Joann Zhang

A. Understand the impact of student identity, cultural heritage, and institutional and societal systems (including power and privilege), on identity development, personal growth, individual perspectives, and students’ experiences

 

          In my Reading and Conference: Social Justice in Higher Education course, we discussed topics that were of unique interest to each facilitator. Through in-depth discussion, I learned how these topics impacted certain communities of students on campus. Our topics ranged from supporting international students, the power, and privilege that is associated with what country you are from, and the relationship between higher education administrators and international students to how sentipensante pedagogy can transform student experience and classroom inclusivity, so that rather than simply measuring success through IQ and test scores, educators should focus more on reflection, discussions and emotional intelligence (Rendon, 2009). Our discussions provided me a different perspective on social justice issues in relations to higher education. As mentioned in my reflection paper, this class provided me a new perspective on social justice, and how student affair professionals can best support students. I do not have all the answers or best practices when implementing social justice, however, through this reading and conference; I believe I have become more enlightened to see injustices in ways I was not able to see before. I believe the first step in being a social justice advocate is to recognize the issues, understand others experiences so that you can begin to disrupt injustices as they occur. Something I’d recommend to my peers, students or staff is to really engage in what social justice looks for them, whether it is in the classroom, the workplace, or in a team setting. And if you do see social injustice, how can you disrupt it? As a student affair professional, I want to engage in conversation with individuals who may not see injustice and to learn their perspective as much as I would hope they would learn mine. It is not easy to have these conversations as often it can cause tension and blame. However, my goal is to develop enough confidence in having these types of conversation so that I can better articulate my thoughts so that I can at least plant a seed in someone’s mind about the injustices within our society. I think by having different resources, research, and tools, I can begin to develop my confidence and my own understanding of what it really means to be socially just. It is our responsibility as a student affair professional to support all students and ensure their experience on campus is positive. My passion is for educating others about social justice and thus, my goal is to continue to deepen my knowledge around creating an equitable community for all student by engaging in conversations with peers and students, keeping up with relevant issues and research and keeping an open mind about all issues.

            During Student Development Theory I & II, we learned about student development theorists and their theories that helped explained students’ identities through experiences, perspectives, their relation to others, and how they approach their problems. Through our Final Analysis paper, I was able to analyze my own identity and the stage/positions I was in for theories I resonated with. I was able to recognize the significant impact my cultural heritage had on me growing up and how I relate to the world. For an example, in my paper, I wrote about my progression through Phinney’s (1990) Model of Ethnic Identity Development. It was during my third and fourth year of undergrad that I believe I began to enter the third stage of Phinney’s model, however, I became more confident and solidified in that stage during this last two years of graduate school.  Through the courses I’ve taken, the workshops and seminars I attended on campus and the one-on-one conversations I’ve had with peers and professionals on campus, I became more comfortable with my ethnic background and the experiences I’ve endured. I am more comfortable talking about social justice and accepting the struggles that I’ve encountered as contributing factors to my strength today. I believe I became more aware of my identity, how I fit in with society and the different layers of psychosocial development. I now have the terminology and theories to help guide my thoughts around my identity development and can justify how or why I feel the way I do. I will carry what I learned from this model and my level of understanding around my own identity to support the students I work with in the future. For instance, I want to engage in meaningful conversations with other underrepresented students and learn about their experiences. The experiences they may or may not have faced may make them feel isolated but by having conversations about their experiences, they may realize that they are not alone in their experiences and that there are others who can help support them. This is, however, not to dismiss their experiences but to empathize and support their experiences so they know they’re not alone. By utilizing my ethnic identity, and my experiences, I want to make meaningful connections with students from underrepresented backgrounds so that they can begin to develop and embrace their ethnic identity as well. It is important to keep in mind that theories may guide my practice, and help me understand the student and where they are in their development, but that their story is still their own and I cannot let the danger of a single story impact my relationship with them. In my Critical Issues Paper, I discussed institutional systems (how higher education classroom are constructed) and societal systems (how the classroom structure influences the success for certain learners but marginalize other types of learners) that are currently in placed that favors certain communities (through power and privilege). Through my research, the community that was typically benefiting from the current institutional and societal systems were men who were also white. Thus, by analyzing other communities, including communities from marginalized backgrounds and their learning styles, we can better support all students. For an example, members of the Latinx and Asian community tend to be more collectivists and focused on building community. Thus, individual assignments or lectures might not be the most effective way. Having different teaching style (such as discussion, group work or hands-on experiences) can support the learning style for students who learn best through conversation and group work (Patton, 2012). By incorporating different teaching styles, mid-term course evaluations and checking in with students, student affair professionals and teaching faculty can begin to learn more about how their students thrive in the academic and social setting as thus supporting them with various teaching techniques. A question I do have for further inquiry is how can we do this type of work (supporting the various types of learning styles) at a large institution such as Oregon State University? Are there small changes we could do now that could lead up to this change? And how does tenured faculty play a role in how we teach and influence students’ learning styles? As a future student affair professional, I would like to make small changes in my daily actions that can better accommodate each student and their style of learning. In order to do so, I will have to have intentional conversations with my students and get to know their preference of learning and how I can best support them as a student affair professional. I’d recommend to all my staff and the members of my team to do so as well, and although it does take more effort on our part, I would hope individuals will also value the importance of student identity development and how it relates to their learning style and success.  

 

B. Recognize various dimensions of identity and the intersectionality of those dimensions in the lives and learning experiences of students

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            To me, intersectionality is the understanding of the how our personal and social identities intersect and influence our core self. Intersectionality can greatly influence the experience individuals to have or may not have, and thus, it is important to understand each student individuallly. Through Student Development I, we were asked to create an on-going connection of how the different theories we have studied, connected with other theories. Our Comprehensive Summary Map was messy, complex, at times confusing but yet I think it does accurately demonstrate the complexity of our intersecting identities. The theories we learned connected or in some way relate to another theorist and the community they focus on. Through this assignment, we learned all the different theories and how it impacts certain communities of students. From the summary map, Jones and McEwen’s (2000) Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity (MMDI) stood out to me the most because one could literally determine how salient certain identities are and thus analyze why certain identities are closer to their core-self. With each salient identity, it can influence how you learn and how you relate to the world around you. I was able to see how my MMDI changed over time and how it can change depending on the setting I am in. Being able to recognize the various dimensions of identities and they intersect is important when working with students as it explains the uniqueness of their story. I can see myself using the MMDI map and having students indicate where and how they see their salient or not-so-salient identities. I think having those discussions is valuable and it can reveal privilege(s) that students may not have thought about prior. I think it is important for student affairs professionals to understand their own identities, and how their identities can influence how they interact with students or design programs. A recommendation I have for all student affair professionals is to plot their identities using the MMDI map and to really engage in which identities have influenced their perspective the most. I also think taking the implicit bias training has also been a very useful. Through the Search Advocate Training, I learned more about the processes of hiring, but more importantly, I developed a deeper understanding of how our brain functions. For an example, implicit bias is prevalent in everyone’s mind regardless of how much we try to not have any biases. And thus, by acknowledging and accepting that we have these implicit biases, we can then begin to be intentional about our actions so that we can disrupt injustices and inequality. I recognized this is easier said than done, but so long that we are constantly training our brains and engage in these conversations, it a step towards progress.

            Within my Ethnicity and Social Justice course, we engaged with the injustices that were unique to specific populations. One of the populations that stood out to me was the Two-Spirit Native American community. During one of the weekly Questions and Quote assignment, I analyzed the article by Qwo-Li Driskill (Cherokee), “Doubleweave Two-Spirit Critiques.” This was a topic I was not very familiar with and so it was eye-opening to see how the identity of Native Americans and the LGBTQ community can intersect and influence their experience both within their Native community and LGBTQ community. By weaving your identity, your experiences are unique to you, and thus, student affairs professionals need to knowledgeable about how to engage in rich conversations around students’ identity. By doing so, they can help support their development, intersecting identities and get proper support to be successful.

 

C.  Analyze and apply concepts and theories of student and human development to enhance work with students

 

            It is important to use student development theories as a guide for practitioners when working with students. Being able to understand the theories learned in my Student Development I & II class will help me understood where my students were developmental wise so that I can provide proper challenges and support that will help them develop further. Sanford’s (1962) Challenge and Support theory was one I resonated with when working with students. I can see myself utilizing this theory throughout my practice when working with students, but in order to do so successfully, I have to understand where they are in their development. I also know the concept of ‘challenging’ someone is something I need to work on. This is because of my own identity and privilege. Being able to recognize who I am (with somewhat confidence) is a privilege, and that some individuals are still in the process of understanding who they are, and as a result, I must not over challenge them when they are not necessarily developmentally ready to be where I particularly want them to be. For an example, with Perry’s (2011) Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development (another theory that I really resonated with), I can’t expect a student to jump from Dualism to Commitment. In order for development and maturity to develop, I must recognize that students are in different positions and will take time and proper challenge and support before they can navigate through different positions or stages. Of all the different stages and positions with all the theories, it is important not to over challenge a student, otherwise, it can negatively impact their experience on campus, their identity and how they relate to the world. Thus, by balancing the challenge with support, student affairs practitioners can help guide students through the other theories of student development. The Comprehensive Summary Map provided me a way to analyze and summarize each theory, and thus will be a helpful resource as I figure which theory applies to which student and what stage/position they are in while being mindful of their own story and understanding where they come from. By analyzing and applying theories to my own development has been a beneficial process for me to see how theories relate to experiences. In my Final Analysis Paper, I was able to understand how my experiences have influenced who I am today and where I am developmental wise. A takeaway from this assignment was being able to apply what we learned about the theories in real lives, thus, when working with students, I’ll reflect back on Josselson’s Theory (1978/1991), or Chickering’s Theory of Identity Development (1969) and what that means in terms of their understanding of the world. Being as comfortable as I can be about my own experiences and identities can help me in my work with students as I can share my story so that they will feel that they are not alone with their experiences.

            Within most student affairs roles, advising will likely occur in some capacity. Within my Advising class, I analyzed how Astin’s (1984) Involvement theory can directly enhance students’ experience on campus. And thus, advising does not merely imply academic advising but more supporting students in their education and experiences on campus. My Theory to Practice Paper stressed the importance of getting students involved and connected early during their undergraduate education. By doing so, they can begin to build a team of supporters (whether professional staff or peers). “Research has also shown first-year students who join student organizations have higher scores on developing purpose than those who do not join,” (Zhang 2016 in Foubert & Grainger, 2006, p.169). Within this course, I was also able to develop my Personal Advising Philosophy & Development Plan for specifically academic advising. As addressed in my paper, I value proactive and student-centered advising. By ensuring every advising center is unique to the needs of that specific student and reaching out by being proactive about each advising session, my goal is to make students feel valued and supported. This philosophy does take more work as it can take more effort to reach out to ones’ advisees; however, I think it is important students know that you are always there for them, even outside of scheduled meetings. I enjoyed attending the Creating the Student-Centered University presentation on campus. Being able to hear what Georgia State University was doing to ensure students’ success and completion rate was very compelling, especially since I thought it resonated with my advising philosophy I had discussed in my paper. From that presentation, one of the few things that I thought were impactful was understanding the important role of an academic advisor and how by being proactive, we can really help support students and their education. I thought the usage of technology, having students be automatically opted in for a texting service and utilizing midterm’s grades as progress check-ins were innovative techniques in terms of putting students’ success first. The concept of summer melt also became one of my ah-ha moments, as I have never thought about students who have enrolled, are all set up to attend college but never actually stepped foot on campus nor attend class. It made me the question: How can I play a role in reducing summer melt? A question I do have after this presentation was how academic advisors can practice proactive student-centered advising in a non-student centered university. Given that time and resources are often a struggle for academic advisors who meet students throughout the day, how can they engage in meaningful, proactive, student-centered appointments? We need to have the institution (much like Georgia State University) work together and to have everyone bought into the idea of proactive advising. Otherwise, how can an individual or an individual department support this type of philosophy without necessarily having the entire institution bought in with this concept?

 

D. Identify and articulate issues students face when transitioning into and out of institutions of higher education

 

            Through my Graduate Teaching Assistant role at the Honors College, I have the opportunity to engage and assist students who are applying or transitioning into Oregon State University. In the two years serving in this role of the Admissions Graduate Assistant, I have recognized that some of the issues prospective student encounter, especially those who are high-achieving honors students. Prospective honors students are often applying to multiple colleges due to their high achieving success from high school, and thus for this population, issues they encounter could include ensuring whether our campus is a good fit for them, opportunities for internships and travel abroad experiences, and scholarship opportunities. Honors students can often have ‘helicopter parents’ who may add stress on their child and whether or not they’ve done everything they could to make them the most competitive in the college application process. The world of high-achieving students can present unique issues to students when transitioning into or out of higher education.

            When looking at different communities on campus such as first-generation, low-income, or rural students; issues transitioning into and out of institutions could look very different, especially compared to Honors students. My internship with the Educational Opportunities Program (EOP) had me research the specific issues related to different people of color populations. Students from the Latinx community can face different issues when compared to the Native American community, however, in some cases; issues can also be shared between different communities. With this internship, my research was focused on creating a stronger connection between EOP and the cultural centers on campus. By looking at how EOP can support students of color on campus within cultural spaces, we can better support students who may be underrepresented and thus face barriers of succeeding in college. Transitioning out of higher education for the different student of color communities can also vary. Based on my research, the Latinx community may feel obligated to return back to their hometown to assist with their family obligations, whereas other communities may see the transition out of an institution as their opportunity to move away from their family. Understanding the uniqueness of each community is vital for student affair professionals. No student is the same, although what they experience may be similar. By understanding student development theories, and listening to students’ stories, student affair professionals can better support their educational experience within higher education.

            In addition to my Graduate Teaching Assistantship, and my internship with the Educational Opportunities Program, I researched issues rural students encountered when transitioning in and out of higher education through my Social Inequalities course. My final paper discussed Oregon’s 40-40-20 goal by 2025. In order for Oregon to reach this goal of having 40 percent of Oregonians obtain a baccalaureate degree or higher, for 40 percent of Oregonians to have an associate degree and for the remaining 20 percent to have at least a high school diploma or its equivalency (Oregon Learns, n.d.), higher education administrators need to better support rural students with access and support. Rural students are often more difficult to identify since they tend to blend in with all other students on campus (students do not tend to wear an ‘I’m from rural Oregon shirt,’ so how can one really know who they are?). However, research indicated that rural students often have a difficult transitioning to the campus environment since this is the first time they are likely exposed to people from multiple cultures, beliefs, or social economic backgrounds. As a student affair professional, I want to build a relationship with my students and learn about their story which can include where they grew up. By doing so, I can engage in conversations around how they like/dislike their new community and their experience on campus. Understanding students’ needs are important for student affair professionals. I plan to take what I’ve learned about rural students and other communities who have encountered social inequalities, and apply it when working with students.

             

 

E. Assess the impact of varied higher educational settings and institutional types on the student experience

 

            Within the higher education community, student experiences can greatly be influenced by institutional type. For my Three Campuses, One Functional Area assignment from my Programs and Functions course, I chose to take a deeper look at service-learning departments. I looked into Western Oregon University’s Service Learning and Career Development department, Lewis and Clark’s Student Leadership and Service office and Washington State University’s Center for Civic Engagement. From this assignment, I learned that resources appear to be a larger factor in smaller schools. For example, at Western Oregon University, a medium residential campus, the career development and service-learning departments were merged into one office, with one director (who oversaw multiple departments and handled the budgets), one office manager (who handled office flow and student staff) and one half-time coordinator who ran the service-learning department. When talking with the half-time coordinator for service-learning, I had learned they were also working half time in conduct, which sometimes required her more than 20 hours of work time. Thus, the coordinator heavily relied on student staff to get the service projects done. Similarly, at Lewis and Clark, a small private institution, the student leadership (or student government) department was merged with the service-learning office which was all overseen by one full-time professional staff member. This staff member had a few student staff members who assisted with projects and was able to offer the student body president for more hours to work. I was also able to serve one of my internships at Lewis and Clark in this office. During my internship, the coordinator was able to hire a graduate assistant for the upcoming year to help program. In opposite to Lewis and Clark and Western Oregon University, Washington State University, a large public institution and 9 full-time professional staff members who worked in two divisions: student engagement and community partners. Within these two teams, they had five graduate assistants and 30 student staffs. Due to the large office, they were able to organize 25-35 service projects each week! Thus, by researching each institution, I could see how the size of school could impact the type of experience students were receiving. I think this has to also do with the institution’s commitment towards service-learning and whether or not they thought it was a priority. By taking what I learned from this assignment, I hope to support different programs within my campus that may need additional support. Support can mean different things to different people and departments. Through collaboration and programming, I can support departments who may not have as many human resources to do the things they need to be done. As I learned through my internship with the Center for Civic Engagement, serving as the co-chair for the Hunger and Homelessness Action Week planning committee, cross-campus collaborations can result in more students becoming involved. This is can positively impact student experiences on campus.

            To further develop my understanding around service-learning departments, I spent my summer doing two internships. I did an internship with Portland State University’s Student Community Engagement Center and the other internship at Lewis and Clark’s Student Leadership and Service office. Due to it being the summer, the work I did for both offices looked very different. With Portland State University, a large public institute, there was one full-time coordinator, two graduate assistants, and one undergraduate staff member. My role was to focus on analyzing their assessments and evaluations from the year prior and to create an annual review for the department. While being there in the office, we experienced a few student interactions but it was mainly planning time for the upcoming year. At Lewis and Clark, the campus was completely empty of students, in fact, the college rented out spaces on campus for summer camps or conferences in order to obtain a summer income. The work I did for their office was to update their training materials and take a role in training their student leaders for their large day of service. The students experience at these two institutions during the summer was very limited and as a result, staff members had more opportunity to prepare for the upcoming year. Although this may be a good thing, and the only time student affair professionals can catch up with their work and start planning for the next academic year, I think valuable experiences can sometimes be lost due to lack of programming during the summer. In my student affair professional role, I plan to continue to implement programs (perhaps smaller programs) throughout the year so that students who want to get involved can. It is important to recognize that sometimes, the summer is the only opportunity for students to engage in service or become involved on campus, we must be prepared to work with these students so that they don’t miss out on experience.

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F. Apply varying approaches and relevant technology to communicating with different students and student populations

 

            As technology continues to become more advance, I am trying my best to keep up. Through my graduate assistantship, one of the techniques Honors College uses to communicate with Honors students is through the Monday Message. Part of my assistantship role was to send out the Monday Message via email to the entire Honors College community (this includes our dean, faculty, students, staff and various members within Oregon State). By sending the Monday Message, I learned how to format a large email message that included bookmarks and hyperlinks within a simple Outlook email. Given that Microsoft Outlook often has technical issues; it tested my patience on formatting the email accordingly. In hindsight, I would have loved to explore other approaches to getting our Monday Message out to students (such as through a blog, website, twitter, etc.). Prior to taking over the Monday Message, our old format was pretty old fashion (in my opinion). Upon taking over, I was able to implement a newer format with a few changes that I was comfortable with. These changes were intentional as they were direct feedback from our Student Leadership Circle and changes we thought would make the information on the message more presentable to the public. In my opinion, marketing or the means of mass communicating with students has become trickier as students are not as likely to look at posters being hung or read through long emails. Thus, through our new Monday Message format, we changed the color and what was being highlighted/bolded. Although we did not assess whether or not our change made a difference in program attendance or the number of responses to our Monday Message, we have received feedback from a few students and our dean in regards to their appreciation for the change. By changing the look of the message, I made it easier for students to navigate and search for the events they were interested in. I feel there is still room to grow for the Monday Message, but given the short time I was responsible for it, I did what I could. I like the idea of a Monday Message (sending out relevant updates to a large group of people) and would consider continuing it in my future role as a student affair professional. I personally think a Monday Message type concept could be relevant in any higher education department, whether it is sending updates to all members of your staff to sending out upcoming events on campus.

            I also became more comfortable using Google Drive during the duration of my graduate education. For my Reading and Conference: Social Justice in Higher Education course, we used Google Sheets to sign up for our weekly discussions, updated the sheet for upcoming social justice events and as a way to collect our reading materials. During this time, I was also able to learn about GroupMe, a relevant social media that could support student engagement and experience for the incoming generations of students. I had attempted to use GroupMe prior to this class but became frustrated due to the constant messaging. However, because we required GroupMe for this for class, it allowed me to second opportunity to become more familiar with it. In my future role in student affairs, I see GroupMe and Google Drive as necessary tools to use with students. For Google Drive, most campuses already require students to have an email account, and from my observation, campuses are now using Gmail as the platform. Thus, by default, students have access to Google Drive as well. Google Drive allows collaboration to occur from the comfort of your home. For an example, during our Counseling class, my team created a Google Slideshow that showcased two referral programs. We were able to create this presentation without meeting in person. Google Drive can be the answer (if it isn’t already) for group projects for e-campus students.  And assuming students will have a smartphone device, I see GroupMe as a relevant tool for student affairs. GroupMe is a fast way of sending an instant message (via the web, no texting data required) that will reach a group of people. Thus, for event updates, or planning committees, GroupMe is a great way to reach a bunch of people quicker. During the two years of graduate school, I realized the relevance of social media in terms of student affairs. With so much going on campus, it is important for student affairs professional to stay up to date with current social media platforms and technology. By doing so, they can rely on relevant information to their students and to encourage them to be involved. Most of the campus events I attend were through Facebook, and thus showing me that social media is important. Something I’d like to work on in my future is to continue to engage in social media and to expand my comfort level by using platforms such as Twitter, or Instagram. By doing so, student affair professionals can cast a wider range of reaching out to students.