My Final Thoughts (Before Next Quarter)

As we come to a conclusion to our Foundations of Student Affairs class, I am contemplating what to write for our final blog.  There is so much information we have covered in our short five weeks together.  When delving into the 300 plus pins on Pinterest, I found myself asking how am I going to condense my blog to only 500-750 words?  I guess one of the ways would be to stop talking about my initial thoughts and begin writing about class and the collective pins gathered.  So without further ado, here is my final blog to our Foundations of Student Affairs class.

When thinking about our nine classes together, there were a few topics that stuck out in my mind.  I feel as if we frequently discussed trans formative learning in higher education as opposed to traditional learning that usually takes place.  I really enjoyed the pin dedicated to the seven different ways people learn.  We have been discussing the way our brains work and learn differently from others.  I feel as if sharing the ways we learn and providing information on steps to completing tasks is essential as Student Affairs professionals.  According to this particular pin the seven different ways to learn are: visual, solitary, social, logical, physical, verbal, and aural.  Part of our profession requires advocating for our students.  I believe we can achieve this by first spreading awareness about learning styles, then implementing them into our programs.  

Another topic that we used weekly and possibly even daily that the majority of our students will be using is social media.  Clearly social media has taken over for better or worse in our society and profession.  I am an advocate of social media, when used to correct way.  We all carry around our smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc. everyday.  These devices carry so much information at our fingertips.  We see many athletes, celebrities, and even the President of the United States with social media accounts.  Social media is an instant way to connect with thousands of people daily.  Our final project is even being conducted using social media.  We can share ideas, pins, pages, tweets and pictures to other professionals and even our students.  I feel as if we should not discourage social media for our students.  We, as Student Affairs professionals, have to be able to adapt to the ever evolving college student.  Whether it be using Google Drive to complete group projects, or connecting with students via LinkedIn, I believe social media is here to stay and we must jump on board the train or we will get left behind.  

There are so many different areas and career paths in Student Affairs, and that is the beauty in the field.  We are all connected but unique as well.  As we come to a close on our first Student Affairs class, I would like to leave saying a couple of phrases.  I would like everyone to remember although it seems like it might be impossible to change the way our students learn, we must be advocate and integrate transformational learning.  Transformational learning has to start somewhere.  Why not us?  Also, remember although we are the professionals never forget we are working for the students.  Listen to student input and possibly implement it into future programs, rallies, and events.  Thanks for a great quarter.  I will see you all in September.