5188

As I look back at my time in //Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel// program at Kent State University, I can see how much I have grown and developed. I have grown not only in my knowledge of higher education administration, but also as an individual. This program has prepared me to become a successful administrator in the university setting. Looking back I can see the journey this program has taken me on. I expected the //Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel// program to teach me the fundamentals of being a higher education administrator. I expected to gain practical experiences in my areas of interest through graduate assistantships and practicum experiences. This practical experience was emphasized to me by current students and administrators and is one of the reasons I chose to attend Kent State University’s program. In addition to this practical experience and knowledge, I expected to gain theoretical expertise about student development and in particular international student development through my coursework for the International certificate. My expectations were met, and exceeded. I not only gained practical experience through my graduate assistantships and practicum experiences; I gained experiences through professional associations, coworkers, and peers. The Graduate Association of Student Personnel Practitioners (GRASPP) taught me valuable leadership, programming, and organizational skills. I gained leadership by holding the position of New Member Representative my first year and President my second year. Coworkers and peers invited me to present at conferences for leadership and Greek Life and provided me with valuable experiences outside of my original career plans. This program has provided experiences to create a very well rounded higher education administrator. In the beginning of the program, I decided to obtain the Certificate in Internationalization of Higher Education. I felt that this would be a valuable as I strove to work in the International field, but was worried that it may limit my experiences in other areas of student affairs. This fear was dispelled as I gained valuable experiences in programming, orientation, Greek Life, leadership development, student government, marketing, and teaching. My international experiences are also diverse to include orientation, admissions, cultural adjustment, study abroad, immigration, visas, programming, and information systems control. This program has far exceeded what I planned to gain and has left me feeling prepared to enter the world of student affairs. In addition to practical experience, I gained a vast amount of book knowledge in the areas of Law, Leadership, Student Development, Diversity, Counseling, Research, International Education, and Business as well as specific areas of student affairs. I have been able to apply the knowledge that I have learned from the classroom through the variety of experiences I have had as well as through special projects, case studies, and discussion. I am better able to research areas that interest me and know where to look for information when working in new topic areas. This program has helped me to grow as a person intellectually and as a whole. I better understand who I am as a person in areas of identity development (racial identity, social class identity, gender identity), career choice, leadership. I am better able to understand the path that I have taken in life and how all of these experiences have affected the person that I have become. I now understand how this affects the way I interact with other students and coworkers and feel that I can use my experiences to become a better leader and administrator. I can share the challenges and struggles that I have overcome when I am working with students. The journey through graduate school has made me feel more comfortable in my own skin and has made me feel able to share these experiences to empower others. Having such a strong understanding of myself also allows me to know be able to better understand others. I now have the ability to see, learn, and understand the development of students and feel enabled to help these students through their own identity developmental journey. I have learned a great deal about others and feel that I have become more accepting of differences. I thoroughly enjoy learning about different cultures and lifestyles. Now that I am more comfortable and accepting of myself, I am able to be more comfortable and accepting of others. I have learned that there is an incredible amount of diversity within the United States and Higher Education and that this diversity is what makes our system of education so special. Everyone brings their own unique experiences and ideas to the table and we all constantly learn from each other. I am a lifelong learner and will constantly be discovering new ideas and concepts. Working in such a diverse setting will allow for such learning to continue through a lifetime. The profession of Higher Education Administration is vast. Coming into the program, I was not aware as to how many opportunities existed for me to explore. While there are literally hundreds of professional niches that I could find myself, I feel that many of these fields are interrelated and share common themes. Many of the courses in this program have common themes of learning about our own personal identity, leadership, diversity, law, and research. Just as there are common themes in the courses, there are common themes in some of the professions. I will be working with my peers no matter what area we end up. Admissions works closely with Financial Aid who works with the Bursar who works with Residence Life and so on. To create an effective environment we must all work together.  Through personal experiences as well as program experiences, I continue to enjoy working in the international field but have discovered that does not mean I must work within International Affairs. Higher Education is internationalizing and globalization is now a part of almost every department on campus. As I now know, many fields work in congruence to ensure a quality experience for students. I can see myself working in other areas promoting internationalization and globalization to others. As I begin my job search, I feel prepared for a career in student affairs. I have been given the tools to be successful as a higher education administrator and now it is up to me to put these skills into use. I have gained a very well rounded education through my program at Kent State University and am ready to begin my career in administration. I will continue my education as I go on to continuously better the person I can be.