek to gain more knowledge on both
social justice and inclusion, as I believe there is always more to be learned in this competency,
and advising and supporting - both categories of professional core competencies outlined by
ACPA and NASPA for student affairs professionals. The roles I seek in the future will hopefully
encapsulate both of those competencies, and I would love to strengthen my abilities in both to be
a better resource for students.
Additionally, I would like to engage or volunteer with an academic journal within the
field. Journal experience allow for continued writing improvement, along with a first hand look
as to what recent and pressing research is being conducted in the field at all times. I seek to
continue learning about how students with all combinations of intersecting identities experience
higher education, and what can be done to include those students on the margins.
Finally, I am committed to create time and experiences outside of higher education for
personal reflection. Throughout this program and my heavy involvement in higher education
both inside and outside of the classroom, I have realized the importance of my networks and
hobbies outside of higher education as places to recharge. I will continue to maintain
relationships with classmates and colleagues, while keeping close my support groups outside of
higher education for different perspectives and opportunities to unwind and reflect.