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Professional Competencies
This outcome is the one the most practical pieces of our learning in the program. Professional Competencies outlines the skills necessary to be an effective practitioner in our field; requiring a more hands-on approach to implement the day-to-day logistics of our profession. This learning outcome calls for the ability to interact with others and execute responsibilities such as managing a team or planning a program. It also expects physical engagement with the work rather than just a focus on mental participation. A majority of my learning in this area can be directed towards my experiences with my summer internship at Columbia University but I have had the ability to develop various skills outlined by this outcome throughout all of my positions.
My internship with Columbia University was a very practical approach to the implementation of Student Affairs. It required that I managed and supervised others, created and executed a training program for our employees, and had effective interaction with business partners as I served as a liaison for Columbia to our Conference Housing Guests. I was also responsible for reviewing contracts, communicating with other departments to ensure those contracts were being fulfilled, leading our staff in discussions about professionalism, heading a few weekly meetings, and developing leadership and teamwork skills in my staff members. This internship also required that I had mediation skills, active listening skills, and even crisis intervention skills when facility issues occurred, such as having to evacuate multiple buildings immediately due to fire safety concerns.
My Graduate Assistantship with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at the Pennsylvania State University also has contributed greatly to my understanding of this Learning Outcome. Active listening, cross cultural communication, group facilitation, and leadership and teamwork skills are consistently used as I work with my Executive Board, MGC Presidents, and general body members. I have planned and executed leadership conferences for both senior and new members, retreats for general members, and developed programs for members of other councils. I developed and executed an All-Greek Leadership Retreat this semester for approximately 120 student leaders and recruited various student affairs professionals from around the state to assist in the facilitation of this program. But most importantly my personal leadership and teamwork skills have grown and continue to be challenged and developed as I work with all of these vastly different student groups.
Evidence of development in this learning outcome can also be demonstrated in the work I do with my High School students as part of the Upward Bound Program with which I have interned for the past year. Working with low-income, potentially first-generation college students requires active listening skills, empathy, integrity, and compassion and definitely cross cultural communication skills. As my interactions with them continue to strengthen and my familiarity with the program solidifies, I have been given more responsibility and in turn can begin to foster the development of their own skills through various programs I have planned. In my internship, I am responsible for the consolidation and execution of each of our Saturday Programs, the academic-year component to our program. It has taught me many lessons, including the contribution that high school students can have to their own learning.
As stated in the beginning, this outcome is one of the more practical pieces of our learning in the program. With that being said, however, some courses have contributed to my understanding of this learning outcome, one course in particular focused on many of the elements listed. The Helping Skills course, taken last Fall semester, asked us to be critical when noticing body language, other non-verbals, and word choice. It developed our active listening skills and also our ability to be compassionate in our interactions. The biggest contributor to our knowledge was the ability to practice the skills being taught with my cohort. Although the course wasn’t necessarily “theory to practice” as other courses have been, it was “learning to practice” which is just as good.
My internship with Columbia University was a very practical approach to the implementation of Student Affairs. It required that I managed and supervised others, created and executed a training program for our employees, and had effective interaction with business partners as I served as a liaison for Columbia to our Conference Housing Guests. I was also responsible for reviewing contracts, communicating with other departments to ensure those contracts were being fulfilled, leading our staff in discussions about professionalism, heading a few weekly meetings, and developing leadership and teamwork skills in my staff members. This internship also required that I had mediation skills, active listening skills, and even crisis intervention skills when facility issues occurred, such as having to evacuate multiple buildings immediately due to fire safety concerns.
My Graduate Assistantship with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at the Pennsylvania State University also has contributed greatly to my understanding of this Learning Outcome. Active listening, cross cultural communication, group facilitation, and leadership and teamwork skills are consistently used as I work with my Executive Board, MGC Presidents, and general body members. I have planned and executed leadership conferences for both senior and new members, retreats for general members, and developed programs for members of other councils. I developed and executed an All-Greek Leadership Retreat this semester for approximately 120 student leaders and recruited various student affairs professionals from around the state to assist in the facilitation of this program. But most importantly my personal leadership and teamwork skills have grown and continue to be challenged and developed as I work with all of these vastly different student groups.
Evidence of development in this learning outcome can also be demonstrated in the work I do with my High School students as part of the Upward Bound Program with which I have interned for the past year. Working with low-income, potentially first-generation college students requires active listening skills, empathy, integrity, and compassion and definitely cross cultural communication skills. As my interactions with them continue to strengthen and my familiarity with the program solidifies, I have been given more responsibility and in turn can begin to foster the development of their own skills through various programs I have planned. In my internship, I am responsible for the consolidation and execution of each of our Saturday Programs, the academic-year component to our program. It has taught me many lessons, including the contribution that high school students can have to their own learning.
As stated in the beginning, this outcome is one of the more practical pieces of our learning in the program. With that being said, however, some courses have contributed to my understanding of this learning outcome, one course in particular focused on many of the elements listed. The Helping Skills course, taken last Fall semester, asked us to be critical when noticing body language, other non-verbals, and word choice. It developed our active listening skills and also our ability to be compassionate in our interactions. The biggest contributor to our knowledge was the ability to practice the skills being taught with my cohort. Although the course wasn’t necessarily “theory to practice” as other courses have been, it was “learning to practice” which is just as good.