Running head: IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE LEARNING OUTCOME

NARRATIVE

Implications for Professional Practice Learning Outcome Narrative

Tiff Hayes
SDA Portfolio
Spring 2015
Seattle University

IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

The SDA program has been an incredible experience for meaffirming many of the
practices and ways of working that I exhibited in my professional role prior to SU, but also
challenging some of the things I thought I knew from working in the field. As I move forward in
my journey, I see the theme of self-authorship really taking hold.
Reflection, Professional Development, and Lifelong Learning: LO 3 | Artifacts B1 & J
Self-authorship is central to L.O. #3: Exhibiting professional integrity and ethical
leadership in professional practice because I cannot lead ethically or with integrity if I cant
define my own beliefs or identity. There are many facets of this concept, including gaining and
integrating new knowledge, engaging in regular reflection, and engaging holistically in
practice to make a lasting impact.
Baxter-Magolda (2001,as cited in Evans et al., 2010) defines self-authorship as the
internal capacity to define ones beliefs, identity, and social relations, and asks the questions,
How do I know? Who Am I? How do I want to construct relationships with others? (p.184).
Prior to the SDA program, I never engaged in regular reflection, at least not intentionally. True
to Jesuit education, reflection has been a huge part of the SDA program and although I never
would have sought out opportunities to reflect before, I now see just how valuable reflection is in
defining who I am, how I know, and how I want to construct relationships with others. SDAD
5900: Student Development Capstone Seminar was the most effective course in engaging me in
reflection that I have taken in the program. It has strengthened my ability to critically examine
my past and present selves in an effort to inform my future self. My personal mission statement
(Artifact B1) demonstrates just how far I have come in my ability to reflect in a way that
exhibits my professional integrity and ethical leadership. I have committed, personally and
professionally, to continue regular reflection as my story changes.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Gaining and integrating new knowledge has played a substantial role in the SDA
program for me, especially through my graduate assistantship. As I had never worked as an
academic advisor before, the learning curve for me in the beginning of my assistantship was very
steep and I struggled to retain everything and keep up with the other two graduate assistants,
both whose experience included academic advising. Professional development is massively
important to me for many reasons, one being that different professional development
opportunities engage me holistically in practice to make a lasting impact. Professional
development is just thatseeking out opportunities to develop our knowledge and capacity as
professionals to continue adapting and changing with the field. Lunceford (2014) researched
student affairs masters programs and found that graduate students are most often not immersed
in environments long enough to fully understand what it is truly like to work in these specific
environments, (p. 15). This is why professional development is so important! I recently attended
a half-day conference at the University of Washington focused on supporting undocumented
students in higher education, especially through leadership development and empowerment. I
will continue to seek out opportunities like this not only because I am dedicated to lifelong
learning, but also because learning more about how to support marginalized students is at the
core of who I am as a professional.
The assessment and evaluation project (Artifact J) I did during my internship at Wagner
College is another example of engaging holistically in practice to make a lasting impact. I know
that Wagner College will continue to use the work I did and plan I created for years to come
because I used best practices and research to develop the assessment plan. They will also
continue to update and adapt the plan as their students evolve and change, but the foundation of

IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

the plan will remain the samea survey of questions formulated based on program mission,
goals, and learning outcomes.
As I move on from the SDA program and SU, I will remain true to the strengths I have
identified and continue to find ways to make them more robust. I will continue to build my
awareness, knowledge, and skills in the areas of growth I have examined and discussed. And I
will use these to develop my professional integrity and ethical leadership in professional practice,
always remembering that I have written my story and I can continue to write as many new
chapters as I wantI control the path my story takes.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

References
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010).Student
development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd edition). San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Lunceford, C. J. (2014). It takes a village: The role of the individual, organization, and
profession in preparing new professionals. New Directions for Community Colleges, 106,
13-20.