3617Phil

The average course load for a student in college in fifteen hours, and based on recommendations from Academic Services they should be studying thirty hours, giving a total of forty-five hours students are busy. This leaves seventy five hours during the week and not to mention the weekend that the students have free time – in steps the student affairs professional. These individuals have had a great influence on my college career and helped shape me into the person I am today that I feel it is so important to give future students the same opportunities I was afforded. It is important to provide purposeful and meaningful programs and structured down time to allow students to grow and develop into successful and responsible citizens. Now in my professional career as I have had experience in residence life as well as working very closely with students I have seen the impact of the environment can have on the work of a student affairs professional. Aligned with Strange and Banning and their theories of person-environment the simple ideas and thoughts that are taking for granted are brought to the for-front of our work. The physical environment of a campus is often the first impression a student has until they are actual students, then it becomes the job of me and those with which I work to make the college experience one that is welcoming. Strange and Banning’s theory can also be used in looking at the way an institution views itself and how those within the organization work together. Gaining and understanding as to why things are the way they are at an institution helps drive the change process when looking at new initiatives. I think it is imperative to understand an institution’s history and learn from it so that the decisions of the future can better serve the aggregate environment and their purpose. Realizing that each student with which I come in contact is unique and different, I have to find ways to get my work accomplished while serving the student to the best of my ability. Typology theories such as Myers-Briggs and The Holland Code are excellent ways to learn how others around me will work, but realistically I will not be able to have every person with which I come in contact take these assessments – it is my responsibility to understand that everyone is different. Along the lines of knowing that everyone around us learns in different manners knowing that everyone comes from different places and understanding that it is their right to be different is very important to the life of student affairs professional. According to Pope and his work with multicultural competencies that there needs to be a broad look at from where students are coming and what we can do to help them transition into their life as a college student. This idea also plays into the Strange and Banning person-environment theory in that the physical setting and how an institution reacts to certain situations plays into how students feel while in a place of higher learning. Knowing my background and being able to relate it to my students is also essential to me my work in student affairs because I feel it makes me a real person to the students and helps build connections with them. I feel that it is imperative to get to know each and every student that comes through my door as an individual person. Many of the issues I have all ready had to deal with in my career have come down to misunderstandings and not being able to communicate effectively with each other. Finally my philosophy includes the idea that everyone on in the department of student affairs is on the same team. A leadership style of Team/Relational is important as defined by Kezar. Having a shared vision, developing a sense of trust and team, the empowering everyone to take on leadership roles are key to accomplishing goals as set forth by the department. This allows for everyone in the group to develop as a person and feel like they can contribute to the greater good of the group. I think it is important to keep the person in mind with whom you are working, understanding that their background has brought them to where they are and my job as a student affairs professional is to meet them at that point and find the potential they have and lead them to it. References Kezar, A.A., Carducci, R., & McGavin-Contreras, M. (2006). Rethinking the “L” Word in higher education: The revolution of research on leadership. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Holland, John L. (1997). Making vocational choices: A theory of vocational personalities and work environments, 3rd ed. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. Strange & Banning. (2001). Educating by design: Creating campus environments. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass []