9385Phil

When thinking about my philosophy of student affairs, I remind myself that I will always have the same beliefs, but my philosophy may vary as I move throughout my professional career. Currently my philosophy of student affairs is based upon three specific sets of experiences in my life, my undergraduate experience and my own personal growth as a student, my graduate experience, and my professional experience. These three experiences have taught me a lot about myself and my journey as a student and have given me the ability to look at students affairs through my own personal growth and the growth that I have seen in the students I work with. I believe that the division of student affairs at any given university is the place where theory meets practice. It is where as administrators we need to provide students with the ability to learn, grow, change, and diversify themselves. As a student affairs practitioner I love working with students and seeing them progress and grow. Within students affairs I believe that helping students grow and develop to become good leaders and great citizens is one of our most important roles. Having the ability to put theory into practice and being cognizant and understanding of where a student is in their personal development is extremely important to me. I have read and studied many of the different student development theories, and find that I associate most closely with psychosocial theories. I think that the psychosocial theories help me to better understand the personal and interpersonal aspects of a student’s life. I really associate well with Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, because he bases his stages upon a student’s interaction of the world around them and their own self growth through that interaction. I correlate that directly to my work in student affairs and always try to be aware of the environment and social interactions of the students that I work with. According to Erikson, “our ego identity is constantly changing due to new experience and information we acquire in our daily interactions with others”. I believe that knowing and understanding Erikson is a great asset to my professional career and my work with students.  I choose to pursue a career in student affairs because my experiences as a student affected and changed me so deeply for the better that I wanted to chance to have that impact on other students. I love working with all students, especially those who are just beginning their college careers. Freshman and sophomore students are so idealistic and innocent, and the change that they have in their first year or two is so incredible to me. I love watching them grow and emerge as campus leaders and stepping up and becoming great members of the college community.  As a professional I strive to be the best administrator as I can. I strive to be student focused and be a great advisor for students. I want to be someone that a student can come to when they advice, or a shoulder to cry on. I also want to be the person that a student wants to share their successes with. I want to help a student to succeed, when they don’t think they can or when they just have lost their way. If at the end of the day I get to talk and interact with one student and help them in even the slightest way, then I know I have succeed at my job.