Running

head: REFLECTION PORTFOLIO CREATION

Reflection on the Creation of my Portfolio

Alexa Forster

Seattle University

April 10, 2015

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The portfolio process is one that was rather challenging for me, but that also gave me an
opportunity to spend focused time on reflection and meaning making, which I do not give myself
space to do on a regular enough basis.

There were a couple of particular reasons that left me feeling challenged by this portfolio

creation process including time and reflection. While I managed taking courses and working full-time
during my first year in graduate school, the added layers of this portfolio project and simultaneously
completing a 200-hour internship, left me feeling exhausted. I was unable to carve out as much
dedicated time as I would like to work on my portfolio, so I spent lunches at work, a few minutes
before class, and other sporadic times trying to complete it. I also thought I would have more time
during university breaks to work on it, but having to work over those breaks complicated my plan.
Time also played into the reflection piece as well. I am constantly on the move, working, interning,
commuting, etc. that I do not think I had the adequate time to make meaning of my graduate
experience. I am aware of the scholarship and theory that I gained and how my classroom knowledge
can be integrated into my future practice, but I am still searching for the deeper meaning of this
experience over the past two years. While I struggled to reflect regularly over this process, the act of
writing the learning outcome narratives really challenged me, in a good way, to think critically about
my strengths, areas of growth, and implications for professional practice in ways that I had not done
previously. I also think that spending time reflecting on these areas of my identity have given me the
voice to better articulate these in speech and writing to my colleagues and peers.

I would like to be intentional about planning time out, whether that means taking time off

work, etc. moving forward to plan my presentation. I think allowing for my head to be thinking about
this project and eliminating distractions will be crucial to my success in presenting my work. Overall, I
am proud of the work that I have done on this portfolio and love that I now have a space that

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captures all of my accomplishments during my time in the SDA program. The challenge, in the end, I
think will prove well worth its while.