3508Phil

I believe the education and development of a student should be approached holistically. Before I give my explanation of what I deem to be “the holistic approach”, I would like to share where this approach was first developed for me. I am a very values oriented person and while I have always known I had a set of values, I rarely took the time to reflect on what these values were or why they meant so much to me. As I grew and changed through my education I had always thought my values did as well, but the truth is they have always been apart of me, I just had never took the opportunity to define them. I knew that I was a natural leader and wanted to promote others to step up for whatever it is they stood for in order to help people and our society. I also knew that giving of myself whether it is to the furthering of my education, to others in community or   I recently had the opportunity to intern at an institution where I was constantly reflecting on what I valued and believed in. This institution had a strong core mission and I never felt more at home with a work place than I did at this university. My experience working at this institution opened my eyes to what I now see as a holistic approach to student development. This includes six core values that I identify with as the holistic approach to student development in higher education. Academic Excellenc e- I believe students should expect to be challenged academically and that the institution should expect to challenge all students in their studies as well. Care - I believe that while students should be challenged in their growth and development, they should also feel supported with concern and care by the institution. Diversity - I believe no matter how a students identifies him or her self, the institution should welcome and promote diversity in all areas on campus. Leadership - I believe there should be ample opportunities for student involvement in leadership growth and roles in curricular as well as co-curricular activities on campus. Spirituality- I believe students should be able to express and practice any form of faith in order to grow in spirituality if they so chose. Social Justice- I believe students should be given knowledge of and opportunities to better their understanding of social justice issues on campus, in their community, and our society. My philosophy is that students will do their best in higher education if an institution tries to promote and support growth in all six of these areas. I believe that having these values in place when working with students will foster among them the ability to make mature, rational and foresighted decisions for themselves.