Week 2 - Post 3

Hello Team Practicum....

Reading the posts you all have submitted thus far has been a treat.  I am very pleased to know that I have colleagues working in an array of fields for their practicum.  This will be a valuable resource for all of us as we further develop into our roles as student affairs practitioners.  This also validates the idea we all learned in our Intro to Student Affairs class.  In that class, we learned that practitioners in the student affairs profession are constantly changing or wearing multiple hats.  We also learned that we will face many challenges throughout our student affairs career.

One challenge I am currently facing is the lack of communication between myself and my supervisor.  However, I refuse to let the current situation I am in to set me back.  I have taken the time I have away from my supervisor to read and learn about the programs I will be working with while on site.  One program that interests me is Saint Leo's LEAP program.

LEAP stands for Learning Enhancement for Academic Progress.  This was a program implemented by Saint Leo's Division of Student Services to prepare their conditional admits for the college experience.  LEAP is a summer program that takes place post orientation that teaches study/time management skills, improves students writing and critical thinking abilities, and provides students with the opportunity to network with professional staff members and other students.  Lastly, LEAP allows the student to become familiar with the university.

LEAP is an interesting program because it is a student affairs initiative, yet it assists in the academic success of a student.   The LEAP program gives rise to the holistic development of students.  As student affairs professionals, we say that our job is to shape students outside the classroom.  However, we can assist in shaping students inside the classroom as well.  I am anxiously looking forward to the experience I will gain from working with this program and Saint Leo University