Running head: NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION

Amy Bergstrom
SDA Program E-Portfolio
Narrative Description

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The most important content I have learned in the Student Development Administration
(SDA) program is to take a critical eye to everything. This lens started in SDAD 5400 Student
Development Theory, when I learned about critical race theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001) and
community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005). I have used those perspectives throughout my time in
the program, especially as I learned theory in other subjects such as adult learning and lifespan
development. I continually questioned, and still question, with a critical perspective the
assumptions that these foundational theories are based in, and this helps me keep the needs of
different populations in mind in my practice.
Taking these perspectives and turning them inward has also been the most important part
of learning about myself during the program. I am much more aware of my identities and the
way they affect how I interact with the world than I ever was before. So many of my courses,
from leadership to counseling to social justice, have required me to think about my identities and
apply them to the subject matter, and this elevated level of awareness has spilled out into my
work, relationships, and daily life.
Another important part of my experience has been my internships. Working with new
student orientation at Cornish College of the Arts, I learned so much about how to develop a
leadership program to meet the specific needs of a population. I can take my process of
observations, conversations, research, and experimentation and apply it to any student group I
work with in the future. My internship with the summer fellowship program in the Center for
Service and Community Engagement (CSCE) at Seattle University (SU) gave me a lot of insight
into vocational reflection for students. I discovered that this was much more of a meaningmaking process than a decision-making one, a perspective I can keep in mind in conversations
with all students.

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My graduate assistantship was also in the CSCE, working with service-learning students.
I have learned so much from this experience that it is hard to narrow down to most important
items. I have learned about students at large and to observe patterns, which informs how I adapt
my practice. I have become much more comfortable in public speaking, particularly in guiding a
classroom. I have also learned about the value of partnering across campus and with the
community, a value I hope to maintain in whatever office I work in.
When I came to SU, I really had no idea everything that was involved in being a student
affairs professional. I came into the program wanting to work with students. My experiences in
classes, my assistantship, internships, volunteering at other events, and spending time with my
colleagues have turned me into an educator. I will use my theoretical foundation, critical
perspective, and all of the interactions I have had with students over the past two years to be an
informed practitioner who keeps care for the student at the center.
If there is anything I could desire more of from the SDA program, it would be a stronger
focus on some of the harder skills related to our field. In particular, our learning outcomes and
the NASPA/ACPA competencies indicate that we should be prepared in areas such as
assessment, research, finance, and policy, but these are not well-incorporated into our
curriculum. I realize that other student affairs programs struggle with this (Cuyjet, LongwellGrice, & Molina, 2009) and that there are opportunities that individuals can seek out to develop
these skills. However, if the program has a commitment to keeping these as part of its learning
outcomes, I do believe they should be more intentionally included in required classes.
What the program does well, though, and what has been particularly meaningful to me, is
infuse a focus on holistic care and social justice. I have appreciated the Jesuit context of SU in
helping me feel embraced into a community throughout my education, and I will take this focus

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on social justice and care for students into my professional practice. Somewhat ironically, the
things I have learned in my own Jesuit education, particularly about access and educational
equity, actually draw me to work in a very different context, specifically a community college or
public university, because of that aspect of access and equity. But I plan to bring my whole self
and that focus on care into all my work, so in a way, my Jesuit context will stay with me
wherever I go.

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5
References

Cuyjet, M. J., Longwell-Grice, R., & Molina, E. (2009). Perceptions of new student affairs
professionals and their supervisors regarding the application of competencies learned in
preparation programs. Journal of College Student Development, 50(1), 104-119.
doi:10.1353/csd.0.0054
Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2001). Critical race theory: An introduction. New York: New York
University Press.
Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community
cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69-91.
doi:10.1080/1361332052000341006