Running head: PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT 1

Personal Philosophy Statement

Selena Gonzalez

Loyola University Chicago

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When looking at the student affairs profession, my perspective on it draws in a lot from

my experience as a student and my current experience of practicing in the field. When thinking

about my philosophy statement as an incoming professional, I think a lot about what benefited

me personally as a student and what is currently benefitting me as a practicing professional. In

my role, I believe it is important to have connections with students, other staff and faculty, as

well as society and current events. I also believe it is important to continue developing as a

professional by connecting with mentors in the field, and possibly being a mentor for someone

else. The bulk of my personal philosophy statement is rooted in the Innovative Models of student

affairs (Schuh, Jones, & Torres, 2017). Specifically lying in that of the student- driven model and

the academic- student affairs collaboration model. This mostly stems from my own experiences

and how these models came to shape my involvement in student affairs.

In my perspective, student affairs should always loop back to being student centered. My

goal is to continuously create connections with students to better understand what they hope to

receive from their education. I want to empower students to hold leadership positions they often

feel too scared to hold. I want to let them know there are people that work at their universities

who are there to specifically support them. I want to eventually shift some of my focus on first-

generation Latinx students. When I was at my undergraduate institution, I was really supported

by numerous professionals in student affairs. The only downfall to this was that many of my

supporters were white- male figures, leaving me to feel very misunderstood in my identity while

attending a PWI. My professional goal is to make SOC feel supported not only by my presence

but by the work that I do at the institution. I want to be able to show them first- hand, that they

matter and that they too can get through college. To successfully do this I can follow Laura

Rendón’s Validation Theory (Irving, 2014). Validating students in their experiences, their
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backgrounds and their identities, can further empower them to successfully complete college.

Not just to complete credits for a degree, but to be involved and learn from mentors and their

peers. I essentially have a responsibility to the students of an institution. The student driven

model, “assumes that students can manage their functions, programming, and activities with

gentle and minimal guidance from student affairs professionals” (Schuh, Jones, & Torres, 2017,

p. 276). While I agree with this method, I also think that some students would essentially need

more assistance. I believe that having students manage the ultimate functions is the goal but

getting there will need some more support with specific students. I want to make sure they are

supported, connected, and engaged with their institution. This can only be possible by fulfilling

the other pieces of my philosophy statement.

In connecting with students, we must also connect with everyone involved in their

experiences while in college. This means connecting with academic affairs and the faculty that

helps educate college students. As stated by Manning, Kinzie, & Schuh (2014) the academic-

student affairs collaboration model, “emphasizes significant interactions between student and

academic staff around the common purpose of enhanced student learning” (Schuh, Jones, &

Torres, 2017, p. 278). This starts by having enough communication with academic staff about the

overall education of students. It is rooted in the goal of assessment according SPPV ’37 and ’49,

which is to; one, create a holistic development of students and two, create an advancement of the

institutional mission. Staff and faculty are put forth to do both, and this can only successfully

happen if there is collaboration. When student affairs professionals know what is happening in

the classroom, it better to supplement that with what they do outside of classes. It is also

important for faculty to know the identity of the student and what makes up their journey, so they

can better support them in the classroom. Part of my professional philosophy will be to carry out
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these relationships, to benefit the student and then carry out the mission of an institution. To

continuously be able to do this, we must continuously develop as professionals.

Another important piece to my personal philosophy statement is the importance of

professional development. My goal is to continuously develop as a professional by encouraging

my institution to help me attend conferences, presentations, or take classes that will ultimately

benefit the institution and the students. When looking at professional development in student

affairs, according to Carpenter and Stimpson (2007), “Professional development, on the other

hand, is universally valued, but perhaps with less understanding or commitment than would be

ideal” (p. 273). That being stated, we must encourage more professionals to seek out continuous

education in their field to better support the incoming generations of students. Along with a

commitment to education, there must be a continuous effort to have a connection with the

growing society. We have new students coming in to colleges every year. Each with different

identities and backgrounds than the group that came before them. As professionals we must be

aware to what is going on outside of our own comfortable bubble. Students face many adversities

that we cannot always understand completely, but we can at least be knowledgeable to them.

Another goal of mine is to stay up to date with current events and make myself knowledgeable

about what is going on outside of my own identities.

Another piece to my personal philosophy statement is this idea of always finding a

mentor wherever you are. While I was at my undergraduate institution, the very people that were

motivating me and empowering me became the people I know look up to in the field. With my

current position in residence life, I have already had students reach out to me for information on

why I chose higher education and how I got to where I am now. Always having someone to look

up to, get advice from, learn from, and bounce idea off of is an awesome way to grow in the field
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of student affairs. Being a mentor for someone also gives you the opportunity to learn from them

and share their stories. I have students that I work with that have already taught me so much

about the field I am about to go into. They have taught me that no student is the same, no journey

is the same, and there isn’t just one right answer for everything. We are all continuously learning

and if we come to accept that, we can work collaboratively in higher education.

Personally, I hope to always have a commitment to helping underserved populations. I

am living proof of a student that did not have all of the understanding and support when it came

to college. Looking back now and even with me currently being in graduate school, there are

some things I would have done differently, had I known the difference. I hope to be able to

connect with students in these populations and help them get the most out of their college

education. I want to empower students to become the best leaders they can be, no matter what

field they go into. As a Latinx professional, I have a responsibility to student growing up just like

I did. I have a responsibility to Latinx women growing up in a world dominated by white males.

I remember not seeing professionals that looked like me in roles at my undergraduate institution.

It was not until attending graduate school that I had a Latinx professor. Seeing that alone, made

me feel like I was not alone. My ultimate responsibility is students, and I hope to do as much as I

can to create a better environment for them on college campuses.

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References

American Council on Education. (1937). The student personnel point of view (American Council

on Education Students, series 1, no. 3)

American Council on Education, Committee on Student Personnel Work. (1949). The student

personnel point of view (Rev ed.: American Council on Education Studies, series 6, no.

13). Washington, DC: Author

Carpenter, S., Stimpson, M. (2007). Professionalism, scholarly practice, and professional

development in student affairs. NASPA Journal. 44 (2), 265-284

Schuh. J. Jones, S., & Torres, V. (Eds.) (2017). Student services: A Handbook for the profession

(6th ed.) San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass