Summary
A long time ago, our prehistoric ancestors looked up to the sky at what seemed to be just random bright points of light. But then, with a closer look, they began to consider that the stars in the sky were not only meaningful, but they even related to important stories of their beliefs and experiences. Constellations are just one example of humanity’s innate need to make sense of life. This portfolio is my constellation; the culmination of my adult development, both as an academic learner and as a professional educator. By reflecting on shining points of learning throughout this four-year journey, I could see connections between my academic learning and practice within the field of education. A meaningful pattern emerged of who I am as a life-long learner, practitioner, and individual, and who I want to be in the future.
My Story
Stumbling upon the opportunity to earn college credit while still in my senior year of high school was the transformational moment that not only sparked my educational career, but also inspired my professional career. How could I follow the dreams I never thought would become my reality, if I did not also help others do the same? To truly achieve this, I knew I needed to bridge the gap between my passion and the mastery of this particular field of study and practice. My hope is that this portfolio shows how what may be seen as a scattered collection of courses, jobs, and involvements is actually a collection of carefully selected artifacts which show my skills and abilities to help students in their own educational pursuits.
The Master’s in Adult Education program provided many elective courses before me, and I took ones that have made me better prepared to educate, counsel, and support students. Artifacts from elective courses in Student Affairs & Higher Education highlight how I was able to understand basic functions, student development, and current issues in relation to how they inform my professional practice in the field. Artifacts from elective courses in Instructional Systems Technology highlight how I was able to understand the history, theory, and current trends in relation to how they inform both my own ability as an online learner and that of online learners I work with.
The flexibility within the program, as you see in Artifact #2 when I was able to choose what training program to witness and evaluate, gave me the freedom to further explore interests I already had as well as realize new ones that aligned with my life goal. Pursuing certificates, pursuing my interests within the program, and remaining open-minded throughout, all connected to help me build a unique toolbox of skills that I can apply personally, academically, and professionally.
Surprises & Affirmations
Even with the flexibility, distance and content wise, I did underestimate how challenging it would be to get myself to the end of this program. I have always been someone to thrive on having a million things to take care of. I think this was just a continuation into my adult life of how my childhood was – having to grow up fast and be responsible for helping support my family members. When I started the program, I was also working in the field full-time and dealing with a rollercoaster of life responsibilities. Honestly, my GPA began to struggle, and I was disappointed in myself. Yet, with my self-determination, combined with the unwavering support of my faculty and administrator mentors, and the inspiration I found among my fellow students, I was able to get strict with prioritizing my goals alongside my obligations. I got back on track and I embrace this struggle because it forced me to draw upon my organizational ability, time management skills, and resolve like never before.
I was not expecting that this program would have such an impact on me internally. Externally I expected to walk away with a degree, examples of my academic disposition, and achieve promotions in my career. Quickly after beginning the program, ideals and ways I approached learning suddenly had a name. Studying the evidence of approaches and perspectives that seemed to come natural to me was excitingly validating! I believed that students would be motivated to learn if it’s presented in a way that connects to the real world of what they need to know and why it’s important to them. One of my shining points of learning was born from the program, as I could now identify as a humanistic educator and could draw upon scholarly resources to grow further in this role. As the years passed by in this program, it became harder to tell if the program was inspiring my career, or my career was inspiring my program. For example, the same semester I wrote The Influence of Technology Paper (Artifact #4), I began my role as an Online Teaching Assistant at IUE. What I do know is that enrolling in this program shaped meaning into my personal, academic, and professional life.
New Stars will Be Born
Stars burn out, others are born new, and some are re-born. My constellation will transform just as the universe does, allowing new connections to be made. There are many ways I hope to continue serving students as a practitioner. With a Master’s, I’ll be eligible for leadership roles within higher education where I can contribute to driving student success initiatives. With a Master’s, I’ll be eligible to instruct student success courses as an adjunct, happily returning to the title of teacher! But maybe most importantly, with the culmination of experiences, surprises, and affirmations, I’ll be a life-long learner. Being able to recognize informal learning and the intrinsic motivators will encourage me to participate in professional development, to embrace constructive criticism, and hopefully serve as a role model to others in the context of teaching and learning. And so, every now and then, I’ll look at my sky of stars and allow their meaning to guide me.
A long time ago, our prehistoric ancestors looked up to the sky at what seemed to be just random bright points of light. But then, with a closer look, they began to consider that the stars in the sky were not only meaningful, but they even related to important stories of their beliefs and experiences. Constellations are just one example of humanity’s innate need to make sense of life. This portfolio is my constellation; the culmination of my adult development, both as an academic learner and as a professional educator. By reflecting on shining points of learning throughout this four-year journey, I could see connections between my academic learning and practice within the field of education. A meaningful pattern emerged of who I am as a life-long learner, practitioner, and individual, and who I want to be in the future.
My Story
Stumbling upon the opportunity to earn college credit while still in my senior year of high school was the transformational moment that not only sparked my educational career, but also inspired my professional career. How could I follow the dreams I never thought would become my reality, if I did not also help others do the same? To truly achieve this, I knew I needed to bridge the gap between my passion and the mastery of this particular field of study and practice. My hope is that this portfolio shows how what may be seen as a scattered collection of courses, jobs, and involvements is actually a collection of carefully selected artifacts which show my skills and abilities to help students in their own educational pursuits.
The Master’s in Adult Education program provided many elective courses before me, and I took ones that have made me better prepared to educate, counsel, and support students. Artifacts from elective courses in Student Affairs & Higher Education highlight how I was able to understand basic functions, student development, and current issues in relation to how they inform my professional practice in the field. Artifacts from elective courses in Instructional Systems Technology highlight how I was able to understand the history, theory, and current trends in relation to how they inform both my own ability as an online learner and that of online learners I work with.
The flexibility within the program, as you see in Artifact #2 when I was able to choose what training program to witness and evaluate, gave me the freedom to further explore interests I already had as well as realize new ones that aligned with my life goal. Pursuing certificates, pursuing my interests within the program, and remaining open-minded throughout, all connected to help me build a unique toolbox of skills that I can apply personally, academically, and professionally.
Surprises & Affirmations
Even with the flexibility, distance and content wise, I did underestimate how challenging it would be to get myself to the end of this program. I have always been someone to thrive on having a million things to take care of. I think this was just a continuation into my adult life of how my childhood was – having to grow up fast and be responsible for helping support my family members. When I started the program, I was also working in the field full-time and dealing with a rollercoaster of life responsibilities. Honestly, my GPA began to struggle, and I was disappointed in myself. Yet, with my self-determination, combined with the unwavering support of my faculty and administrator mentors, and the inspiration I found among my fellow students, I was able to get strict with prioritizing my goals alongside my obligations. I got back on track and I embrace this struggle because it forced me to draw upon my organizational ability, time management skills, and resolve like never before.
I was not expecting that this program would have such an impact on me internally. Externally I expected to walk away with a degree, examples of my academic disposition, and achieve promotions in my career. Quickly after beginning the program, ideals and ways I approached learning suddenly had a name. Studying the evidence of approaches and perspectives that seemed to come natural to me was excitingly validating! I believed that students would be motivated to learn if it’s presented in a way that connects to the real world of what they need to know and why it’s important to them. One of my shining points of learning was born from the program, as I could now identify as a humanistic educator and could draw upon scholarly resources to grow further in this role. As the years passed by in this program, it became harder to tell if the program was inspiring my career, or my career was inspiring my program. For example, the same semester I wrote The Influence of Technology Paper (Artifact #4), I began my role as an Online Teaching Assistant at IUE. What I do know is that enrolling in this program shaped meaning into my personal, academic, and professional life.
New Stars will Be Born
Stars burn out, others are born new, and some are re-born. My constellation will transform just as the universe does, allowing new connections to be made. There are many ways I hope to continue serving students as a practitioner. With a Master’s, I’ll be eligible for leadership roles within higher education where I can contribute to driving student success initiatives. With a Master’s, I’ll be eligible to instruct student success courses as an adjunct, happily returning to the title of teacher! But maybe most importantly, with the culmination of experiences, surprises, and affirmations, I’ll be a life-long learner. Being able to recognize informal learning and the intrinsic motivators will encourage me to participate in professional development, to embrace constructive criticism, and hopefully serve as a role model to others in the context of teaching and learning. And so, every now and then, I’ll look at my sky of stars and allow their meaning to guide me.