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There are many themes that emerged throughout my curricular and paraprofessional experiences while working on my Masters at Kent State University. Some of these themes were developed base off of theory; others based on application. The themes that seemed to reoccur continually were based focused on the following: Leadership, Multicultural/Diversity, Environmental and Institutional culture, Student development theory, and Assessment within Higher Education. As these themes emerged with some of the concepts being taught as a course within itself and continually through other courses, or as a theme topic that appeared within a majority of my courses, I was able to see how Higher Education and Kent States Higher Education program value these key themes. When first beginning this program my focus was on specific aspects of student development. I wanted to work as an academic advisor after graduation. As I progressed through my education I began to recognize areas within student affairs that I also enjoyed and wanted to pursue a career within. As I began learning about various opportunities in working with college students I began to see common themes within my interests that also appeared within the general themes listed above. I remember moments within my practicum experiences or my graduate assistantship when I was able to step back and analyze the situation from a theoretical perspective to make decisions on how I should respond to the student or staff members that I would be working with at the time. Being that the program has put a great deal of emphasis on practical application within student affairs, I believe that these practical experiences have allowed me the opportunity to grow as a professional and further prepare me for the interactions that I will have post graduation. With this said, I am going to focus the majority of my paper on the themes of Leadership, Multicultural/Diversity, Environmental and Institutional culture, Student development theory, and Assessment and how they have helped me in my paraprofessional life and will continue to help me after graduation. The first emerging theme I would like to discuss is focused on Leadership. Leadership as an administrator is extremely important because at all points in time you will be a leader. In higher education you are a leader at all levels, either with direct contact with a student or indirect contact as middle or upper level administrator you will likely be supervising individuals or programs. Having had two previous years experience with private sector management before entering into the program and a majority of which I was frustrated with my role as a manager, the focus on leadership was greatly appreciated. I believe that the focus not only within leadership class but also the emphasis that could be captured in such classes as: Student Affairs in Higher Education, Judicial Affairs Practicum, Business Managers Practicum, Multiculturalism, Policy Politics and Power, Interpersonal and Group Dynamics, Business Administration, and Case Studies has allowed me to enhance my personal understanding of what leadership is. The role of a leader within higher education is extensive and some general characteristics of successful leaders were those who understood their own values and ethics, those individuals who are able to draw upon leadership theory but also to develop their own leadership style, and those individuals who do not fall within the abilene paradox but are willing to critically analyze information. Through my paraprofessional experience as a graduate assistant within an office that has been under transition for the past two years I have had the opportunity of seeing various management styles over the past two years and the impact of leadership style on the departmental environment. Through this experience and also my role as an academic advisor and first year experience teacher, I have begun to develop self confidence in this arena of my life. I now see my leadership style as one that is situational but also can be either collaborative or direct depending on what the situation requires. I look forward to continuing to develop this arena of my life through additional professional experience after graduation and hopefully developing it into an upper level administrative position in the long term but in the short term I plan to continue to develop my personal values and ethics as I enter into the field. The next major theme that was developed focused on Multiculturalism and Diversity. I encountered this theme throughout all of my course work here at Kent State. Being that Higher Education as a field values the diversifying of ideas and also sees the importance in expanding student awareness in a more global perspective, Multiculturalism and Diversity need to be emphasized within the curriculum to help better prepare our students for the future. The higher education department has put such emphasis within the course work and it can be found within every course that I have taken. Before entering into the Higher Education program I had no clue about the barriers that often face diverse student populations and also I did not understand how campus culture can impact various groups. From living in Colorado and with my management experience I had encountered numerous racial minority groups; however I did not understand the challenges that they faced in pursuing an education. Having completed my undergraduate education at a very homogenous institution with little variance on student population with regards to diversity and multiculturalism I did not truly understand the challenges until I entered into Kent State. Now having worked with a wide variety of students, racial, ethnic, ability, socioeconomic background etc… I feel that I am better prepared as an administrator to work with these groups in the future. This has probably been the “theme” area that I have grown in the most since entering into Higher Education. I am more aware of my surroundings and being more culturally sensitive to various ways of working with students. This has allowed me to develop a holistic style within my current graduate assistantship in which I am serving a variety of students on a daily basis. Another theme that emerged throughout my coursework is those focused institutional type and environmental culture. This theme was identifiable in Student Affairs in Higher Education, College student development, Law of Higher Education, Leadership in Higher Education, Multiculturalism, Policy Politics and Power, Interpersonal and Group Dynamics, Case studies, and Business administration. Before entering into the program I understood the concept of “right fit” and also that various institutional types impacted students on numerous levels. Through the process of learning more about various institutions I have a better understanding of how much environment and institutional type can impact student learning, administrative processes, and legal implications (public vs. private). I can see how physical environment (rural, suburban, or urban) plays a role in the population of students that will matriculate to your institution. I can also see how roles within higher education change depending on the type of institution that you belong to. Having now seen this I understand that I will be looking at careers mostly in the public sector of higher education and probably at a small liberal arts institution or a research institution. I enjoy the small liberal arts because of the eclectic roles that must be played within those environments “multiple hats” and I enjoy research universities because of the focus on research. I know that I would prefer working in a rural or suburban area and that I probably would not enjoy working in the city. Student Development Theory is another category that was discussed through a majority of the coursework. It was focused on in courses such as Student Affairs in Higher Education, College Student Development, Special topics: Motivation, Learning Theories, Multiculturalism, and Case Studies. I have also been able to apply student development theory to my practicum experience within Judicial Affairs and also my graduate assistantship working as an Academic Advisor with exploratory students. In many ways student development theory is one of the core skills needed in helping students and interacting with students. It has helped me become a better advisor in that I am able to draw upon theory to help a student or to better understand a students problem by knowing theory. From learning about student development theory I have been able to apply this to my advising appointments effectively to better help students who feel “lost” within the University. I usually find myself drawing upon theory related to transitions, psychosocial development, motivation, behavioralism, ethnic identity development, and also probably most important for my specific position is typology theories. I have found it to be beneficial and the focus on Student Development in the higher education program is an asset. There is a nice balance between theory and practice within the program. The last theme I would like to focus on is the importance of assessment. Within any higher education institution assessment is vital in many ways. On a departmental level it allows one to identify their purpose as an office and to be able to see if they are meeting the goals of the departmental mission. Next assessment allows you a better understanding of where you stand and to create goals for the future. On an institutional level it allows the University the ability to tell if they are meeting the standards that are expected by their students, faculty, administration, president, trustees, and funders (state and federal government, local community, and also students). Assessment creates accountability for the existence of understanding what learning should look like and whether it is being achieved. Throughout the Higher Education program assessment has continually popped up as a way of analyzing goals, missions, and purpose for a specific agenda. Assessment has been found in all courses that I have taken in Higher Education in one form or another. Going into the program I understood the importance of performance evaluation however I did not truly understand the reason assessment was emphasized so much until beginning the Higher Education Program. This is an area that I feel can still need improvement and polishing on a personal level, I feel the Higher Education Program did a wonderful job on discussing the topic however I this is an area that I am still relatively uneasy about. I am comfortable with performance assessment but I still have problems with departmental or program assessment. I will probably try to continue to expand my knowledge in this area throughout my career as an administrator and specifically seek out opportunities to improve these skills. Having now discussed each of the important themes that I have found within my educational experience in the Higher Education program, I understand the importance of all of these themes within higher education. The focus on these themes was categorized as important to me because I saw the benefits within them for the future. I plan to continue to develop these skills professionally through personal reading and also experience. There are many areas that I would like to continue to grow in while beginning my professional career; the first is that I always view it as important to continually try to grow in communication skills. Within any job I strongly believe that communication is essential to success and although I pride myself in my communication skills up to this point, I always believe that there are ways to enhance these skills. I would also like to focus on my leadership skills and to better understand what my ethics and values are and how my leadership style will emerge. Next I would like to focus on assessment and the importance of assessment within all departments that I work within. Finally I would like to learn how to write grants. With the economic status that America is currently in I can see a larger emphasis being put in grant writing in the future. As I anticipate my job search I view that the program has prepared me better than I could have ever expected into entering into the field of higher education. The combination of theory, practical experience, and the emphasis of critical thinking skills through case analysis has prepared me for an entry level position within higher education and I also believe will prepare me for the job search. Having experience both with theory and practice within the various themes above will help me identify schools that I would be interested in working within, allow me the opportunity to diversify my resume, create a portfolio, and also to prepare me to answer questions within interviews. I believe my education has prepared me for an entry level administrative position as well as the administrative positions to follow.