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Amy Bergstrom

SDA Program E-Portfolio

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The most important content I have learned in the Student Development Administration

(SDA) program is to take a critical eye to everything. This lens started in SDAD 5400 Student

Development Theory, when I learned about critical race theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001) and

community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005). I have used those perspectives throughout my time in

the program, especially as I learned theory in other subjects such as adult learning and lifespan

development. I continually questioned, and still question, with a critical perspective the

assumptions that these foundational theories are based in, and this helps me keep the needs of

different populations in mind in my practice.

Taking these perspectives and turning them inward has also been the most important part

of learning about myself during the program. I am much more aware of my identities and the

way they affect how I interact with the world than I ever was before. So many of my courses,

from leadership to counseling to social justice, have required me to think about my identities and

apply them to the subject matter, and this elevated level of awareness has spilled out into my

work, relationships, and daily life.

Another important part of my experience has been my internships. Working with new

student orientation at Cornish College of the Arts, I learned so much about how to develop a

leadership program to meet the specific needs of a population. I can take my process of

observations, conversations, research, and experimentation and apply it to any student group I

work with in the future. My internship with the summer fellowship program in the Center for

Service and Community Engagement (CSCE) at Seattle University (SU) gave me a lot of insight

into vocational reflection for students. I discovered that this was much more of a meaning-

making process than a decision-making one, a perspective I can keep in mind in conversations

with all students.


My graduate assistantship was also in the CSCE, working with service-learning students.

I have learned so much from this experience that it is hard to narrow down to most important

items. I have learned about students at large and to observe patterns, which informs how I adapt

my practice. I have become much more comfortable in public speaking, particularly in guiding a

classroom. I have also learned about the value of partnering across campus and with the

community, a value I hope to maintain in whatever office I work in.

When I came to SU, I really had no idea everything that was involved in being a student

affairs professional. I came into the program wanting to work with students. My experiences in

classes, my assistantship, internships, volunteering at other events, and spending time with my

colleagues have turned me into an educator. I will use my theoretical foundation, critical

perspective, and all of the interactions I have had with students over the past two years to be an

informed practitioner who keeps care for the student at the center.

If there is anything I could desire more of from the SDA program, it would be a stronger

focus on some of the harder skills related to our field. In particular, our learning outcomes and

the NASPA/ACPA competencies indicate that we should be prepared in areas such as

assessment, research, finance, and policy, but these are not well-incorporated into our

curriculum. I realize that other student affairs programs struggle with this (Cuyjet, Longwell-

Grice, & Molina, 2009) and that there are opportunities that individuals can seek out to develop

these skills. However, if the program has a commitment to keeping these as part of its learning

outcomes, I do believe they should be more intentionally included in required classes.

What the program does well, though, and what has been particularly meaningful to me, is

infuse a focus on holistic care and social justice. I have appreciated the Jesuit context of SU in

helping me feel embraced into a community throughout my education, and I will take this focus


on social justice and care for students into my professional practice. Somewhat ironically, the

things I have learned in my own Jesuit education, particularly about access and educational

equity, actually draw me to work in a very different context, specifically a community college or

public university, because of that aspect of access and equity. But I plan to bring my whole self

and that focus on care into all my work, so in a way, my Jesuit context will stay with me

wherever I go.


References

Cuyjet, M. J., Longwell-Grice, R., & Molina, E. (2009). Perceptions of new student affairs

professionals and their supervisors regarding the application of competencies learned in

preparation programs. Journal of College Student Development, 50(1), 104-119.

doi:10.1353/csd.0.0054

Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2001). Critical race theory: An introduction. New York: New York

University Press.

Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community

cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69-91.

doi:10.1080/1361332052000341006

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