Amanda Alberti-Week Two-Career Center

Activities:

·       Interviewed three office employees about their backgrounds and job responsibilities

·       Assisted with academic advising for incoming freshman attending orientation with a classification of undeclared major

·       Shadowed two student meetings

o  One advising a transfer student with low GPA on selecting a major

o  One reviewing the Strong Inventory results for a transfer student with a high GPA

·       Reviewed the Career Center’s list of majors and began checking links for accuracy and searching for unidentified areas of study

·       Advised parents at the orientation resource fair about the services provided by the career center

Reflections on Practice:

            One important thing that I took note of this week during practicum was the fact that several of the employees in the Career Center office come from backgrounds similar to my own. This is something that I at first thought was a coincidence. However, after completing my interview with the last few employees over the past week, I realized that this is actually the norm of the office. Almost every employee I spoke with had worked in some form of a helping profession prior to joining the Career Center staff or had a degree in a related field. On page 186 of our textbook, the authors explain that fit is a critical part of the job search process (Amey & Reesor, 2009). They explain that finding your strengths and weaknesses about a year ahead of your job search can assist you in taking on experiences which will highlight your strengths and improve your weaknesses (Amey & Reesor, 2009).

Based on this information and the experiences I have had thus far with my practicum, I feel that I am absorbing a lot of important information and ideas regarding the importance of fit. My practicum supervisor had a very frank conversation with me last week about making sure that I do not narrow my career options to only housing experience. This conversation sparked many lingering personal thoughts which I have been avoiding over the past year. I have no question about my ability to succeed within the student affairs field and I pride myself on my work and accomplishments. However, since moving to Mississippi, I have started to feel as though student affairs may not fit the personal expectations which I have for my future. Since beginning to work in a position more similar to that of a full time employee within housing and residence life, I have started to feel as though I am not necessarily helping students which is the reason I chose to enter the field. Working with the Career Center, talking with my sight supervisor and reading what the textbook has to say about finding an appropriate fit within a position have caused me to question whether I would like to continue my work within housing following graduation. Following the appearance of these concerns, I plan to build on my strengths as the textbook has recommended (Amey & Reesor,2009). I know that I find it greatly satisfying to create positive changes for individual students as well as for groups of students. I have strong interests in volunteer work, social justice advocacy, and individual advising for students. Based on these interests, I would like to spend the next year looking for ways to become more involved with HCDC, the Maroon Volunteer Center, and the Career Center in order to explore whether one of these may feel like a more appropriate fit for me than housing and residence life.

Another significant observation that I have made during my time at practicum thus far is the way that the office’s employees interact with international students. I shadowed two different meetings where international students were seeking guidance in resume building and the job search process. I quickly realized that there were several points of disconnect between the international students and the employees of the career center. As I reflected on these meetings throughout the rest of my first couple of weeks at practicum, I started to think that it would be helpful to develop some sort of resource (perhaps a pamphlet or flier) for the office members to refer to when they are working with international students. This reference would include information about work visas, a list of common places for employment for international employees (hospitals, universities, etc.), and other similar information. After talking with different advisers within the office, it seems that most of them just do not have a lot of experience working with international students. Advising these students can become even more difficult when a language barrier is involved. I didn’t think about the connection to fit that this experience was providing me with at the time it was occurring. However, looking back, I realize how my passion for diversity led me to want to create resources which would assist a minority population within my practicum office. This experience also taught me that not every area of student affairs is as culturally aware as the ones I have so far been involved with.

Reflections on Theory:

Not surprisingly (for those who know my personality) I was easily able to relate NASPA’s equity, diversity, and inclusion competency to the lessons that I have learned so far in my practicum experience (I promise I will discuss a different topic in my next post) (ACPA & NASPA, 2010). Many of the expectations that fall under this competency apply to the things that I have experienced during my first two weeks of practicum. For example, one point of the competency mentions recognizing social systems and the way they influence individuals of different backgrounds (ACPA & NASPA, 2010). When I was reviewing resumes prior to shadowing the meetings with international students, I was immediately drawn to their names at the top of their resumes. I did not know how to pronounce their names which made me think about an article I had recently read. This article discussed how employers will often turn away resumes when the name at the top of the page looks like that of a person of a color. I plan to research whether this is the same for international students. Based on the meetings that I have shadowed, I expect that the research will show similar outcomes. Several other points listed under this competency closely related to the experiences I witnessed during my shadowing meetings. I intend to keep this competency in mind as I continue discussions with employees within the career center as well as other entities which serve these students such as HCDC and the international office.

References

 ACPA & NASPA (2010). Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Practitioners.

Amey, M., & Reesor, L. (2009). Words of wisdom. In Beginning your journey: A guide for new professionals in student affairs (3rd Ed.). (pp. 207-221). Washington, DC: National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.