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During my two years in the Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel Program at Kent State University I have gained experience and knowledge through my courses, practicums and graduate assistantship to apply to the area of Student Affairs. There have been some common themes and topics within the program that have made my learning beneficial and structured. The program itself is one where it wants its students to get **hands-on and practical experience**. There are some programs that are very theory based, but at Kent I have been able to get my share of theory plus quite a bit of practical experience. This can be seen through the //two required practicums//, my //graduate assistantship//, and some of my courses where I have been required to //interview// and to //“get out” of the class room// and experience campuses and populations. The capstone course, Case Studies, will allow me to tie what all I have learned and experienced together. There are a variety of areas in student affairs with each having specific aspects to learn. The program’s **required courses** have all been relevant to set the foundation of our higher education knowledge. These core courses include //College Student Development//, //Law in Higher Education//, //Student Affairs Function//, //Multiculturalism and Diversity//, //Leadership//, //Research//, and //Business//. Even though I may not be using everything I have learned daily, these courses are important aspects for student affairs professionals to understand. Starting with the graduate program interviews, to orientation, and throughout the two years and beyond I have seen how invested our faculty is in us students. Whether someone got a job and had to finish the program long distance, to help with student publication, or to just chat, the **faculty has been very supportive**. The Higher Ed program allows students to **tailor their educational experience** outside of the required courses. Students can plan to obtain the international or teaching certificate, take on more practicums, and explore courses of interest. I have not taken any international courses, but with our program’s certificate it allows Kent State to stand out from others. I have tailored my other course work to my interests and areas I would like to learn more. One of the areas for me was the different institutional types of higher education, so I was able to take a course on small private liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and even in my diversity course I tailored a project of mine to focus on tribal colleges. Throughout my coursework and experiences there have been common topics and messages that I have noticed. To start off, the //research// course has allowed me to find information in regards to writing my research papers. It was very beneficial, as a class, going to the library to learn how to use their services on-line and other helpful sites, such as RefWorks. Knowing how to search and locate good articles and studies has helped me in all of my courses. I am glad I had taken it my first semester. //Diversity and multiculturalism// has played a big part during my time at Kent State. Most of my courses have dealt in some way with diversity issues. In College Student Development I learned about the different theories pertaining to specific populations: race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. The main concepts of this course were to focus on certain population identities. The different types of institutions can also play factors in diversity. There are private institutions that are religiously affiliated and there are some for certain races such as historically black colleges and universities and tribal colleges. Community colleges have open access for students so they can get all sorts of demographics. In college athletics, we used to see just white male athletes on the field or court. Through various acts, laws, and significant events, we have seen changes. College environments play a factor in how institutions feel and accept diversity. Just by doing a physical audit, you can tell how accessible the campus is and whether you feel comfortable. Students with physical handicaps most likely would stay away from the campuses that don’t provide support or don’t have accessible buildings. //Developmental theory// has been another common message. In some of my courses, such as, Community College, Career Counseling, and Athletics there has been use of student development. Community colleges have a variety of students attending; students that are still in high school, students in vocational training, and students coming back to continue their education, etc. Each is in different stages of their life as well as developmentally. Community colleges have the task of meeting the needs of their students and one way to determine this is by understanding the broad scope of development that their students bring. The career counseling course specifically looks at Holland’s codes. With just a few questions, instead of long drawn out surveys, we can see what type of person someone is and match their characteristics for possible job positions. In athletics, the student-athlete can be a special type of student. They are balancing their roles as a student and as an athlete; does this have an affect on their development? Even if they are not on the field, they serve as a university or college symbol, whether they like it or not, so whatever they do is watched closely. If a student-athlete gets in trouble, that’s what you would see in the paper right away. Given this, student-athletes need to be mindful of their actions and it may cause a change in their development, good or bad. Lastly, in many of my courses where we have looked at case studies or given scenarios, the knowledge from the //leadership// course has been helpful. Most of the classes, we have looked at the administrator side of things and how certain situations should be approached. Through these activities I have been able to determine my preferred leadership style. I am someone who prefers to work as a team to bring in multiple ideas. Like each style, there are pros and cons. In my Case Studies course to finish up my last semester, my leadership/supervisory style will come out. Also, depending on the scenario position I will be in when doing each case study, I will see if my actions change in any way. Coming into the Higher Education program I didn’t really have any expectations set. I just knew that I was interested in academic advising and wasn’t familiar with all of the areas Student Affairs encompassed. I knew I would have two practicums and was excited to see what they would end up being. When I got the course prospectus for the first time I was pleased to see all of the choices I had. My first semester came to me as a shock. My undergraduate degree didn’t require a lot of written papers so that was a big change I needed to get used to. I still feel that I struggle a little in writing, but I have come a long way these two years. The first semester was a challenge but I learned a lot. One of the courses that I have enjoyed the most was during my first semester in Multiculturalism and Diversity. The main concepts I have taken away from this course were my increased sensitivity to diversity issues which I can apply in my daily life. In my research course I learned how to use article databases to conduct research and if I ever want to create a study I am familiar with the types of methods to use. In undergrad I had taken a few statistics courses which related well to learning about the quantitative methods. I have learned something in every course I have taken during my time here at Kent State. Most of which I have been able to apply at work or in my daily life experiences and interactions. My practicums have also been a part of my hands-on learning experience that has helped me find areas of interest. The practicum I had in Fiscal Affairs in Residence Services at Kent State I was able to see the multiple departments work together to get things done, specifically the budget. My internship at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas gave me the chance to travel to a different part of the United States and experience a private institution. Through ACUHO-I, NODA and many other professional associations, they give graduate students the chance to explore. Although, I didn’t set many expectations of what I would have liked to learn, I had specifically planned out my courses and practicums. I had a sense of my interests and wanted to expand my professional development.