There is a pack on my back; it is imaginary. One cannot see it, but trust me, it is well decorated. It expands, it contracts, and it becomes what I need it to be, given the situation that I am in. I carry this pack with me everywhere I go and I can never take it off. This pack on my back contains all of my life experiences. Sometimes my pack is incredibly heavy in life’s situations, and other times it is light because I simply do not have experience in those settings. There are even pockets on this pack, and I wonder how they contain everything I keep trying to shove in them.
What I consider my first major life experience and where my pack started to take shape was when my mom found an advertisement in the local paper for a Trio-based Upward …show more content…
I did not look for a single teaching job despite graduating with my license to teach k-12 music. I only looked at graduate schools offering housing graduate assistantships. After an exhaustive search and much thanks to my supervisor’s connections, I landed a position at the University of South Alabama. All set with my pack on my back, I prepared for what could possibly be the most uncomfortable assistantship that I could have imagined, Fraternity & Sorority Housing. I was not Greek. I have never really had anything to do with anyone in Greek life. I even swore off joining Greek organizations because of an experience early on in undergrad with a couple of fraternity men. However, I told myself that I would make the most of that position and learn as much as I could. I went into “sponge mode” and learned everything I could about fraternities and sororities from research, my resident assistants, my supervisor, and the Office of Greek Life. I survived, I changed the community for the better, I left with respect, and most importantly, the pack on my back filled with a multitude of experiences that illustrated my master’s education. I feel it is also important to express that my attitude on fraternities and sororities turned completely upside down, and, because of my experiences, I took a position as Coordinator of Fraternity Sorority Housing here at Clemson …show more content…
Student affairs allows me to make the most of my experiences by sharing them with those around me and educating them on subjects like student development theory and social justice. What I did not realize during my undergraduate career is that my degree is not just for me; it is for those around me. My master’s education taught me that through the constant sharing of experiences in education I could invest in my students’ growth and mine as well. The degree in Educational Leadership, Higher Education Administration will not just be for me. This degree will be for those who are around me. After all, I am not doing the work of student affairs just for myself; I am doing it with “we” in mind. We, me, students, and coworkers, with a goal of making a difference in their lives every day. Whether that is helping students understand policy and procedure, evaluating students’ behavior with coworkers, or being there to support them and help pick students up when they need
What I consider my first major life experience and where my pack started to take shape was when my mom found an advertisement in the local paper for a Trio-based Upward …show more content…
I did not look for a single teaching job despite graduating with my license to teach k-12 music. I only looked at graduate schools offering housing graduate assistantships. After an exhaustive search and much thanks to my supervisor’s connections, I landed a position at the University of South Alabama. All set with my pack on my back, I prepared for what could possibly be the most uncomfortable assistantship that I could have imagined, Fraternity & Sorority Housing. I was not Greek. I have never really had anything to do with anyone in Greek life. I even swore off joining Greek organizations because of an experience early on in undergrad with a couple of fraternity men. However, I told myself that I would make the most of that position and learn as much as I could. I went into “sponge mode” and learned everything I could about fraternities and sororities from research, my resident assistants, my supervisor, and the Office of Greek Life. I survived, I changed the community for the better, I left with respect, and most importantly, the pack on my back filled with a multitude of experiences that illustrated my master’s education. I feel it is also important to express that my attitude on fraternities and sororities turned completely upside down, and, because of my experiences, I took a position as Coordinator of Fraternity Sorority Housing here at Clemson …show more content…
Student affairs allows me to make the most of my experiences by sharing them with those around me and educating them on subjects like student development theory and social justice. What I did not realize during my undergraduate career is that my degree is not just for me; it is for those around me. My master’s education taught me that through the constant sharing of experiences in education I could invest in my students’ growth and mine as well. The degree in Educational Leadership, Higher Education Administration will not just be for me. This degree will be for those who are around me. After all, I am not doing the work of student affairs just for myself; I am doing it with “we” in mind. We, me, students, and coworkers, with a goal of making a difference in their lives every day. Whether that is helping students understand policy and procedure, evaluating students’ behavior with coworkers, or being there to support them and help pick students up when they need