1267Phil

When I began my undergraduate career, I was a shy, nervous girl; unsure of whom I was and what I thought, I rarely spoke up and voiced my opinions. Many who know me now find this hard to believe, as I am an advocate for being loud and speaking your mind. However, during my first two years of college, I was so afraid of being unliked or making a mistake that I stifled my voice and opinions. One afternoon as I was meeting with the Director of Orientation, he said something to me that has shaped who I am what I want out of my career; “Emily”, he said, “don’t be afraid of being who you are. It is ok to say what you want, and think what you want, and be who you are. Those who love you will love you regardless, and the rest don’t matter.” He proceeded to tell encourage me to find out what made me happy and love who I was because of my differences from my peers, and was available to me as a mentor and advisor through each step of that journey. That philosophy of not being afraid of who you are has helped shape the administrator I am becoming and hope to continue to become as my career continues. I believe that in Student Affairs, everything we do should be driven by and built around helping students succeed and grow into a better person. This growth can be developmentally, in their major, in developing life skills or in figuring out who they are. I strive to be a mentor to students through my actions and words, and encourage my Orientation Team to do the same. I want to make a difference in one student’s life like the Director of Orientation did for me when I was an undergraduate student. I will strive to carry out this philosophy in several ways. First, I want to use relative theories and policies when working with students—what works for one student won’t work for another, and I want to understand each theory and what will work best for a given student. I also want to maintain an open door policy for students to feel comfortable to come talk to me for advice, counseling or just someone to listen. Additionally, I want to be able to implement programs and services that will help students feel comfortable in their own skin and with their peers. These services and programs could range from educational in nature to service to other students; this could include involvement in campus clubs and organizations. Being involved will not only help the student become more comfortable with him or herself, but also feel more connected to the campus culture and environment.