In order to further my competency in each area, I have outlined the next steps in my journey in student affairs. This includes securing a career, connecting my previous experiences and education to the role, and following through with my action plan to develop professionally and in a guided, meaningful manner.

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Before securing a job, I recognize several competing factors that will influence my next role. These priorities currently include:

 

• Location-specific (Research Triangle Park area, North Carolina)

• Experience needed (3-5 years of professional experience)

• Impact factor (spheres of influence to which I will have access)

• Functional area (preferably an area in which I have some experience)

• Financial stability (enough money for a family of two in a college-town)

 

By ranking location as my top priority, I recognize two important factors that should be addressed. One, I am much more flexible in the other priorities, and have opened my interest to entry-level positions, less spheres of influence, nearly any functional area, and financial and position stability. Two, I have learned to confidently support my decision to remain regionally bound based on my fiance's location, as this is the most important factor in my professional and personal commitments, values, and beliefs. Balancing competing interests is in fact a routine decision that will only be further complicated as my professional responsibilities increase (Humphrey, Janosik, & Creamer, 2004).

 

To maintain a commitment to my professional development, I have addressed 'next steps' in each competency area (see Accomplishments sub-sections). As I journey ahead, I accept a certain level of ambiguity in where I go next and how to incorporate feedback and growth. I refuse to remain static, and accept the responsibility to improve my areas of weakness by to expanding my knowledge and approach to competency areas in which I identify as advanced.

 

The time I spent working professionally before graduate school helped shape how I approach student affairs and incorporate knowledge from class into my assistantship. Schlossberg’s Transitional Theory explains how events and non-events shape student development when moving in, through, and out of transitions (as described in Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010, p. 218). I am now foundationally prepared for a transition out (of graduate school) and a transition in (to my next professional position) experience in the professional student affairs realm.

 

Maintaining strong mentors will enhance my learning and provide me with informed, external perspectives. While I will avoid the trap of relying solely on others by reflecting at regular intervals, nurturing a strong network of people who are invested in my growth (and in whose growth I am mutually invested in) will buoy me in times of weakness, challenge me in times of comfort, and guide me as a life-long learner, motivator, mentor, and meaning-maker of the world around me.

 

References

 

Evans, J. E., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Student Development in College: Theory, Research, and Practice (2nd ed.) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

 

Humphrey, E., Janosik, S. M., & Creamer, D. G. (2004). The role of principles, character, and professional values in ethical decision-making. NASPA Journal, 41(3), 675-692.