Narrative
During my two-year graduate internship in academic advising for the School of Arts & Sciences at Owens Community College, I have had countless opportunities to gain knowledge, skills, and experience in the Advising and Helping competency that have helped me to achieve exemplary status in
this area. On any given day, I meet with a number of students one-on-one and advise them regarding their particular degree program. My caseload consists of approximately 500 students. During advising sessions, it is important that I am aware of my own personal biases, assumptions, and
stereotypes and that I treat every student as a unique individual. As an active listener, I help students gain understanding and clarity in their various situations and also work with them to inventory their assets, liabilities, and resources in handling academic and life issues. I assist students with developing individualized academic plans, which outline the courses they need to complete each semester leading up to graduation
or transfer to a four-year institution. I run degree audits to determine whether or not students meet all course requirements prior to applying for graduation, too.
I enjoy building a rapport with students and challenging and supporting students as they seek to establish and pursue their academic, personal, and professional goals. I also serve as a resource to students by referring them to a number of different student services that exist on campus (i.e., career counseling, financial aid, learning support services, personal counseling, student activities, disability services). On a regular basis, I
do outreach to student through e-mail, phone calls to positively impact student retention and follow-up with students after receiving early alerts from their instructors in an effort to encourage the use of Owens’ academic support services. I have included a statement on my advising philosophy and examples of e-mail correspondence with students below to serve as artifacts for my growth in this area. As an academic advisor, I have the opportunity to encourage students to have big, fantastic, wild, unbelievable dreams. And it is important to me that I create a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all students. I want every student to feel a sense of belonging and mattering.
When meeting one-on-one with new students, I review the results of an inventory called the College Student Inventory, developed by Noel-Levitz, that students complete during new student orientation. This inventory becomes a conversation starter for my appointments with new students. It gives advisors an overview of students’ perceptions and expectations of the college experience. The inventory provides insight into students’ academic motivations, their coping skills and support network, and how receptive they are to campus resources. Included below is a copy of the College Student Inventory results for a student I met with last year.
I have also had the opportunity to serve as a web chat advisor at Owens. In this role, I interact with students through an online chat software.
I advise students regarding general questions about their academic program, college policies, etc. It has been exciting to see the growth in the number of students who are using the chat feature on Owens’ website. Chat advising provides increased accessibility of advising services to
students whose schedules may not allow them to meet with advisors during traditional office hours.
Each semester, academic advisors are asked do classroom presentation about advising services for students enrolled in first-year experience courses. I visit classrooms and encourage students to utilize advising services on a regular basis. I share about the role of an academic advisor, where advisors’ offices are located, how students can find their assigned advisors, and why they should meet with their advisor on a regular basis. I developed a PowerPoint to use during these presentations that I have included below as an artifact.
During Fall semester of 2012, I did a practicum in Career Services at Bowling Green State University’s Firelands campus. My practicum supervisor was John Clark, Coordinator of Career Services at BGSU Firelands. John and I met back in 2011 when I asked if he would be willing discuss his background and experiences as a career counselor. John has become a great colleague, friend, and mentor. Initially, I shadowed John during his career advising meetings with students. We also met regularly to discuss my graduate program coursework in career counseling and college teaching and consider how I could apply this knowledge and skill to my work during the semester. Topics we discussed included career development, career development theories, decision-making processes in career and life choices, types of career assessments, and the evolution of one’s career over the life span. We worked together to promote evening career counseling hours to the student body and met with the marketing
department to implement our ideas (see sample flier below). Eventually, I met with students one-on-one to discuss their career goals and needs.
I reviewed students’ resumes and cover letters and helped students develop plans for preparing for and conducting a successful job search. I gained experience in working with students who took the Strong Interest Inventory. After completing the profile, I would meet with students to review their Strong Interest Profiles. My artifacts representing this practicum experience are several student e-mails related career advising and my supervisor, John Clark’s, evaluation of my work during the practicum.
One of the required courses in my graduate program was CSP 6040, Educational Outcomes of American Colleges and Universities. This course enhanced my advising skills and advising philosophy and taught me so much about the intended outcomes of the college experience and the impact of college on students. I developed my own personal statement of career support for undergraduate liberal arts degrees based on the content that I learned in this course and I included a copy of this statement below. As an academic advisor, I find that many students are constantly questioning why they have to take general education courses in the arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and the natural sciences. I believe that I play a role in how students perceive these experiences and I want them to understand the value of a strong liberal arts background. As a student affairs professional who is interested in helping students eventually find meaningful work, I want students to understand how important it is to be able to articulate their collegiate experiences to potential employers. I want them to realize that their coursework helps them to develop their oral and written communication skills, critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, and their ability to interact with individuals who are not like them.
Resources:
ACPA & NASPA (2010). Professional competency areas for student affairs practitioners. Washington, DC: Authors.
Light, R.J. (2001) Making the most of college. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Photo from http://philosophy.boisestate.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/10/AdvisingMattersBlue.jpg
this area. On any given day, I meet with a number of students one-on-one and advise them regarding their particular degree program. My caseload consists of approximately 500 students. During advising sessions, it is important that I am aware of my own personal biases, assumptions, and
stereotypes and that I treat every student as a unique individual. As an active listener, I help students gain understanding and clarity in their various situations and also work with them to inventory their assets, liabilities, and resources in handling academic and life issues. I assist students with developing individualized academic plans, which outline the courses they need to complete each semester leading up to graduation
or transfer to a four-year institution. I run degree audits to determine whether or not students meet all course requirements prior to applying for graduation, too.
I enjoy building a rapport with students and challenging and supporting students as they seek to establish and pursue their academic, personal, and professional goals. I also serve as a resource to students by referring them to a number of different student services that exist on campus (i.e., career counseling, financial aid, learning support services, personal counseling, student activities, disability services). On a regular basis, I
do outreach to student through e-mail, phone calls to positively impact student retention and follow-up with students after receiving early alerts from their instructors in an effort to encourage the use of Owens’ academic support services. I have included a statement on my advising philosophy and examples of e-mail correspondence with students below to serve as artifacts for my growth in this area. As an academic advisor, I have the opportunity to encourage students to have big, fantastic, wild, unbelievable dreams. And it is important to me that I create a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all students. I want every student to feel a sense of belonging and mattering.
When meeting one-on-one with new students, I review the results of an inventory called the College Student Inventory, developed by Noel-Levitz, that students complete during new student orientation. This inventory becomes a conversation starter for my appointments with new students. It gives advisors an overview of students’ perceptions and expectations of the college experience. The inventory provides insight into students’ academic motivations, their coping skills and support network, and how receptive they are to campus resources. Included below is a copy of the College Student Inventory results for a student I met with last year.
I have also had the opportunity to serve as a web chat advisor at Owens. In this role, I interact with students through an online chat software.
I advise students regarding general questions about their academic program, college policies, etc. It has been exciting to see the growth in the number of students who are using the chat feature on Owens’ website. Chat advising provides increased accessibility of advising services to
students whose schedules may not allow them to meet with advisors during traditional office hours.
Each semester, academic advisors are asked do classroom presentation about advising services for students enrolled in first-year experience courses. I visit classrooms and encourage students to utilize advising services on a regular basis. I share about the role of an academic advisor, where advisors’ offices are located, how students can find their assigned advisors, and why they should meet with their advisor on a regular basis. I developed a PowerPoint to use during these presentations that I have included below as an artifact.
During Fall semester of 2012, I did a practicum in Career Services at Bowling Green State University’s Firelands campus. My practicum supervisor was John Clark, Coordinator of Career Services at BGSU Firelands. John and I met back in 2011 when I asked if he would be willing discuss his background and experiences as a career counselor. John has become a great colleague, friend, and mentor. Initially, I shadowed John during his career advising meetings with students. We also met regularly to discuss my graduate program coursework in career counseling and college teaching and consider how I could apply this knowledge and skill to my work during the semester. Topics we discussed included career development, career development theories, decision-making processes in career and life choices, types of career assessments, and the evolution of one’s career over the life span. We worked together to promote evening career counseling hours to the student body and met with the marketing
department to implement our ideas (see sample flier below). Eventually, I met with students one-on-one to discuss their career goals and needs.
I reviewed students’ resumes and cover letters and helped students develop plans for preparing for and conducting a successful job search. I gained experience in working with students who took the Strong Interest Inventory. After completing the profile, I would meet with students to review their Strong Interest Profiles. My artifacts representing this practicum experience are several student e-mails related career advising and my supervisor, John Clark’s, evaluation of my work during the practicum.
One of the required courses in my graduate program was CSP 6040, Educational Outcomes of American Colleges and Universities. This course enhanced my advising skills and advising philosophy and taught me so much about the intended outcomes of the college experience and the impact of college on students. I developed my own personal statement of career support for undergraduate liberal arts degrees based on the content that I learned in this course and I included a copy of this statement below. As an academic advisor, I find that many students are constantly questioning why they have to take general education courses in the arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and the natural sciences. I believe that I play a role in how students perceive these experiences and I want them to understand the value of a strong liberal arts background. As a student affairs professional who is interested in helping students eventually find meaningful work, I want students to understand how important it is to be able to articulate their collegiate experiences to potential employers. I want them to realize that their coursework helps them to develop their oral and written communication skills, critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, and their ability to interact with individuals who are not like them.
Resources:
ACPA & NASPA (2010). Professional competency areas for student affairs practitioners. Washington, DC: Authors.
Light, R.J. (2001) Making the most of college. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Photo from http://philosophy.boisestate.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/10/AdvisingMattersBlue.jpg
Artifacts:
Advising Philosophy:
Student E-mails That Reflect Advising & Helping:
College Student Inventory Report:
PowerPoint For Advising Presentations in First Year Experience Courses: |
Promotional Flier For Career Advising:Student E-mails Regarding Career Advising:
Career Services Practicum Evaluation:
:Statement of Career Support for Undergraduate Liberal Arts Degrees:
|