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Tracy Phutikanit Narrative Description Seattle University

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The most important academic content that I have learned is the foundations that made Student Development the field it is today. Knowing the range of theories from Yossos Community Cultural Wealth and Perrys Theory of Intellectual Ethical Development from SDAD 578 allows me to facilitate personal growth among students than ever before. SDAD 577 introduced me to the Student Personnel Point of View and its importance throughout the progression of student affairs. Both the foundational document and theories of student affairs make be a better practitioner-scholar. What I have learned about myself is how much my identities play a role in how I serve students and develop as a professional. I previously saw myself solely as an educator and kept that role separate from my identities because I did not realize how one affected the other. I now see my role as an educator and my identities intertwined as they have consistently played a role in affecting who I am and who I will become. My 200-hour internship was based in Academic Advising and Retention at Cascadia Community College. Because of a retention project focused on students re-entering Cascadia after academic suspension. The most cited reasons were personal health, working too many hours, and extenuating circumstances (such as multiple familial deaths or substance abuse). This has taught me that the depth of what college students are facing are not as clear cut and simple as they may seem. Students are complex, multifaceted, and juggle more today than ever before. So it only makes sense that the challenges that they are facing are just as unpredictable as they are. My 100-hour internship was focused on Veterans Services at Seattle University. The most important thing that I have learned is that the want to serve student veterans has always been present, but the means on how to support them havent always been available. Staff will always have a lot of responsibilities on their plate, but I was able act as a bridge to bring

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information directly to them to connect their desire to better serve student veterans and the best ways to do so at SU. My assistantship in Commuter and Transfer Student Life has allowed me to fully incorporate theory into practice and develop my professional identity. The commuter, transfer, nontraditional age, veteran, student parent, and graduate student populations will continue to rise nationally, so its critical for practitioners to be prepared to serve them. My position has provided me with a great understanding of issues that these student populations face. Understanding students and their needs is the first step in effectively serving them and bettering their experience at any institution. My experiences from academic coursework, internships, and assistantship have informed my professional practice by allowing me to fully explore my identities and how they relate to my role as a professional. By understanding myself, I know what Im capable of and what challenges I can face. By having the curriculum and practical experience concurrently challenging me to learn about myself, and not just reiterate connectionless content in the traditional educational construct, Ive been able become a better student, professional, educator and advocate. A critique for the SDA program is that there doesnt seem to be an equal or consistent effort made to students to make sure that they understand the Jesuit context and Social Justice Mission of SDA and Seattle University. After all of the students graduate and move on from Seattle University, we should all collectively be representing the values of our program and university. Not everyone has had access to the same trainings and teachings focused on Jesuit values, social justice topics, and professional development opportunities. Even the experience of classes like EDUC 520, EDUC 500, and SDAD 577 being taught by so many different faculty, causes inconsistency in the context, experience, and satisfaction of the class and program.

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The Jesuit influence has made me incorporate social justice issues, care, and leadership into my every day practice. These reminders to ask myself, Why am I doing what Im doing? Who am I doing it for? And what will be the impact if I do/dont? have been formed by Jesuit philosophy. Kolvenbach (2000) says it best in that: Students, in the course of their formation, must let the gritty reality of this world into their lives, so they can learn to feel it, think about it critically, respond to its suffering, and engage in it constructively. They should learn to perceive, think, judge, choose, and act for the rights of others, especially the disadvantaged and the oppressed. Because of Jesuit education, I am now, and will forever be, a first generation, Thai-American, woman for others.

Running head: Narrative Description References American Council on Education. (1949) The student personnel point of view (rev. ed.). Washington, DC: Author

Kolvenbach, P. (2000, October). Commitment Conference Address. Speech presented at the Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education Conference, Santa Clara University, CA. Perry, W.G., Jr. (1968). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years: A scheme. New York: Holt, Rinehart, &Winston. Yosso, T.J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69-82.