Running head: ANALYSIS AND ACTION PLAN 1

Analysis and Action Plan

Alyssa D. Humbles
Loyola University Chicago
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Whether considering the daily interaction I have with students or the campus wide

programs I develop, I have seen an immediate refinement in my approach due to the influence of

our course content over these past two years. My decision making process has been heavily

influenced by the deconstruction and reconstruction of theories and adaptations to informal

theories. I also have a heightened awareness to social constructs of oppression. This program

has cultivated my lens as an agent of social change by pivoting my work atop social justice. We

have been allotted a space to not just intake content as factual but critically analyze the narrative

that influences its findings and infuse counter narratives to which resonate more succinctly for

ourselves and the populations we serve or seek to serve. From the content we discussed to the

format it was presented, it all served as a tool for learning. I have gained invaluable experience

reflecting on systems and spheres I have once been complicit within in higher education. While

much of the literature spoke to a particular higher education model, the gaps still lent themselves

as imperative to my professional development. They served as a precursor to my own critique

and outline for reflection within the context of community colleges.

This work, while complex, must take note that access is relative and hegemonic notions

have created barriers for underrepresented attainment of a higher education. I believe the core

competencies are interconnected and complementary and without each other, the proverbial

foundation would weaken. Analytical inquiry and research and assessment competence critically

inform and shape the daily programmatic aspect of my role. Demonstrating reflective leadership

and strong communication skills serve me well as a yielded vessel to the mobilization of this

practice while the interwoven thread for all of these tenants is the commitment to social justice.

Continued professional development in itself is an action as well as an internal process.

It is not enough to just remain current on headlines and updated policies. Professional
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development even extends beyond seeking opportunities to being among fellow practitioners at

conferences. I plan to engage in critical self-reflection. Self-reflection is not just a one time

occurrence nor is it sporadic. It is intentional and purposeful. Be it prior to conducting research

to ensure that I remove myself from being the only voice of validity; while I conduct

programming to aid in my ability to hear the non-verbal context to which students speak loud

and clear; or as I enter into meetings with key stakeholders so that I may be fully aware, to the

best of my ability, of their truest intentions and interest. Despite gaining these revelations in a

program geared towards higher education, I also feel that they resonate within my ministerial

work and non-for-profit affiliation. In closing, I want to be just as invested in how I serve as I do

the role itself.