NarrativeDescription

Contentyouhavelearnedfromtheprogram
Howdoesonesummarizeeverythingtheyhavelearnedwithinthecourseoftwoyears?Tosay
thatIlearnedalotwouldbeageneralizedunderstatement.Forthepurposeofspatialconfinesfor
thisassignment,IwillshareacouplepiecesofcontentthatIhavelearnedwhileenrolledinthe
HIgherEducationprogram.

Forone,Ihavelearnedabouttheimportanceofassessmenttotheworkofsupportingcollege
students.LastsummerItookupaninternshipatDePaulUniversityworkingwiththeAssistant
VicePresidentofStudentAffairs,whosefunctionalareawasassessmentinitiativesaroundthe
DivisionofStudentAffairs.Frommysupervisor,Ilearnedthatassessmentwasnotscaryandin
factcouldbepractical.Irelatedtotheconceptofimaginingassessmentasameansoftellingthe
storiesoftheeverydayworkthatwedotopromotestudentlearning,engagementand
developmentduringthistimeincollege.Igainedaconfidenceinthisarea,somuchsothatI
decidedtotakeupanopportunitytoearnacertificateinassessmentaswellasworkwiththe
DIrectorofAssessmenthereatLoyolatofurthermylearning.Throughmyexposureto
assessmentIalsolearnedthatengagingwithaconceptthatothersfindtobedauntingandsister
awayformonlymakesomemoremarketabletopossessuchaskill.

AnothercorepieceofcontentIhavelearnedisaboutthepervasiveinvestmentofwhitenessthat
existsonoursocietyandthemanywaysthatitismanifested.Lastsemestercriticalsocialtheory
coursewespentalotoftimetalkingaboutwhitenessandhowourpatriarchalandcapitalistic
societybenefitsfromkeepingwhitenessasthedesiredstandard(ofexcellence,ofwealth,of
beauty,education,language,etc).Ifoundthistopictobemostrelevanttomyexperiences
growingupinasegregatedcitylikeChicagothatisseparatedbyraceandclass.Theclass
discussionswereevenmoreimpactfulformeasfolksaroundourclasssharedtheirexperiences.

Mostimportantthingsyouhavelearnedaboutyourself
IthinkoneofthebiggestareasofgrowthIhavenoticedaboutmyselfisthatIambecoming
morecomfortablewithwhoIam.Istruggledtowritethesectionabovenotingtheconcrete
examplesofthecontentihavelearnedthroughoutthisprogram.Ithinkitistobeassumedthata
classroomsetting,therewillbenewideasandcontentsharedthatcanbelearned.Iexpectthat
goingintothisprogram.WhatididnotexpectistheamountofselfworkthatIhavedonesince
myfirstyear.

AnotherthingIhavenoticedaboutmyselfsinceenrolledintheprogramisthatIhavebecome
verycomfortablenotonlywithmyself,butalsobeingmoreopentosharemylearningswith
others.Forexample,inthesecondweekofAdvancedStudentDevelopmentclassthissemester,

webegantalkingaboutsalientidentities.Aswewerediscussingthemultidimensionalidentity
model,Ihadwhatfeltlikeanepiphany,realizingthatmymostsalientidentities,raceandgender,
weremytargetedidentities,AnotheridentitywhichIknowshouldbemoresalientismyfaithas
aChristian,andyet,Ioftenforgetaboutthesalienceofthisownidentity.Thatisbecauseitisan
agenticidentity.WHilethismaysoundbasictoothers,itfeltlikealightbulbformeinthat
moment.Irosemyrandtosharemynewfounddiscovery.Andnoonesaidanythingafterwards,
eithervalidatingorevenacknowledging.Wejustmovedontothenextpoint.ButIdidnoteven
care.Isharedsomethingwithagroupof20+peopleinthesecondweekofclasswhennoone
elsedid.Anditfeltgoodtovocalizemyinternalprocessing.Tomysurprisemorethanfour
weekslater,someoneactuallyrecalledmyepiphanymomentandrelateitbacktotheirown
experienceonedaywhileinclass.Thatwasprettycool!

Mostimportantthingslearnedfromgraduateassistantship
Frommyassistantship,themostimportantthingIhavelearnedisfromaquotethatdaysyou
cannotpourintoothersfromanemptycup.Thisquotehasdefinitelybeenmymottoformy
secondyearofmyassistantshipwithinResidenceLife.Thisyearmarksmyseventhyear
workingeitherprofessionallyandasanundergraduatestudentwithinthisarea.WhenIgotto
Loyola,theworkload,amountsofemails,longlistofadministrativetasksandfrequentmeetings
cameasnosurprisetome.Ihadbeenthere,donethat.ButwhatIhadnotdonebeforewas
workednearly30hoursperweekwhilealsobeingenrolledasafulltimegraduatestudent,asa
marriedpartner.IquicklylearnedthatIcouldnotdoitallandprioritizationandorganization
werekey.MyfirstyearIfeltlikeayespersonagreeingtoeveryopportunity,volunteerjob
andrequestthatwasaskedofme.Ifeltthispressuretokeepcontributingtoprovemyself.Butat
thesametimeIwasspreadingmyselftoothin,takingonmorethanwhatIneededto.

Inmysecondyear,Ilearnedtosaynomoreoften,andIhavetoadmit,itfeltgreat.Wewere
giventheoptionofparticipatingincommitteesasgraduatestudents.LastyearIsignedupfora
committeethatrequiredalotofworkfortheentireschoolyear,neverreallyhavingslowperiods.
Ihadalreadyhadexperienceinthisarea,butIfeltpressuretocommittojointhecommittee.
Thisyearwhenpresentedwiththesameoption,Iselectedacommitteethatwouldnotrequireas
muchworkandonethatIwasmuchmorepassionateabout,acommitteededicatedtocultural
competence.Thesamehasgoneforvolunteeropportunitieswithinthedepartment.IfIcan
arrangeforit,Iwillalwayshelpout.However,Itrymybesttonotworkafterhoursnoron
weekends,forthosearemydesignatedtimesforhomeworkandhangingoutwithfamily.Itake
lunchawayfrommydesk.AndusemytimeefficientlysoIdonthavetobringworkhome.One
areaIcancontinuetoworkonistheconstantcheckingofmyemail,itisabadhabitandIwish
tolearntodisconnectsometimes.

AnotherthingIhavelearnedwithinmyassistantshipistobesolutionoriented.ResidenceLife
hasmanyprocessesthatweconductfrommoveinday,selectingRAstaffsandmanymore.With
eachoftheseprocesses,weareoftenaskedifwehavefeedbackonwhatthingswentwelland
howthingscanbeimproved.Sometimesitcanbeeasytousethoseopportunitiestojuststart
complainingaboutallthethingsyouwishedcouldgoyourway,tomakeyoumorecomfortable.
Andquiteoftenwehearsuchcomplaintsduringtheseforumsforfeedback.However,something
thatIhavenoticedtobemorehelpfulthancomplainingistonoteanareaofimprovementand
provideasolution.Itisimportanttorecognizethatweallhavearoletoplaywithinthelarger
departmentthatweworkin.Ifwewanttoseechange,wecannotjustwaitforsomeoneelsetodo
it.Wehavetobewillingtotakeinitiative,beinnovativeandbewillingtoputintheworking
efforttoseechange.Ihavetosayframingfeedbackthiswayhasthusfarbeenprogressiveandis
oftencomplementedbyothercolleagues.

Mostimportantthingsyoulearnedaboutsocialjusticeandhowitwillinformyourfuture
workineducation.
OneofthemostimportantthingsIhavelearnedaboutsocialjusticethusfaristhatthereisno
checkmarkorcertificatetobeearnedtosaythatyouknowallthereistoknow.Becausehetruth
is,beingasocialjusticeadvocaterequiresyoutocontinuelearning,bewillingtobechallenged,
andtakerisks.WhenIfirstappliedtoLoyolaandwasaskedwhatsocialjusticemeanttome,I
hadtogooglethephrasebecauseIhadneverhearditbefore.Ihavecomealongwaysincethen.
NowIunderstandthatifIdonotknowsomethingaboutanotherpersonssocialidentityfor
example,itisnottheirjobtoteachme,butmyresponsibilitytolearnmore.IunderstandthatI
haveanobligationtochallengethewaysinwhichstudentaffairscansometimesfeelhypocritical
inthewaywedealwithstudents.Wepreachinclusivity,andyetmanyofourstudentsfeel
harmedanduncomfortable.IrecognizethatsocialjusticeisnotaboutthefancywordsIamable
tospew,butinthewayItreatothers,howIcarrymyself,andawillingnesstocareabout
somethingotherthanmyself.Thesearethewaysinwhichsocialjusticehasandwillcontinueto
informmyworkinthefieldofhighereducation.