Reflection Paper

When I first decided to expand my education, it had been so long since I had been to school, and I was very hesitant. I talked at length about my decision with my husband and with his encouragement, decided to enroll but still was not quite sure which degree program to enroll in. I knew that this was something that I had always wanted to do since I obtained my Associates Degree in Nursing, but I did not have the courage, nor did I want to give up the time with my family and children. I second guessed my abilities and my knowledge because it had been so long since I had been in college. Now that my children are about to graduate high school and

Throughout the course of this semester, I have continuously grown as a writer. Prior to taking this course, I had little experience or knowledge when it came to writing. I used to struggle with forming my thoughts into writing, let alone a paper. I was never confident with what I wrote. My writing had no greater purpose other than the assignment. My writing process included: writing my paper, proofreading it, and turning it in. Once the paper left my hands, it also left my mind. Throughout this course we worked with others, visited the writing lab, wrote critiques, and we were able to revise our papers. I believe that all of this is has caused me to grow greatly as a writer.

During the time between September 2015 and May 2016 I will be exposing myself to the different environments on collegiate campuses in California and Nevada. These experiences will teach me how to communicate more effectively with my peers, promote mental and physical wellness, and influence ethical decision-making among undergraduate, collegiate men.

While auditing courses for her own education and interest a professor realized that the students were relating to her as if she was a student. She was behaving as a student, asking questions, going regularly to class and doing the required readings and in turn the other students began sharing insights, gossip and opinions she would never hear as a professor. Rebekah Nathan (pseudonym assumed by the author, Cathy Small, for purposes of the book) recognized that “even after my fiftieth birthday, I could still be a student, and treated by other students as, more or less, a peer”(Nathan, 2005, para. 71). She decided use her sabbatical to study campus life through a student’s viewpoint, instead of the professor-student perspective.

While auditing courses for her own education and interest a professor realized that the students were relating to her as if she was a student. She was behaving as a student, asking questions, going regularly to class and doing the required readings and in turn the other students began sharing insights, gossip and opinions she would never hear as a professor. Rebekah Nathan (pseudonym assumed by the author, Cathy Small, for purposes of the book) recognized that “even after my fiftieth birthday, I could still be a student, and treated by other students as, more or less, a peer”(Nathan, 2005, para. 71). She decided use her sabbatical to study campus life through a student’s viewpoint, instead of the professor-student perspective.

College students will always encounter some type of “problem” during their college experience. A problem can be something simple such as a lack of adequate parking or more complex such as sexual harassment. “A new report from Student Monitor asked college students to identify the biggest problems on campus, and their top three answers were cost of education, stress, and alcohol abuse,” (Jacobs, 2014, p.1). College students will be affected by a number of problems during their college career. As a professional in student affairs it is our duty to help students decrease their problems and help them have a successful experience. Andrews University is experiencing one of the top three biggest social issues on their campus, alcohol abuse and

rules are set to recondition temporary college students ' minds to a point that they overreact to

As a college student, I can attest to the fact that college is nothing like the home I grew up in. Conor Friedersdorf’s “A College Is a Community but Cannot Be a Home” attempts to target college administrators in order to make this misconstrued belief clear. Throughout the article, he makes several strong arguments to explain how students feel in a college setting, and how the current conceptions of what on-campus housing entails are not necessarily accurate. He writes to bring about change in the ideas of college administrators, so they can acknowledge the hardships of the transitions for students rather than trying to make such an environment something it truly “cannot” be. While Friedersdorf appeals to the

As teenagers grow older and head off to college, they must face new challenges, make new friends, and embark on their plans for the future. To some this may prove too much, so they need a place to revert to their childlike states to escape their challenges. These places are self-proclaimed safe spaces. Intended to shelter those from opposing or self-defined, “micro-aggressions”, safe spaces have facilitated the coddling of the American college student. The culture of safe spaces is not only a threat to the people around them, but also the people in them. They project a sense of entitlement and use this entitlement to push around the students, professors, and deans of many American colleges and universities.

Successful college experiences revolve around three major areas: the transition, being successful in classes/schoolwork, and involvement. These three areas have been determined from my work in the Housing and Residential Programs Department for the past three years, as this is my first lass focusing on student development theories. The three areas are must all be present in some way, shape, or form in order for success. The first step is the transition from high school to college. This is inclusive of moving away from home, and entering into an entirely different miniature society. Incoming students need to learn to adapt to their new surroundings, develop relationships, and a find their support system. Adaptation is important, for many

Kelvin is currently experiencing distress in his transition from high school to college. In his transition, he is struggling to adapt to his new environment of a predominately white institution in a small, rural setting because of his previous experiences living in a large, diverse urban city. This issued can be identified by many different student affairs theoretical frameworks, but the most appropriate would be Schlossberg’s transition theory.

Throughout the years there’s been a tremendous change in the collegiate way of living. The American college life as we know it simulated the swinging of a pendulum in a deep curve. In the colonial days practices such as loco parentis was prevalent in higher education institutions. Religion was also a huge part in higher education as well as campus life. Extracurricular activities came to the surface as students began to form their own organizations and identities.

For most students, college is a time of learning and growth, with the occasional partying, and mistakes made here and there. However, in recent years, life on college campuses has taken a drastic turn. In addition to worrying about passing classes, students are also worrying about what their fate will be if they make the wrong decision and turn down the wrong corner.

When comparing student trailblazer theory to other, popular student development theories, I find that Schlossberg’s transition theory is related to the different phases students will go through as they proceed through their collegiate careers. According to this theory, events, both anticipated an unanticipated, as well as non-events can play a role that results in changed relationships, routines, assumptions and roles (Patton, Renn, Guido, & Quaye, 2016). When applying Schlossberg’s theory to student trailblazer theory, I believe the phases with the greatest level of transition include the shift from the college entry phase to the vulnerability phase, the shift from the initial defining phase to the rebuilding phase, and the transition phase. However, in contrast to Schlossberg’s transition theory, student trailblazer theory emphasizes any transitions as an opportunity for growth. For instance, although both transition theory and student trailblazer theory can be used to explain my experiences when I lost my friends to graduation and got a new coach, student trailblazer theory assumes that students will have the support in place to overcome any obstacles. Furthermore, as a student progresses through each phase, they are expected to use their previous experiences to build off of their development.

While most of my work in my fellowship is focused around the needs of commuter, graduate, transfer, and veteran students, I have gotten the opportunity to serve on a few student conduct cases in my spare time. In one of the cases I served on this past week, I interacted with a student who had been accused of being in the residence halls on a weekend, which he was forbidden from after receiving a sanction for a previous violation in the last academic year. As I listened to his story regarding how he believes he was not in the area he was accused of being in, it was evident that many of the perspectives concerning student development theory had affected his past and present decisions.