Running head: STRENGTHS NARRATIVE 1

Learning Outcome Narrative: Strengths

De’Andre Jones

Seattle University
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Learning Outcome Narrative: Strengths

Throughout my time in the Student Development Administration(SDA) program at

Seattle University, I have had the privilege of working alongside the faculty and colleagues to

enhance my leadership. I chose leadership as my theme for the strengths narrative because it

exemplifies my experiences in a way that is representative of the type of practitioner I hope to be

within student affairs. Artifact A highlights my breadth of experience and commitment to

engaging in the various functional areas of student affairs through previous employment at my

undergraduate institution, in addition to the intentional internship experiences I have had within

the SDA program. Whether I was recruiting new students at the regional or local NASPA

conferences as one of the SDA Student Ambassadors, co-managing two residential communities

in my graduate assistantship as an Assistant Area Coordinator, or serving on campus committees,

I feel as though I have started to demonstrate SDA learning outcome #10, by developing and

enhancing skills that will inform my professional practice. The three sub-areas that I have

identified as critical parts of my professional practice include: advocacy, community

development, and integrity.

Advocacy: SDA Learning Outcomes #2, #7 [Artifacts B, C2]

Advocacy has been prevalent in my leadership before I was even a student in the

SDA program. As an undergraduate, I was involved in Pi Lambda Phi fraternity whose

philanthropy focused on the “elimination of prejudice.” This philanthropy resonated with me as

someone who holds several intersectional identities (Afro-latinx, queer, first-generation, low-

SES). In my experiences, advocacy has shown up in two ways: (a) advocacy for others and (b)

advocacy for myself. Until I started the SDA program, I did not realize how important it was to

find a balance between the two. Artifact B demonstrates my commitment to advocating not only
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for myself as a future professional, but for all my students as well. I believe that there is a need

for fair and equitable processes within higher education for all students, especially regarding

access.

Artifact C2, highlights SDA learning outcomes #2 and SDA learning outcome #7. I

would define learning outcome #2 as the necessity and importance of student affairs

professionals remaining engaged and aware of institutional, organizational, and federal changes

that inform and impact our daily work. In addition, I would define learning outcome #7 as the

critical examination of various processes within an institutional context, the use of assessment,

evaluation, and technology in the workplace, and the ways in which those tools can serve to

develop or enhance best practices in the field. This artifact is an electronic Social Justice Issue

blog that I created during EDUC 5200 – Social Justice for Professional Practice which focused

on access in higher education for first-generation students. I conducted research on first-

generation students and studied the ways in which accessibility, pre-college/summer bridge

programs, and intersectional identities influence their trajectory towards post-secondary

completion. The incorporation of Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth model from SDAD 5400

– Student Development Theory, Research, & Practice helped to support my findings in the issue

analysis. Also, taking into account the capital that students may or may not have and how that

informs the other components I mentioned above (Yosso, 2005). As a part of my action plan

from the Social Justice Issue blog, I also became involved with the Outreach Center on campus

and have participated in the “I’m First Gen” campaign and the IMPRINT: First-Gen publication

as an editor to increase visibility and awareness of the first-generation experience.

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Community Development: SDA Learning Outcomes #4, #5 [Artifact G]

The next sub-area of leadership that I feel represents my values and more of who I am is

community development. One of the reasons why I decided to attend Seattle University was a

result of my Preview Days experience. The sense of community that I felt from the faculty and

previous cohorts made me excited about being a part of the SDA program. I knew that I wanted

to become a Preview Days Coordinator during my time in SDA. Artifact G represents my

distinctive contribution to the Student Development Administration program where I served as

one of the SDA Preview Days Coordinators.

In my specific role, I coordinated all of the day of logistics and scheduling in

addition to implementing effective social media strategies in order to build community among

the prospective students prior to their arrival. Throughout this process, it was important for me to

keep in mind that students from all over the country would be visiting our campus. Developing

plans for diversity, equity, & inclusion measures included: determining where gender inclusive

restrooms would be located, ensuring that paths for campus tours were accessible for all

attendees, that there was sufficient representation among the current students who would

volunteer for various sessions, and that the Jesuit mission of Seattle University was evident in

every component of the Preview Days experience. This demonstrated the importance of SDA

Learning Outcome #4 and SDA Learning Outcome #5. I define learning outcome #4 as a

practitioner’s ability to remain open-minded, engaged in a holistic approach towards their work,

and being able to have their practice be carried out through the lens of equity, diversity, and

inclusion.

My experience as a Preview Days Coordinator reminded me to remain as

inclusive in my practices as possible and to remember the privileges that I hold even as someone
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with marginalized identities. Taking into account physical ability for campus tours or the

locations of gender neutral restrooms is not something I would have thought of right away, so I

am grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of this programs development in order to

enhance my knowledge and understanding.

Integrity: SDA Learning Outcomes #3, #6 [Artifacts D, E]

The final sub-area I have exhibited in my leadership is integrity. Artifacts D & E represent the

ways in which I and my internship supervisors have seen integrity show up in my leadership in

relation to SDA learning outcome #3. I define learning outcome #3 as ones ability to represent

themselves and their institution/organization in a professional manner, as well as, making

decisions that are ethically sound and represent the best interest of the students, faculty, and staff.

During both of my internship experiences, I was fortunate enough to be

supervised and mentored by Assistant Vice President of Student Development, Dr. Tim Wilson,

and SDA Alumnae, Therese Williams. Dr. Wilson commended my ability to innovate and my

commitment to the team in order to help create a Preview Days experience that received positive

response. Therese mentioned that my ability to courageously engage in difficult conversations,

innovate, and exercise transformational mentorship would make me an excellent candidate both

within student development and nonprofit. Both sentiments affirm my dedication to SDA

learning outcome #6. I define learning outcome #6 as an opportunity to utilize colleagues across

networks for strategies towards innovation, putting those strategies to work, and taking initiative

towards enacting change when systems are not doing it for themselves. I feel as though I

exemplified this in the execution of 4 major projects with Summer Search over Summer 2017. I

helped coordinate the Rites of Passage senior event, conducted an assessment on the

organizations Men of Color initiative, outreached to alumni’s, and developed a best practices
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workbook for the Summer Search staff to assist them with supporting undocumented students

and families.

From this experience, I learned the context of Summer Search’s work and the ways in

which that aligns with their organizational mission. I completed that internship experience

feeling as though I had a greater understanding of the non-profit and college access world.

Lastly, I learned about the importance of knowing your community and stakeholders. Their voice

is incredibly important and the only way to address the gap between college access and higher

education is to keep the community and institutions within it knowledgeable of the support and

services provided to students in those areas.

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References

Yosso, T.J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? Race, Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), pp. 69–91.