Running Head: LEARNING OUTCOME STRENGTHS

Learning Outcome Narrative - Strengths

Jazz Allen Espiritu
Seattle University
SDAD 5900: Capstone
Thai Nguyen
March 10, 2016

LEARNING OUTCOME STRENGTHS

Strengths
Learning Outcomes 2, 4, 5, 6; Artifacts C1, C2, F, G
I have developed a number of strengths in the short time that Ive been in the Student
Development Administration program at Seattle University. Through periods of reflection, I
have discovered that the overarching theme of my strengths can be defined as identity
empowerment. In alignment with Seattle Universitys Jesuit values, the focus of reflection has
provided a number of opportunities to not only see where barriers have been built, but how to
effectively utilize it as a strength, in a variety of ways. This directly relates to educating and
empowering the whole person, which is in alignment with SUs mission and values. Leadership
is a unique sub-area that addresses this theme because of how identity empowerment has helped
me develop my skills and understanding of effective leadership. And lastly, community has
strengthened since I started in the SDA program, and I believe that this is directly related to the
strength of my salient identities. Ultimately, this is important to me because I believe the
strength of my students identities will affect their sense of belonging and dedication to their
beliefs, despite the struggles and gaps they may encounter.
Reflection
Learning Outcomes 2, 4; Artifacts G
As an English Literature major, I have had a number of years practicing reflection,
mostly in a personal sense. Reflection has played a part in my understanding of Learning
Outcome 2: Understanding students and student issues, as my chosen practice when Im
challenged to meet students in their perspectives and beliefs. There are moments when my
beliefs or approaches differ from my students, and effective reflection has been a tool in
understanding students and the issues they face, despite differing views. I have seen this in my

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Graduate Assistantship in Wellness and Health Promotion, advising a team of peer health
educators on the Seattle University campus. I was challenged in my first year due to the student
demographic that was a majority of our team. My team consisted of predominantly white
women, whose professional passions were different from my own. As I developed as a
professional in the field, and reflected on the importance of health and wellness for all people on
campus, I began to utilize and share my knowledge and skills with my students so I could
understand their issues and provide them with the best solutions. Artifact G, my distinctive
contribution in the form of a workshop for the Northwest Filipino-American Student Alliance
Conference, is evidence of this because it connected what I have learned in the program to the
work I was doing prior. I noticed even more so the needs of the Filipino-American student
community, and provided a workshop to engage with this challenge. I understood the
misconceptions that students were facing, and contributed to their understanding by developing
my knowledge in the area. This is similar to the work I did with my team in Wellness and
Health Promotion because I built relationships through shared values and understanding, creating
a work environment that allows for various passions to be celebrated because it engages with the
shared goals of the individuals.
My strength in reflection also speaks to Learning Outcome 4: Understanding and
fostering diversity, justice, and a sustainable world formed by a global perspective and Jesuit
Catholic tradition, because of my understanding of Schlossbergs Transitional Theory (1984).
When Seattle University began its innovation initiative, I dedicated time in reflecting where my
values aligned with the changes. Reflection played a part in understanding how I react to
situations, and where I could find and provide support when needed (1984). Ultimately, my

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skills in reflection have become more inclusive, in ways that empower me personally and
professionally, and the students I interact with.
Leadership
Learning Outcomes 5, 6; Artifact C1, F
I started on the Student Affairs career path because of the work I was doing in the
Filipino-American student community. I felt empowered in my ethnic identity and I believe that
my success in higher education correlates to identity development: as I continued to grow as a
leader in the Filipino-American community, I saw an improvement in my grades as well as my
professional identity. I was seeing myself strengthen through my Asian American identity,
aligning with the identity development of Jean Kims Asian American Identity Development
Model (1981, 2001). I believe the overarching theme of my strengths is identity empowerment
because I believe the SDA program has taken my experiences and turned them into knowledge
and skills (Pope et. al., 2004). Leadership is related to the overarching theme of identity
empowerment because it is a direct result of effective multicultural competency. Leadership has
helped my understanding of Learning Outcome 5: Adapting student services to specific
environments and cultures because of adaptability. My strength in understanding who I am and
being empowered through that understanding has given me the confidence in taking leadership
roles and responsibilities. This is evident in Artifact C1 from my Seattle Pacific University
internship, where I propose curriculum and overall resources for their international student
population. I practiced adaptability when my simple task of building a college success skills
course for international students became part of a larger institutional initiative to provide more
support for international students on the SPU campus. Taking on this leadership role allowed me
the confidence in developing a proposal utilizing research and best practices.

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I have also grown in my understanding of Learning Outcome 6: Developing and

demonstrating skills in leadership and collaboration due to a number of successful collaboration
efforts. Evidence of this learning outcome can be found in Artifact F, where I outline my fiveyear professional plan. I was intentional in putting Committee Involvement because of the
lasting institutional change that can occur through effective collaboration and leadership. Before
entering the SDA program, I would seek opportunities where I could directly impact my
communities. Collaboration efforts were minimal at the time, until I started working in Wellness
and Health Promotion and found the need to be a resource, and utilize the resources around me.
Because of this, Artifact F has put into place opportunities to seek out collaboration efforts for
the sole intention of taking on institutional developments.
Community Building
Learning Outcomes 2, 5, Artifact C2
Building and fostering community has become the overarching result to identity
empowerment. Community building has played a large role in my understanding and
development of Learning Outcome 2: Understanding students and student issues, because it
centers on the relationships with students. Community building allows the students
relationships with themselves, their peers, and other communities to unfold as they grow in their
identity empowerment. This occurs because the students role in each relationship changes the
more empowered they become. This development is evident in Artifact C3, my program
proposal for a group counseling curriculum for college men and masculinity. In this curriculum
we discuss our past, present, and future, and how masculinity plays a role in our daily
interactions. In this curriculum, college men build community with each other to discuss their
relationships with themselves and the world around them. The objective of this curriculum is to

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learn and understand each other and the issues college men (and the communities they interact
with) face, while empowering them to enact change in themselves and their campus. Producing
this curriculum provided an opportunity of growth in my advising of Wingmen, a student
organization against sexual violence on campus in relation to masculinity.
Community Building has also strengthened my understanding and development of
Learning Outcome 5: Adapting student services to specific environments and cultures. An
example of how this is seen is through my own community work. I have found it challenging to
find a community after college similar to the one I had as a Filipino-American student leader. I
reflected on the work I did, and found that Student Affairs was a field that would fulfill this need
and passion. My relationship with the Filipino community in Seattle has grown since then, as I
help bring in a national non-profit organization to Seattle and become a resource to FilipinoAmerican students after they graduate. This example portrays my understanding of Learning
Outcome 5 because it recognizes the needs of post-graduates, who may need similar resources
but for different reasons. Much of this work is rooted in Yossos Community Cultural Wealth
(2005). Post-graduates will recognize the wealth of knowledge, experience, and skills they bring
to a job or service, and I have been able to better articulate it for them. This Learning Outcome
continues as I am developing a community program for Filipino-American student organizations
in the Northwest to find workshop presenters on various topics they believe would be fruitful for
their community. I plan to meet with student organizations, determine their needs as leaders,
collaborate with presenters, and provide an efficient method to developing, educating, and
presenting information based on assessment. I hope to continue my efforts by practicing
collaboration and offering my leadership in all aspects of my well-being.

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References
Pope, R., Reynolds, A., & Mueller, J. (2004). Multicultural competence in student affairs. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., & Guido, F. (2010). Student development in college: Theory,
research, and practice (2nd edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Yosso, T.J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race discussion of community cultural
wealth. Race, ethnicity, education, 8 (1), 69-8.