Fall 2021 E-Portfolio Entries
Showcasing my experiences, student learning outcomes & professional development throughout my fourth semester of graduate school.
Presenting at NASPA Western Region Conference 2021
Learning Domains: Personal Development, Social Justice & Advocacy, Assessment & Evaluation
Learning Outcomes:
Student will be able to create a presentation surrounding student leaders of color’s voices during COVID-19.
Student will be able to relate students experiences to student developmental theories.
Student will be able to provide solutions to student affairs professionals on how to better support student leaders of color.
Evidence (click each image to enlarge and read description - hover over image once enlarged for text to appear):
Reflection:
This year I had the honor and privilege of being able to attend the NASPA 21’ Western Regional Conference this year as well as be one of its presenters. Maria Rivera and I’s submission was approved and were able to present “Developing Voices: Experiences of Student Leaders of Color during Challenging Times”. This presentation was based off independent assessment that Maria and I did on student leaders of color’s experiences during COVID-19 and see how their departments responded to the racial turmoil that has been happening over the past year. Presenting in front of higher professionals was both nerve wracking and exciting and I believe it was received positively by all in attendance. Presenting at a conference has always been a goal of mine since the start of the program and I grateful to have been able to complete that goal.
I believe I was able to successfully meet in all my learning outcomes. I spent a lot of time and hours building the presentation and changing it many times to arrive at the final product. The presentation accurately captured student’s voices and made it digestible for attendees. We were able to connect our findings to Kanter’s theory of tokenism (1977), Strange & Banning’s (2015) college campus environment theory, Rendon’s (1984) theory of validation, and Schlossberg’s theory of marginality and mattering. Lastly, through the discussion and having the professionals break out into small groups, I believe those in attendance were able to provide different practices to each other of what they do in their departments to support student leaders. We also provided tips of our own, which I hope folx were open to even though they were suggestions from graduate programs.
Maywood Education Fair 2021 - 9th ~ 10th Educational Workshops
Learning Domains: Education, Leadership, Assessment and Evaluation
Learning Outcomes:
Student will be able to lead C14 in building a presentation aimed at 9th and 10th grade students.
Student will be able to de-stigmatize going into a career after high school.
Student will be able to develop assessment that seeks to gauge whether or not students were able to meet all learning outcomes.
Evidence (click on each image to enlarge and read description - hover over image once enlarged for text to appear):
Reflection:
In our second year of graduate school, we are expected to create, design, and implement the Maywood Education Fair for the city of Maywood and surrounding communities. This year, I had requested to be a part of the Educational Workshops Committee, specifically any of the high school committees, due to having been on the committee last year, as well as my previous work experience in working in college and career access. I also wanted to be in a leadership role this year, as I had not have had the chance yet to be in a leadership role with any of my fellow colleagues. I wanted this experience because when it comes to working with those in the program, I tend to be more reserved and try not lead discussion or projects unless I truly need to.
So this year, when I was chosen to lead 9th to 10th grade workshops, I knew it was time to step out of my comfort zone and put all of the years of leadership experience I have been gaining into practice. I was lucky to be given two C14 members, Christian and Leah, who were instrumental in this process. I believe I was able to lead my sub-committee well and they both expressed that I made the experience both fun and stress-free for them which is more than I could ever ask for. I made sure to create a space that was not only supportive, but inclusive to them in the work going into this as that was something I did not get last year. This year, I also wanted to ensure that in my presentation I include a section that is dedicated to de-stigmatizing going into the workforce after high school or doing something different that is not college related. Far too often have I seen students feel discouraged and talked about in deficit language when they choose not to go to college. A lot of times, these circumstances revolve around having to take care of their family, being failed by the school, or wanting to take a break year. So I wanted to ensure that students know that not going to college right away is okay, and that college is always something that will be there for them. And I believe the students in attendance really enjoyed hearing about that. When it comes to the assessment portion, I feel was able to accomplish that as well. I have never built assessment aimed at high school students in the past and I am glad that we were required to have that component as it was very useful for my professional development. I also got to inform my peers in other educational workshop committees best practices for building their assessment, how they should form questions, the amount of questions asked, and how to use Qualtrics.
Education Inter-club Council: EICC Table Talks
Learning Domains: Education, Personal Development
Learning Outcomes:
Student will be able to facilitate one on one discussion with EICC board members on topics related to education.
Student will be able to lead their own EICC table talk highlighting the importance of being intentional in our work with students.
Evidence (click each image to enlarge and read description - hover over image once enlarged for text to appear):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CV4CxsqpoaH/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWHl4Ufp3UO/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWXDNJWJiwF/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWpEVuql2tL/
Reflection:
This academic year, I had the privilege of being elected to the Education Inter-club Council as their Director of Public Relations. As part of my tasks, I have to create educational and promotional materials surrounding the college of education, the clubs within EICC, media campaigns that can educate others around different topics related to education. This semester to challenge myself, I came up with the idea to have the members of EICC, including myself, to host discussions on Instagram live related to topics around education with me facilitating the discussion. I wanted to challenge myself in this way because I do not have a lot of practice in having in depth discussions around education with someone one on one. I also wanted to challenge myself in the ways I practice active listening, by being able to remain silent when someone talks and being able to reaffirm what they said. I have always had a tough time with this and saw it as great practice for once I get into the profession. I think I was able to facilitate the discussions well. There were moments where I faltered, and times where I did not do the best at asking questions based off their responses, but I found myself getting better with each talk.
I also challenged myself to do a talk this semester as well. I had originally planned to not lead one and just facilitate the discussion, but was encouraged by my fellow council members to do one. I chose the topic of being intentional within education because intentionality is something I always preach to my fellow classmates. But these talks usually occur in a short time span, and so I wanted to see if I am able to discuss the subject for a long time. It was harder than I thought, as I found myself repeating myself, or talking in circles to get to my point. My problem was that I lacked preparation, and did not practice enough speaking on the topic ahead of time so I sounded if I lacked confidence. I need to ensure that for the future I do the proper research and practice so that I am able to present my topics in a understandable and digestible way.