Job One: Managing Transitions as New Professionals in Student Affairs

1. Job One: Managing Transitions as New Professionals in Student Affairs #ACPA14 ACPA 2014

2. #ACPA14 Presenters • Jill Carnaghi, Associate Vice Chancellor, Washington University in St. Louis • Kathleen Gardner, Associate Director , SIU Edwardsville, @upnorthkathleen • Peter Magolda, Professor, Miami University, @pmesm • Carrie Miller, Doctoral Student, University of California, Los Angeles • Katie Shoemaker, First Year Adviser, Miami University

3. #ACPA14 Agenda • Introductions • Impetus for this Session • What? • New professionals theoretical primer • Stories from new professionals • Responses from “supporters” of new professionals • So What? • Small group discussions • Large group synthesis • Now What? • Implications for practice • Closing

4. #ACPA14

5. #ACPA14 Introductions • Name, institution, years in the field • What brings you here today?

6. What? The "what" is the experience…What do we know as a result of examining the situation?

7. #ACPA14

8. #ACPA14 Shamika • Sometimes it’s hard to stay true to myself because I’m pressured by those around me to change or fit in, but by standing my ground in the midst of the pressure has benefitted me greatly. When I am free to truly be who I am in a work environment, I know I have found a fit

9. #ACPA14 Molly P. • It quickly became evident that department staff members were overworked, and the director had many responsibilities on her plate beyond our department initiatives. We worked additional hours because we cared about supporting one another and most importantly supporting students…..Although I had freedom, I was lacking an effective supervisor who was able to give guidance and feedback on the work I was doing. I valued our friendship and relationship but knew I would need more to be a better professional in the future.

10. #ACPA14 Kim • The support of my coworkers and my willingness to accept their support was key in making this transition. Not many are fortunate enough to have such caring colleagues on their side when starting a new life.

11. #ACPA14 Sarah • As a Student Affairs professional who works with people involved in career decision-making processes, I have come to understand we all hold various ideas or myths around career that we inherit from our family members, friends, mentors, and colleagues; our professional fields and industries; our cultural identities and groups; and our society. I intentionally use the word “myth” for the messages we hold around careers because, they can be so strong that they blind us to see other possibilities, or they force us to exclude other possibilities.

12. #ACPA14 Carrie • “I did not know how to approach my supervisor to continue to develop as a professional and hone my skills. Reflecting on my interactions with my supervisor, I realized that I, too often, repeated the same experiment and hoped for different results. I would ask a series of questions, read about an idea, write and submit a proposal, each time being careful to include all of the components of program and proposal development I had learned in graduate school. Rarely did this strategy yield a successful outcome...I did not want to abandon opportunities to integrate theory and research with my everyday work responsibilities, but I knew had to change my approach.”

13. #ACPA14 New Professionals in the room: Tell us YOUR story… • The job search process • Reflections on graduate school experience • Early days as a new professional • Establishing professional identity • Supervision • Diversity and identity

14. #ACPA14 Questions for New Professionals • What is your comfort level with risk-taking when seeking employment? • What are some career myths that you might hold about working in student affairs? • As a new professional, what constitutes meaningful development for you? • What are some strategies for thriving within the context of an imperfect work environment?

15. #ACPA14 Salient Issue #1 • The Importance of Relationships • “My relationship with my partner Josh made me feel centered and comfortable with myself. The relationships that I forged during graduate school and during my on-campus interview process gave me the support needed to succeed in a not so ideal work environment” -Molly

16. #ACPA14 Salient Issue #2 • The Importance of Fit • I admit there is risk in every decision we make, but I was unwilling to risk my authenticity and integrity. …I was being called to a little, Buddhist-inspired institution that was doing great and wonderful things. I had discovered my mission fit. I could no longer deny that my professional and spiritual curiosity as well as my intuition and passions were the true compasses I must follow, so I stepped into the unknown, accepted my new role as the Career Services Coordinator at Naropa University, and headed west. -Sarah

17. #ACPA14 Salient Issue #3 • The Importance of Competence and Confidence • I espoused the idea of tending to the needs of the whole student, yet I continued to treat aspects of my life as discrete and mutually exclusive entities. How do I de-compartmentalize my life? How can I understand students if I can’t understand myself?… This [job one] experience, combined with my college and graduate school experiences, have made me a more holistic person, one who feels comfortable with the various dimensions of his identity, sharing those areas, and encouraging that development in others. –David

18. #ACPA14 Salient Issue #4 • Generational Differences • A key part of my success in my first professional Student Affairs job was having a great supervisor and supporting team of co-workers. My supervisor …recognized I was new to the field but valued my past experiences and perspectives. He regularly treated me as if I knew what I was doing; he allowed me the time and space to learn the position, the job responsibilities, and the culture of the institution. …We processed my strengths and strategized on ways I could improve my areas of opportunity. …The foundation of our relationship was on honesty. It was always important to receive growth-focused feedback, even if it was a message I did not want to hear. -DeJaun

19. #ACPA14 Salient Issue #5 • Accepting and Learning from Imperfections • Despite the frustration of being so focused on administration and office management, there were many things I came to love about my work—mostly relationships with colleagues and supervisees. I was quickly getting to know other academic advisors on campus and developing a sense of collaboration. I was amongst a group of dedicated professionals who cared deeply about students. I valued being in a professional community that shared in my commitment to student growth and learning. -Molly

20. So What? The "so what" is the reflection…What do we think or feel as a result of examining the situation?

21. #ACPA14 Small Group Conversation • Break into 4 groups based on interest • 1: Transition issues facing new professionals • 2: Issues of “fit” facing new professionals • 3: Identity issues facing new professionals • 4: Supervision issues facing new professionals • Explore • Assumptions/expectations/norms • Strategies for new professionals • Strategies for preparation programs • Strategies for supervisors

22. #ACPA14 Report out

23. Now What? The "now what" leads us back to action…This is where we commit to some kind of action, however small or large.

24. #ACPA14 Closing Please write down • Three take-aways from our time together today • Two questions you have after this presentation • One thing you are committed to doing as a result of what you learned/experienced here today

25. We are looking for volunteers to take a stand and publicly share one thing you are committed to doing as a result of what you learned/experienced here today.

26. #ACPA14 Thank you! Jill Carnaghi jill.carnaghi@wustl.edu Kathleen Gardner kagardn@siue.edu Peter Magolda magoldpm@miamioh.edu Carrie Miller Carrie.elizabeth.miller@gmail.com Katie Shoemaker shoemak@miamioh.edu