KNIGHT NARRATIVE REFLECTION

Narrative Reflection
Two years ago, if you were to tell me that entering a Masters program would result in as
much personal growth as intellectual growth, if not more, I would not have believed you. As I
finish my Masters of Education in Higher Education at Loyola University Chicago this May, I
cannot only tell you what I have learned about working with students, but what I have learned
about myself pertaining to my identities both personally and professionally. My experience at
Loyola has transformed my ways of thinking about Higher Education for the better, including an
even stronger sustained commitment to social justice.
Changing careers from the field of finance to higher education and student affairs was
one of the most challenging decisions of my life. I had touch points with student affairs
professionals at my undergraduate institution, The University of Iowa, but other than my
experiences as a student, I was hesitant as to what I was getting myself into. At our Higher
Education Student Association orientation program, I met students from psychology, sociology,
communications, and many more academic backgrounds and was nervous the learning curve for
coursework would be tremendous for me. I would be lying if I said that fear was inaccurate,
however, faculty and peers within the program, both masters and PhD students, were nothing
but supportive along the way. Through two years of extensive graduate coursework, I know feel
as though I have acquired several tools to help launch my career as a new professional.
One important piece of content that is still continuously developing for me is student
development theory. As an orientation leader at Iowa, we were briefly introduced to theory in
order to prepare us for the variety of students we would encounter and where they may be in
their development as students and adults. I have now taken not one, but two graduate courses on

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student development theory and though I am not an expert by any means, I am thankful to have
the terminology and framework to help guide me when working with both students and
professionals.
The two other pieces of course content that I will take with me into my professional work
are knowledge on how institutions of higher education function and tools needed to properly and
ethically assess and evaluate programs. Both of these concepts tie directly to what I have learned
in my time working as a Graduate Assistant (GA). Throughout my two years as a student, I have
worked and/or volunteered as a GA at Loyola, Northwestern University, the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago, and the Illinois Institute of Technology. The most important thing I have
learned from all of these experiences in conjunction to my coursework is that no two institutions
of higher education are exactly the same. Each institution comes with its own benefits, surprises,
challenges, and political climates. I am thankful to have touched so many different institutions
as it has prepared me for what to look for in an institution while I am job searching. I now
understand that regardless of how much research you have done on a school and how much
experience you have working with similar institutions, there will be elements of surprise and
unknown that you will have to navigate.
My experiences with various institutions across the Chicagoland area also presented me
with opportunities to work with different management styles. Each supervisor I have worked
with had different backgrounds, experiences, and identities than I do and in turn, approached our
work in different ways. Developing relationships both personally and professionally with each
supervisor has helped me to narrow down the supervisory style I work best with. I appreciate
managers who allow me to have autonomy on projects while clearly communicating expectations
beforehand. Additionally, I appreciate openness to questions, as I understand coming from a

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heavy business background creates a learning curve larger than many folks in the field of higher
education. Finally, I look for supervisors who support me in my growth and development by
allowing me time for professional development in the form of outside organizations, internal
workshops and trainings, or the opportunity to collaborate and learn from other functional areas
in order to best support students.
Aside from preferred supervisory styles, I learned more about myself throughout the
M.Ed. program than I could have ever imagined. One of the most pivotal things I have realized
is that I am capable of completing a masters degree program. As a first generation student, I
was presented with so many challenges during my time as an undergraduate student and became
nervous that those challenges would only be exaggerated in graduate school. From graduate
school funding to the level of course work, and even the process and resources and tools needed
to complete a program were all brand new to me and though I had mentors in the field who were
more than helpful, it was hard to not lean on my family for certain kinds of support. To this day,
I am not sure if they completely understand what I have gone through, but what I do know is I
could not have done it without their love and the support system of my fellow cohort members.
Not only can I complete a masters program, the thought of a Ph.D. has crossed my mind a
concept I would have never known or considered before pursuing this challenge.
In addition to my ever-growing efficacy, I have become more in tune with my various
identities and the many privileges I hold along with those identities. I have learned how much
privilege my White, cisgender, able-bodied, and heterosexual identities (to name a few) grant me,
and I am constantly aware of the space I am taking up both in class and in the workplace. The
most important part about holding identities with great privilege is acknowledging that privilege
to leverage it for the greater good. I will continue to be aware of these privileges in working

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with students, staff, and faculty of marginalized identities different than my own, and I will
continue to encourage accessibility and inclusivity for all intersecting identities in any approach
programs, policies, conversations, and actions.
Acknowledging my privileges were a huge first step in realizing the importance of social
justice in my current and future work. Some of the privileges I hold along with my colleagues in
combination with the history of higher education and various institutions all play into the
privileges an institution holds. Not acknowledging the oppressive history of higher education
and the United States is a form of remaining neutral when it comes to social justice, and if there
is one thing I will take away from this program remaining neutral is a form of oppression.
Finally, to create a safer, more welcoming space for students and staff in higher education, we as
staff need to acknowledge the complexity and variety of intersecting identities that folks who
engage in our institutions hold. Intersecting and multiple identities have many layers and
connections, and differ from person to person, and though at times we feel like we are acting
with intent to be inclusive, it is important to continuously reflect because there is always more
work to be done.
I am beyond thankful and fortunate to have had the experience to partake in and finish a
masters program in higher education. I cannot wait to utilize all that I have learned during my
time in the classroom and as a professional at various other institutions in my next endeavor in
the field of higher education. Most importantly, I cannot wait to maintain all of the connections
and relationships that have cultivated and grown over the past two years, and cherish all of the
successes and memories ahead for us all. Congratulations to the M.Ed. class of 2016!