I am immensely grateful for Loyola University Chicagos Higher Education

program, my fellow M.Ed. cohorts, and the professors for having a tremendous
impact on my personal growth and professional development. Even though I have
been exposed to a variety of course content, I believe student development theory
and leadership in higher education courses have had the most profound impact on
me.
Reflections on Important Course Content
Taking student development theory introduced me to various theories that
impacted my holistic development. Prior to taking this course, I had limited
knowledge about the role context, environment, and culture plays in shaping
students cognitive, psychosocial, and social identity developmental process.
However, after being introduced to these theories, I was able to consciously attend
to different aspects when interacting with students to provide a balance of
challenge and support.
The leadership course introduced me to many unique ways of leading. Prior
to taking this course, I did not believe I was a leader. After engaging in class
discussions with my classmates weekly regarding the varying leadership theories, I
was able to believe in my leadership capacity by the end of the course. I learned
that I could still effect change on any level and impact my spheres of influence.
Despite drawing upon ideas from the many types of leadership theories, the most
important in my application to practice are situational and authentic. I believe it is
important to apply a combination of supportive and directive behaviors to a certain
degree depending on the situation to assist others in working through a task.
Similarly, it is crucial to be transparent and authentic with oneself and others when

leading or collaborating with students, staff, and administrators to reach a

consensus.
Reflections of Practical Knowledge: Learning through Internships
I was able to use my insights and experiences, as well as course content to
apply to my internship role. A vital lesson I gained from my internship, as a
coordinator for an academic mentoring program was improved interpersonal skills.
The internship challenged me to improve upon my area of weakness-interpersonal
communication skills. Facilitating weekly mentor training sessions and presenting
ideas to the students pushed me to communicate with them on a regular basis.
Overall, I have changed greatly in my ability to effectively articulate my ideas and
engage with others. As a newly launched program, there was no structure in place,
which provided me ample opportunity to be creative in developing workshops.
Since the program was new, it pushed me to conduct research on peer mentoring
programs from other colleges and universities to garner ideas to implement in our
academic mentoring program.
Lastly, the internship provided me with opportunities to reach out to campus
partners to come present to students in our Project Success department. Building
meaningful relationships with students, staff, and administrators improved the
attendance. Although I am introverted, this experience challenged me to confront
my discomfort by taking initiative to contact people and make time to visit them in
person and attend their sessions.
Reflections on Personal Growth
My experience in attending this particular M.Ed. program has highly shaped
my personal growth in many aspects of my life. The most important areas of my

growth are increased self-efficacy in my writing and speaking ability. Even though I
was optimistic with my decision to join the higher education program, I had little
confidence in myself to succeed. I hesitated from participating in class discussions
for fear of being perceived as unintelligent. It was not until taking student
development theory that sparked an internal examination of my developmental
process. After completing my first assignment in student development theory, I
received affirming remarks about my concise, and comprehensive writing style,
which immediately lit a smile on my face. Receiving positive comments on my
writing changed my perception of writing and myself because someone believed in
me. It took one person to offer encouraging remarks on my paper to increase my
self-efficacy in my communication skills and ability to succeed. After that moment,
I was empowered to believe in the value of sharing my experiences and ideas with
classmates, professors, colleagues, friends, and family.
Practice Informed By Social Justice
The integration of social justice in courses gave me insights about ways I was
oppressed and reflect upon my privileged identities. I believe it is important to
have an understanding of social injustices by listening to peoples own lived
experiences in order to take corrective action measures in creating positive social
change. The Multiculturalism to Social Justice course introduced me to challenging
but necessary topics to dialogue about with others. Having an awareness of social
justice informs my work in appreciating diverse perspectives of students and
helping them making meaning of their own collegiate experiences. Being openminded and having a better understanding of social justice can influences how one

is able to effectively understand and support students on their academic, career,

and personal journeys.
Conclusion
Overall, I am truly grateful for the higher education program for contributing
to my personal growth. This program has equipped me with important academic
and social skills as well as knowledge and experiences that I can apply to my future
work in the field and further my personal growth.