Running head: NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION

Narrative Description
Irene Ziemba

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The most important content I learned from the SDA has come primarily from
three courses: SDAD 5400 (Student Development Theory, Research, and Practice),
COUN 5100 (Fundamental Counseling Skills), and AEDT 5100 (Course Design for
Adult Learners). From SDAD 5400, Schlossbergs (1984) transition theory and Yossos
(2005) theory of community cultural wealth helped me conceive of the intricacies of any
given students life, and how to work with students while acknowledging their diverse
identities and experiences. Baxter Magoldas (2001) theory gave me a new goal to work
towards with students: developing their self-authorship. The basic counseling responses I
learned in COUN 5100 transformed and developed my skills as a one-on-one advisor.
The principles of creating significant learning experience outlined by Fink (2013)
informed and transformed my views on creating any learning experience for students.
I came into the program viewing myself as someone whose significant skills all
fell into the relationship-building domain, and the most important thing I learned about
myself in the SDA program is that I have a more broad and diverse set of skills than I
imagined. In particular, I have learned to embrace my skills as a strategic and critical
thinker, who is skilled in assessing and evaluating programs and systems, identifying
gaps and areas for improvement, and working to create positive change in the programs I
work with. As I embraced my ability to prioritize both relationship building and strategic
thinking, I in turn became more ambitious and excited to see how I can positively
contribute to and change the field of student affairs throughout my career.
I completed two internships during my time in the SDA program: at Cornell
Universitys New Student Programs office, and at Career Services at Seattle U. At
Cornell, I learned the importance of tailoring programs to specific environments.

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Cornells sprawling, siloed, academically-focused campus required orientation programs

to look quite different than I had previously seen, and I gained understanding of how
novel structures can be developed to fit unique circumstances. I also gained significant
knowledge around how to effectively collaborate across offices, divisions, and colleges.
At Career Services, I learned how integrated many aspects of a students experience are:
academics, co-curricular activities, work, and career paths. I learned how to have more
holistic conversations with students about their futures.
I work in two graduate assistantship capacities at SU a year in Commuter and
Transfer Student Life, and a year in the Center for Student Involvement. In CTSL, I
learned significant amounts about the needs of student populations I had not previously
worked with commuters, adult learners, and graduate students and the importance of
considering a variety of student experiences when developing programming. In CSI I
learned a student-driven, student-led approach to advising, and how to use critical
questions to challenge students to think strategically about the work they are doing and
how they show up in leadership positions.
My learning in the SDA program has many significant implications for my
professional practice, but the most significant is my ability to adapt to any college
environment, campus culture, and student body. I have learned about different
institutional types, theories that helped to analyze the experiences of students, the needs
of different student populations, skills to connect to and develop students, tools and skills
to assess and evaluate what a campus or program needs, and emerging practices at
different institutions. With all this knowledge combined, I feel confident that I can

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continue on to new and different institutions within my career and strategically adapt to
the needs to my new campuses and students.
My main critiques of the SDA program are a lack of focus on both assessment
and concrete theory-to-practice exercises. As assessment and evaluation become
increasingly important within the field of student affairs, it seems necessary to develop a
course to help ground students knowledge in effective and diverse practices. I also
believe that students in the SDA program need to be challenged to spend more time
applying theories to actual practice, utilizing case studies and other learning activities. In
order to make time for this, it seems necessary to extend the theory course in the program
to at least two quarters, if not a full school year.
The Jesuit context of SU has helped me developed an acute understanding of the
importance of holistically developing students. The practice of reflection has helped me
become a more aware and responsive professional. I will carry the importance of being a
holistic and reflective educator forward as I continue in my career.

NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION
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. San Fransisco: JosseyBass.

Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to

designing college courses. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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.