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Looking back on the past five semesters in Kent State’s Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel there seem to be themes that reoccur throughout my coursework. I have realized that in all of the classes that I have taken in the program one or more of these themes have surfaced. The themes of theory, operation, experience, and reflection have guided my work in becoming a knowledgeable student and future administrator. //Theory // I have learned about college student development theories in many of my classes at Kent State. College Student Development is a class that is taken early in the program to form a foundation for working with college age students. The course provides a comprehensive study of all theories in relation to college students. During this class, the applicability of these theories was stressed as well. The Multiculturalism and Diversity course had a strong basis in theory as well. It is important for higher education professionals to be able to work with students with various identity differences. Theory was used as a basis for understanding and articulating best practices when working with students of different backgrounds. In leadership, we learned about the major theories of leadership in a historical context and applied current understandings of leadership theories as professionals in higher education settings. In Career Counseling, we were able to apply typology theories such as Holland’s Code in counseling college age students in career choice. //Operation // I have learned a lot about the operation of many different higher education institutions. My first class in the program, Organization and Administration of Higher Education, provided me with a conceptual and practical overview of the American Higher Education system. The course provided an overview in the areas of organization, administration, leadership, management, and governance. The Student Affairs Functions course increased my knowledge of the functions of Student Affairs units. Current events discussions were a major component of class time, which allowed me to have a better understanding of higher education institutions in general. In fact, current events and readings were a large part of class times in all of my courses. The Community College Class provided me with the basic understanding of the role and function of community colleges. This class and others have shaped my idea of what I would like to see as my future career within the profession. The Law and Business classes also aided in understanding the basic operation of higher education institutions. //Experience // I believe that all of the courses in the program have an underlying theme of experience and practicality. Courses are even coupled with other experiences such as Graduate assistantships and professional development opportunities so that students can gain the skills needed to perform in a career as a higher education practitioner. Through my graduate assistantship, I have been able to gain hands on experience and have been able to network with many professionals in the field. I have also been encouraged to participate in professional development such as conferences and workshops to enable me to compete with other higher education students and professionals for some of the best jobs in the field. The theme of experience is the basis for the practicum experiences. I was able to gain experience with program planning with career services at Kent State’s Trumbull campus. Being on a campus of this size allowed me to gain a different perspective of higher education. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the challenge of working with a completely different population of students. I was also able to work at Hiram College in the athletics department. Athletes are a population of students that interest me. I enjoy working with them because of their special needs such as time management issues. I was able to experience yet another type of institution in this practicum setting as well. The courses in the Higher Education Administration program all have experience as an overarching theme. In all of the classes I have had to practice skills such as presenting, writing, researching, communication, and collaboration. All of these are experiences that will allow me to be marketable to future employers. //Reflection // A theme in all of the courses and experiences that I have had with the program is reflection. Experiences are valuable in competing in a global society. Without reflection, it is impossible to learn from experiences. The practicum journals and summary papers were essential pieces of the experience that I had at Kent State Trumbull and Hiram College. I was able to think about what I liked and didn’t like about the practicum and what skills I learned and how they were obtained. During each of the courses I was expected to write a paper or complete a project that is reflective of the work that I had done in the class. For example, in leadership, I wrote a reflection paper about my personal leadership style. In the Health Methods class, I was able to write a reflection about each of our practical assignments to describe how this will apply to our future career. All four themes have shaped my decisions for the future. Each theme resonates as I interact with students on a daily basis and has an impact on what I will choose as my future in higher education. I feel that the Higher Education Administration program creates an advantage for its graduates because of the balance between the themes of theory, operation, experience, and reflection.