This competency involves knowledge, skills, and dispositions that connect the values, philosophy, and history of the student affairs profession to one’s current professional practice…The commitment to demonstrating this competency area ensures that our present and future practices are informedby an understanding of the profession’s history, philosophy, and values.

Like any good student affairs graduate program, Northeastern’s College Student Development and Counseling program has taught me the history and philosophy of the student affairs profession. My coursework demanded that I know this information and demonstrate that I can think critically about it. I especially appreciated that my program director, Dr. Vanessa Johnson, lectured us on the history of the Black Power Movement on campuses, and what it means for our present and future. The lecture filled some of the gaps in my knowledge of educational and student affairs history in the 1970s. It also gave me a sense of continuity of the educational tradition in the U.S. from its beginnings, to the creation of The Student Personnel Point of View, to today. I was disappointed to learn that the things Black students protested in the 1970s are the same things being protested by the Black Lives Matter movement today; the demands are largely the same between the 1970s and now. Although I initially felt disheartened over the lack of progress in the last 40+ years, this knowledge inspired me to rededicate myself to efforts to make campuses a safe place for students of color and to make higher education a more equitable experience for all students.

Likewise, my coursework in Foundations of Academic Advising required that I know and critically reflect on NACADA’s Core Values, which are: Caring, Commitment, Empowerment, Inclusivity, Integrity, Professionalism, and Respect. These values closely mirror my own personal values, as I have mentioned elsewhere. In my practicum at the University of Massachusetts – Boston (UMB), I do the best I can to embody these values in my work with students. As a result, I believe I possess Foundational mastery of this competency, moving into Intermediate mastery. I have not yet mastered the application of these values in real-life academic advising, as I am still learning to translate my internally held commitments into student interactions. In particular, I want to continue to grow in the value of Empowerment, which asks that I “motivate, encourage, and support students”. I continue to improve in this area by ensuring that every student interaction goes beyond simply giving them correct information, but also motivating, encouraging, and supporting them. Balancing challenge and support with the NACADA Core Value of Caring can be difficult to do, especially if one only has 15 minutes with a student. I am still working to become better at striking this balance within short student interactions that also demand significant amounts of information to be transmitted accurately. It can feel frustrating at times when an interaction falls short of these values, especially because they are so important to me. I want to be a better Academic Advisor right away! I am working on self-compassion and fulfilling the NACADA Core Value of Commitment to myself through lifelong learning and professional development.

The one aspect of the ACPA-NASPA competency rubric for Values, Philosophy, and History in which I have reached Advanced mastery is my ability to “to role model personal and professional opportunities of civic engagement”. I am very fortunate to have become involved in an election campaign for a City Counselor in my city of Cambridge, Massachusetts a few years ago. This involvement introduced me to several of my local officials and I connected with them on social media. They have taught me a lot about how the government and politics work in local and state-level; as a result, I now possess a more nuanced understanding of how to get things done to improve my local community. I have explained to others how to read local ballot issues, contact their elected officials as constituents, register to vote, and use Cambridge’s ranked voting system. Once I alerted a City Councilor to a problem with proposed legislation that excluded disabled community members, and he fixed it within 24 hours! Whenever possible, I try to help others engage more deeply as citizens. I hope that as I gain more understanding of the inner working of Higher Education, I can successfully lobby my state legislators to best support Higher Education in my state.

In order to move into Intermediate competency in every area, I will need to be employed in a student affairs position. ACPA-NASPA competency rubric items at the Intermediate level include teaching other staff, integrating my values and emerging professional literature into my practice, and engaging in service to my institution and professional association. All of these things require employment, without which I will not have colleagues or professional practice. As I embark upon my student affairs career, I intend to ensure my professional practice is informed by the lessons of history and a vision of a better future in education.