This cluster of competencies focuses on the self-awareness, intellectual growth, and the personal and professional identity required for inspiring and supporting the development of college students.
Philosophical
Foundations
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12
Spiritual awareness
Develops
and articulates personal belief system; understands roles of spirituality in
personal and group values and behaviors; critiques, compares, and contrasts
various belief systems; explores issues of purpose, meaning, and faith
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Although
I continue to evolve spiritually, I selected two artifacts that serve as way
markers in my spiritual awareness journey. The first is my Personal Worldview Synthesis, which was
crafted at the beginning of my program. At that time, I described my
experiences up to that point, which had permitted me to see myself as a
prodigal son who had finally returned home and wanted to share the good news
about our father’s love with others. Working as an adult educator
at a private research university made sharing the gospel of Christ with my
students particularly challenging. On the one hand, sharing my values and
beliefs was something I couldn’t help because it was a part of who I was and
how I made my decisions. I knew that I was not in an environment where this
welcomed, so I tried to curtail as many discussions as I could to a minimum,
though I found that students would seek opportunities to talk more openly
with me, after class was done. Realizing that I could not divest myself of
philosophical underpinnings, even for career interest, gave me the yearning
desire to share my beliefs in a Christian environment University
setting. Having had that experience, I recognize that I flourish
spiritually when I am able to discuss my beliefs openly, however this does
not necessarily make living my beliefs easier.
The
second artifact in this section was an audio recording entitled, Never, Never, Never, Give Up! developed
near the end of my program. By this time, my philosophical foundations had
not been destroyed but had been severely shaken; I had encountered much more
of the dark side of life – things beyond anyone’s control, things that can
lead one to question God or even doubt His love and
faithfulness. My beliefs and values still existed, I was very much
spiritually aware, but now my eyes had been opened to other worldviews and
points of view that I could not easily dismiss the validity of or challenge
with supreme authority. The world had become a scary place upon which there
seemed to be no anchor and yet, I had survived and persevered. My hope was
still anchored on a solid rock – The rock Christ Jesus. I shared openly of my
perspective, which had been grounded in experience, that we must continue to
trust God’s leading though we may not understand His ways.
My
faith and philosophy had both been in development and it is hard to describe
on a point system just how competent I am in this area. But I can say that
God is continuing to pursue me with relentless love – this love is something
that makes escaping it impossible. And at this point in my life, after having
learned so much about Him, and enjoyed his “authentic love” there is no way,
I can turn back to a state of not knowing that His will for my life, far
exceeds any goal, dream or ambition I could ever have on my own. I will
continue this journey of learning to trust Him and walking by faith, day by
day.
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Ethics,
Values, & Spirituality
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11
Commitment to ethics and integrity
Incorporates
ethical reasoning into action; explores and articulates the values and
principles involved in personal decision-making; acts in congruence with
personal values and beliefs; exemplifies dependability, honesty, and
trustworthiness; accepts personal accountability
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My
discussion and ethical analysis of a case study, Fear of Being Black, was
rooted in a pervasive need to understand why Black women are overwhelmed with
racist and misogynistic stereotypes that cause them unnecessary trepidation
and self-hatred (often disguised as fear). I took an introspective look at my
own experience and processed outward toward the messages I was receiving in
society. I was vulnerable, authentic and unashamedly unnerved that black
women must struggle so hard to distinguish themselves as deserving of respect
from our male counterparts. I feel this paper demonstrates my ability to
think critically and objectively about a problem based on my subjective
experience. This discussion of the fear to be black is what developing an
honest ethical stance is all about.
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27
Maintaining health and wellness
Engages
in behaviors and contributes to environments that promote health and reduce
risk; articulates the relationship between health and wellness in
accomplishing goals; exhibits behaviors that advance the health of
communities
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Anchored
in the desire to nurture my core spirituality is a commitment to develop
behaviors that help me to maintain my health. However, I have learned that
health and wellness should not be shifted to being overly concerned with how
much I exercise my body or precisely how many calories of food I intake per
day. Rather, I have begun to understand health and wellness as something that
encompasses my entire being, including all activity and inactivity. Even
sometimes when I am unintentional, I am still at work developing health and
wellness for myself and others. The artifact, St George’s Abbey and the Very Big Dog, is an article based on an experience I
shared with a friend while on a writing retreat. While it was not an
assignment, I quickly typed and shared my experience with others to help
encourage them to develop a closer faith walk with God. In this way, I
believe the endeavor to improve health and wellness should be viewed holistically
and not isolated to a certain set of prescribed physically motivated
behaviors.
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28
Living a purposeful and satisfying life
Makes
purposeful decisions regarding balance among education, work, and leisure
time; acts in congruence with personal identity, ethical, spiritual, and
moral values
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In
my endeavor to better assist others and having a natural bent towards
counseling, I decided to further my education in this field. I specifically
was interested in counseling others who have experienced significant grief
and trauma, as I have had a series of experiences throughout my life that
many would find debilitating. Recognizing that in my own experience, and
those who have sought counsel and support from me, professional therapy has
not been sought or proven effective, even when utilized, I hoped to be able
to assist others whenever possible. Yet, by reflecting on my experience through
the Pastoral Counseling Reflection Paper I
realized that God perhaps needed me to understand myself better and make a
meaningful attempt to cooperate with Him to receive healing in the areas that
I wanted to help others in so that I could live a purposeful and satisfying
life in which I could assist in the healing of others as one who had been
there and done that…not as one constantly going through. I additionally reflected
on discovering balance in my life as stated below:
“I believe that I desperately must negotiate ways of experiencing my fallibility as a human. Though I have a natural bend toward perfectionism, I cannot allow that drive to diffuse my sense of balance. I must eat, sleep, think and reason in a more balanced way so that I have the energy and stamina necessary to be used by God to help others. I must process stress and deal with discomforting situations as they come – and not store these experiences until they mount up and seem to bury me alive. I must relax my efforts to do what others expect of me and get in sync with God’s vision and purpose for my life, no matter what others think. This will all take dedicated and determined effort – and likely will not occur overnight, or easily although I am now aware. I therefore, above all, must learn to be patient with myself as I grow and mature into a person who can be effectively used for ministry.”
Having
an awareness that I am not “there yet” but am constantly being molded and
refined, freed me from a perfectionist drive to have it all
together. Especially liberating was the freedom to not have
to perform to achieve the expectations of others or pretend to others or
myself that I am anything other than what I am “a work of art”. I can now
develop in sync with God’s will and not allow my growth to be hampered by
societal expectations or conditioning. I am absolutely free to be me. This
knowledge, in perspective with the goals and God-designed purpose for my life,
has made all the difference.
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Human
Development & Career Choice
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4
Relating knowledge to daily life
Seeks
new information to solve problems; relates knowledge to major and career
decisions; makes connections between classroom and out-of-classroom learning;
articulates career choices based on assessment of interests, values, skills,
and abilities; provides evidence of knowledge, skills, and accomplishments
resulting from formal education, work experience, community service, and
volunteer experiences, for example in resumes and portfolios
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I
vividly recall my first time in the Leadership Department, I was there for an
interview as a graduate assistant with Gary Gifford. We fell into an easy
conversation about my personal history before we realized that we had met at
Pioneer Memorial Church during a midday prayer service and had prayed
together. Shortly after a typing test, etc…He offered me the position of
graduate assistant though he regrettably said that the type of work he had
available was more along secretarial lines. At the time, I was
overjoyed just to have a new place to call home, but overtime, I became
enormously discontented with not having an opportunity to grow my skill set
or learn more about the field I was studying. I shared my concerns and
eventually was offered a position to work with Robson Marinho as a research
assistant. Robson gave me a plethora of opportunities to expand my learning
and I was thankful for the chance to learn so much while still a graduate
student. I discovered for example, that I enjoyed counseling/advising even
far more than teaching. I was able to learn more about faculty
life by attending meetings and developing two graduate courses on my
own. I also had an opportunities to understand administration
through various opportunities and finally after the length of time in my
program I have realized the achievement of my Statement of Purpose which I
started writing when I entered this program more than a decade ago, and
updated, when I reactivated my program after some time away. I
don’t think I achieved the level of competence that I would have initially
preferred as a young educational administration student ambitious to learn
everything that I read, but I think in God’s way, I have been offered various
opportunities to apply the knowledge that I received from textbooks to assist
others in real world problems, primarily through advising and consultancy.
Though this sphere of influence is less direct than I thought I would have
relished, it is actually very much aligned with my personality and skills for
leadership. Or as Harry Truman once said, “It is amazing what you can
accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”
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9
Realistic self-appraisal, self-understanding, and self-respect
Assesses,
articulates, and acknowledges personal skills, abilities, and growth areas;
uses self-knowledge to make decisions such as those related to career
choices; articulates rationale for personal behavior; seeks and considers
feedback from others; critiques and subsequently learns from past
experiences; employs self- reflection to gain insight; functions without need
for constant reassurance from others; balances needs of self with needs of
others
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The DISC personality profile was an assessment
I took in a graduate counseling program. It offered a unique perspective of
who I am as an individual with an unquestionable accuracy that I found at the
time I took it some years ago, like looking into a mirror and seeing my
actual reflection. Below are some points that helped me to gain clearer
insight into myself.
“Your
uniqueness or what others may call your "weakness" tends to be your
caring more about what people think and your serving others, than you do
about being strong or right about things. People seem to be more important to
you than anything else. This seems to be good, but can be a problem when
there's a job to improve or complete. (Strengths and Uniqueness, p.9)
You
can work alone, but like to perfect and improve things. Clarifying and
correcting situations interest you more than being in charge. You are
passionate about inspiring and supporting others, while providing clear
answers that solve problems. (Vision and Passion, p.12)
You
can be a wonderful follower because you relate well to most people. Leaders
like having you on their teams because you usually do what you are told. You
tend to be cheerful and submissive, and you strive toward perfection. You
don't like doing things half right or sloppy. You sometimes lack the
initiative to take charge or move forward without permission. You are a great
team player, but can be a little picky or critical of other people's efforts
or answers. You work hard at doing your job well and strive to ensure that
everyone is moving together to accomplish the task better. You can be very
positive, but sometimes struggle with moodiness and pessimism.” (Uniquely
You, Follower style, p12)
Assessments
such as these and the Gallup Report, which indicate I have
Input, Strategic, Achiever, Responsibility and Intellection, as strengths
help me to better embrace the behaviors that assets in various settings and
those that require further attention, as they may appear as weaknesses in
others. As I look at areas needed for competency development, I can cross
reference my assessment with these profiles to see what appears accurate and
requires immediate attention. At this time, I still have a lot to work on.
Because of my people versus task-orientation, I feel I have been halted in
this academic program for much longer than is actually required to complete
academic work simply because I made people and my desire to nurture
others/myself primarily important. Completing this degree will demonstrate a
definite achievement in switching my focus to accomplish this goal.
Hopefully, thereafter, I will continue to work in such a way, that helping
people becomes my primary tasks – and in that way I will have merged my
achievement orientation toward a goal that fits my personality and leadership
need to develop people.
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10
Identity development
Integrates
multiple aspects of identity into a coherent whole; recognizes and exhibits
interdependence in accordance with environmental, cultural, and personal
values; identifies and commits to important aspects of self
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Identity
development is a particularly salient component of my higher education
matriculation. Learning and reflecting more about myself in the personage of
identity erupted as a necessity in my Statement of Purpose and continued to
be weaved within my self-reflective writing and research style to becoming
the essence of my dissertation. But I had to develop a comfort level in being
able to write so freely and frequently about the “self” so that discovering
weaknesses and erroneous ways of being did not discourage the revealing of my
authentic truth. In the course of that journey, I discovered that I had
unwittingly been highly ethnocentric in researching primarily only the
components of diversity that referred to my history, present, and future as
an African American. However, in the Diverse Group Analysis Paper, I learned
that
“Diversity
is more than just making people aware of the black experience in
America. It is more than just exceeding a quota of different minority
groups hired to work at an institution. Diversity is about recognizing
that although people are different they are still people. As a
member of a minority group, I was oblivious to the struggle of Chicanos
because I was ethnocentric. Members of the dominant group may be
oblivious to my struggle for the same reason. But in order to
produce the level of cohesiveness in Academe that will promote student
learning, higher education managers, must determine to learn more about
themselves and others.”
Making
this discovery has enhanced my way of thinking about diversity and though I
have taken a particular research interest in studying about African Americans
and related diversity, I still have much to learn in this field so that I can
be sufficiently competent. At this time, I am planning to obtain advanced knowledge in Diversity and Inclusion in a certificate program at Cornell
University. I am eager to learn more from leaders in the field to strengthen my perspectives in this area and I look forward to doing so in
the near future.
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24
Managing Personal Affairs
Exhibits
self-reliant behaviors; manages time effectively; develops strategies for
managing finances
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The
overarching theme that I believe is critical to the effective management of
my personal affairs is steeped in accepting God’s guidance for my life and
allowing Him to determine my direction. Of Christ it is written “So utterly was Christ emptied of self that
He made no plans for Himself. He accepted God's plans for Him, and day by day
the Father unfolded His plans. So should we depend upon God, that our lives
may be the simple outworking of His will (White,1898, p.208[1]). From this perspective, I chose to use an artifact of a radio interview in which I shared
my experiences on accepting God’s guidance of my life. Interestingly,
although I discussed the need for developing patience as we wait on God to
reveal His will to us, I have found it particularly challenging to be patient
and operate in sync with God’s timing. I often want to depend wholly on
self-reliant behaviors to ascribe my time and resources to events or
activities that I think should take the most priority. I have often resisted
doing things that I would rather not give any time or attention to, but
perhaps should. I have begun to learn to manage this area of my life, by
being more in sync with God’s management of my life and submitting to His
will. To do this, I have tried to make prayer an instinctive habit upon
waking, asking specifically that God order my steps according to His will. I
also make a determined effort to redirect my focus to Him throughout the day
and especially at its close. I want my life to be a “simple outworking of His
will” so that no agenda, plan or timetable take precedence over His plans for
my life.
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25
Managing Career Development
Takes
steps to initiate a job search or seek advanced education; constructs a resume
based on clear job objectives and with evidence of knowledge, skills, and
abilities; recognizes the importance of transferrable skills
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My internship experience working as a
Co-Coordinator of Global Understanding and Leadership Programming for Student
Life allowed me to see that there are many things that I can do well, if the
opportunity is given to me. Before that time, I had never planned or
developed programs for students. But by the first time the events were
scheduled, I was even surprised by what I had been able to accomplish. I
believe I am open to doing things that I have never done before without very
much help or assistance and the more confidence placed in me to do things
without aid, often makes it easier for me to rise to the occasion. I simply
don’t allow a space in my mind for failure and having no one to cradle me,
serves as an impetus to boost my performance. Throughout the internship,
which pushed me to network, and use my relational people skills, I was able
to help create the type of programming that I was proud to have featured on
the Andrews University Campus and I have a distinct competency on being open
to new experiences that continues to offer me more ways to grow and enhance
my knowledge, skills and abilities.
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