Over the next five years, my goal is to gain a position that directly impacts student success in college, and if possible, the success of students who are facing academic challenges. Recently, I asked my current practicum supervisor to help me understand the difference between basic and advanced advising practice. She indicated that seasoned student advisors possess a deep and broad knowledge of advising: that is, they not only know how to work with diverse student sub-populations (e.g., honors students, academically at-risk students, or international students), but they can also articulate the intricacies of working with each one. These advisors can think though complicated situations and can discuss various impacts to advising work, both internal to the higher education industry and broader societal influences. My supervisor also indicated that experienced advisors are connectors who are not only integrated into advising office functions, but also have a strong sense of the student and staff community in which they work. They understand the major student constituencies at their institution and their needs, have built a strong rapport those students, and how they integrate into the general campus community.

In short: seasoned advisors understand how to build community on campus. I possessed both innate and learned community-building skills as a young person in high school and college, but I further built and honed them during my Master of Divinity program. I do it both instinctually and intentionally. My strengths of Inclusion, Communication, and Restoration all center on weaving together and repairing human communities. Hearing that this is a genuine need in higher education, and will also make me a stronger professional, affirms that Higher Education is the right field for me. I am a person who gives students that little “extra something” that moves them a little closer to their goals, or helps them to believe that they matter and they belong. While I plan to continue to build my advising knowledge, my primary concern is that I find a position at an institution where I can root myself in the community. My ambition is not toward a job or NACADA title, but to support student flourishing. I intend to find a place where I can impact student success not just through specialized knowledge of student development, advising approaches, or excellent administration skills, but through building a rich network of relationships on campus.