Loyola University Chicago master’s program has been wonderful and rewarding. There

have been times throughout this experience when I was challenged, frustrated, and felt

unsupported. Overall all it has been an awarded experience. I never would have thought or

dreamed of being part of such a diverse community that truly values the whole person. I have

been developed holistically and been able to fall in the process.

Most important content I learned from the program

The two courses that I learned the most in were Women in Higher Education and Social

Justice in Higher Education. These two courses provided me the opportunity to understand

myself. Looking and reflecting on my past experiences I was confused and sheltered to the point

where I was lost. Lost in my thoughts and my identities, which is something that I did not

consider much in undergrad. Dr. Bridget Kelly is a woman that I admired because I am unsure

where and how I would have managed without her. Through this course I was able to be

empowered, hear my voice, and live fully. I was taught how to reflect and own my identity and

the comments in which I share in class. My confidence and self-efficacy was raised through the

intentional conversations that happened in these courses. To see w woman that looked like me

and role modeled the way for contributed to my experience as well.

Most important thing that I have learned about yourself and how have you changed since

you entered the program

Sometimes we take for granted the many opportunities we are given to really reflect on

life and what it has to offer. The most important thing that I have learned is my salient identities.

I have never been in space where I was so aware of my identity. Being at a predominantly white

institution and someone who identify as a women and a person of color is tough when you are

faced with challenges at your institution. As a result of my identity, I have been put in

uncomfortable situations where my race and identity was targeted and where I felt

uncomfortable. I was constantly reminded daily about the opportunity to engage in diverse

dialogues is limited in the classroom because of the limited diversity within the classroom. I

have witnessed issues relating to retention and support for students of color. I think I learned

how much power the dominant voice has. For example, witnessing the white straight male

identity start, carry-out and end the class dialogue is a testament of the constant struggles people

of color face in the classroom. Through this experience I have learned and been empowered to

name the reality and to speak up. I leave this program with clear advice and wisdom of how I

overcome these challenges and ways in which I can be an ally for a population or an oppressed

group.

Most important things you have learned from graduate assistants, internships(s), and/or

professional jobs you have had.

Internship-

I truly enjoyed my internship experience in California State University (San Marcos) in

the Department of Housing. I learned that I have some strength in areas I thought I was weak in.

I learned that I have a strength that I did not recognize, or understand how to utilize. I learned

the difference between supervising and advising. I had been somewhat fearful in my advising

relationships with students in the past because I did not know what outcomes I was expected to

produce in working with the students. I thought I was a poor advisor because I did not really

understand the role advisors play in contexts outside of student organization advising. The

experience I had with advising at my internship has taught me how much of an impact you can

have in advising. Through this experience advising a student group worked wonderfully because

I made sure to understand what role I was expected to play and was able to communicate

effectively with the student group about what they should expect from me. Working with

students as an advisor turned out to be one of the things I enjoyed most during my internship.

Being able to provide advice on the work their doing helped me to establish myself as someone

the students can come to when they want to discuss things other than their work on campus or in

the community

Assistantship

To have a graduate assistantship is a privilege and I recognize that. I am beyond grateful

for that opportunity and grateful. I am humble and aware of the barriers that this position has

created within my cohort. As a graduate assistant in the Department of Residence Life I have

had a remarkable experience. No day is the same in the department and I can share about many

things that I learned but one that stands out to me is supervision and patience. I thought I had a

lot of patience until I received a new supervisor my second year. A current supervisor is great

but when they are new to the institution and not open to understanding the culture of the

institution or department it could be tough. I learned early on that patience was important when

discussing various things. Supervision was tough because of the inconsistency I was

experiencing and not understanding what expectations I was being held to. Although I was

frustrated at times because of it, I learned to provide constructive feedback and let some things

go. I leaned when to pick my battles and the beauty of being a graduate student.

Most important things you learned about social justice and how it will inform your future

work in education

The most important things that I learned about social justice is that regardless of the

identities people hold everyone in society can have an equitable shot to success and happiness.

Another is life isn’t about rainbows and butterflies. Dr. Bridget Kelly made that clear to me and

it was an awakening moment for me. I think we as people have to break down the walls we put

up because they create barriers that prevent us from being vulnerable with one another. This

definitely informs my work in education because students need to be taught vulnerability.

According to Brene Brown,” vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and

courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness”. I totally agree with this quote

and this has been something I see guiding my work as a professional.