Introduction Student affairs professionals typically have a calling to help students navigate the often-daunting path to college. As a profession, we are typically type “A” personalities who are proactive with responses and can sometimes offer advice before knowing all the information. Helping Skills in Student Affairs Work, has helped me identify the areas that I excel in, but most importantly identify the areas that I need to work on as I continue to grow as a professional. It is also important to remember that words have meaning and the more we are intentional with our language the greater our helping skills will be.
Skills I am Regularly Using One of the skills I find myself using the most in Encouragers. I am finding that I do not want
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I always thought you just had to pay attention to someone to communicate, but I am now learning that I have to retain, reframe and ask questions to constantly learn about the person. The major way my perception has changed though is that I have learned it is not always easy to be a helper. I have a lot of self-biases and problems that I have to work on controlling and keeping in check. This came to light after I got the feedback from my last interview and I was using rendered judgments during an interview. I have to make sure I keep my assumptions and biases in check as much as possible when being a …show more content…
One must be able to retain a ton of information, reframe that information into coherent summaries and be able to interpret what a person is saying. They also must stay engaged with non-verbals so the person knows that we are there to listen and help. Being a helper is checking your feelings and biases at the door and focusing on what that person is going through and realizing that we all see the world differently. As helpers we should not be afraid to say we don’t know and realize that we need to refer back to the literature to help us grow as professionals in this
Upon arriving to college, many students face the challenge of finding a community to belong to. I believe the student affairs professionals on campus are the resource to building communities within the student body. Reflecting back on my first semester of college, I found my community within two organizations; Dance Marathon and UI Alumni Association Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow (S.T.A.T.). Within the organizations I met two advisers who opened my eyes to the world of student affairs.
...l in an urban area. When working closely with students in the past, it was difficult knowing that I could provide extensive support but didn’t have the expertise. I 've explored different careers involving help children and their families but it always led back to social work. As a graduate student, I expect to be challenged as a student and a professional. I expect to learn all the different theories, practices and policies in place to properly help students. I look forward to the combination of coursework and practicums to enhance my skills. In retrospect, practicums can be the most challenging areas. To overcome this challenge, I’ve observed the school social worker at my current position and have developed a better understanding of the daily responsibilities. I am confident that I will succeed and to be able to help and advocate for students through social work.
Some of my key strength’s in dealing with others include my ability to teach others, deescalate situations by recognizing and acknowledging the perspectives of others, and my willingness to be of assistance.
Without external support outside the counseling session many underrepresented groups are not being assisted in a variety of ways. The NACADA declaration of core values states “Advisors are sensitive to the values of the surrounding community of making higher education more accessible through educational opportunities and resources”. Brilliant students who do not receive academic or financial assistance through supporting services (e.g. Learning Centers, EOP&S, and Puente Program) will focus on factors not
It works to blend ethnics into all areas of student affairs practice, € history, philosophy, and values. It refers to the connection between arguments of the profession and future growth. (f) Human and organizational resources. It refers to the organization and empowerment of student affairs staff. Furthermore, staff development was recognized in the 1960’s keim (2005). There is a need for continual professional development in that student affairs staff prefers discussions rather than reading activities. Mid-level student affairs managers offers varied perspectives on professional development activities include (a) presenting do it yourself programs (b) engage in professional association conferences, (c) taking a graduate courses (d) integration of other staffing practices. (dPersonnel management perceived as the most important (c) leadership (second most important) and student contacts (keim, 2005). I will evaluate more essential development goals. Fiscal management needs additional attention. Staff development is important and valued, but must be used and planned well. Professionals must also take advantage of adult learning theories, models, or processes. Staff perceptions
This occupation requires an extensive amount of thinking and the ability to figure out problems. It is important to be able to focus, listen and process information. They have to be able to give positive feedback and come to a decision on how to treat each patien...
During the past three years of college, my interest in counseling has been affirmed through a variety of experiences. One important experience that influenced my decision to pursue a career as a school counselor was my involvement in my community service sorority, Chi Delta Alpha. Through Chi Delta Alpha, I volunteered on several occasions, among them I babysat children to provide parents with a night off; I was responsible for a group of elementary students as they experienced college classes and I painted a caboose for a local playground. A theme that has remained constant throughout all my different experiences is that making a difference in a person’s life is a rewarding experience, and I know that I desire a career that enables me to support high school students as they face difficult situations.
There are many attributes to being an effective helper. An effective helper, in essence, should be genuinely caring, have a calm manner, have a sense of humor, be a clear thinker, be highly dependable, honest, use common sense, be objective and not subjective, be self-confident, be self-aware, have a positive attitude toward life, have respect for others, exhume warmth, show flexibility and openness (Mental Health of Refugees, 1996). These are the basic characteristics of an effective helper. Above all, an effective helper must completely respect the persons they are trying to help, no matter what their values and beliefs are (Burger, 2011). You must recognize the differences between you and the person you are helping, and you must respect these differences (Mental Health of Refugees, 1996). An effective helper should not be the judge of another person’s life, but think of it as being invited to or asked to help a person. The helper should empathize with the person they are helping and not assume that they know how a person feels. The helper should understand that each person is u...
It is very important to listen and pay attention because as a Counselor you do not want to miss out on any important information that can help determine the root of the problem. I also find that being a good listener is one of my strengths as well as being compassionate, open-minded, and sympathetic. I overcame many personal hardships in my life, and because of those hardships I am a stronger person, with a positive outlook on life that can help make a difference in someone. One of my personal characteristics that I feel that I need to improve on is that I become too emotionally involved because I care about those I will work with. I want to be able to do my job without my emotions getting in the way. The best way to do that is to learn strategies and techniques to help me improve. I am willing to learn and work hard to make sure I become a qualified professional for this
High impact practices are important to the development and engagement of students (Kilgo et al, 2014). Two high impact practices that have a positive impact on students are collaborative learning and undergraduate research (Kilgo et al, 2014). I think the high impact practices will give student affairs professional different methods and opportunities to help develop and support students through their college career. Student affairs professionals are going to have to learn how to participate to high impact practices and find ways to motivate students to do them (Schuh et al, 2011). By doing this I believe that student affairs professionals and faculty can bridge the gap to help success of
As a first time college student I have come to realize that its takes hard work and dedication to be successful academically. In order to be successful there are many factors that will lead to a victorious academic career. These skills will help me become successful with my academic goals and a clear outline to the path of my education. It is extremely important to have a plan before the process beings. To achieve these goals there must be a system in place for time management and studying. While attending A College, this student survival guide will help me get the most out of my college experience. As a student through distance learning, the student survival guide will consist of six separate subjects: using A’s educational resources, upholding academic honesty, setting and achieving goals, managing time wisely, fostering reading comprehension and retention and applying personality and learning styles. These following topics will explain how to become successful in certain areas of A Collage and how to train myself to learn effectively and to my best ability.
Listening and understanding what others communicate to us is the communication process needed for interpersonal effectiveness. If you listen well, you will understand the meaning of the message. If you are unfocused, you will not know most of what the other person is saying. However, there is a range of listening skills that can be learned to develop the communication effectiveness. Firstly, encouraging listening points to the listener that is willing to do more than listen. Usually it provides feedback that supports speakers to say more. Fur...
Being a successful student and achieving continued academic success is fundamental in order to complete an associate degree and become a successful professional. College is challenging, but it can be a rewarding growth experience and easier when setting up goals. Having educational and career goals helps students keep the focus and motivation. Besides, having knowledge of different learning styles can help students learn about themselves and increase efficiency while studying. Writing skills learned in college are also a powerful tool for both academic and career success. The campus is a great place to find tools to succeed and achieve continued academic success. It is also important to keep academic honesty as a good habit and as a value of integrity throughout college and later on in the professional environment.
To be effective listeners, the listening process should be incorporated into our lives. We should be attentive to what people say, clarify what the speaker is trying to come across, and respond in a way the speaker can understand what we are saying. I think I was aware that I needed some improvement in certain areas of this process but I feel as everything is slowly changing. In the future, I’m going try not to interrupt people, get distracted, tune out, and try to get a bigger picture of what the person is telling me. If good listening habits are applied in our day-to-day life, we can easily communicate with anyone and everyone.
Helping consists of four parts, those being; (1) an individual seeking help, (2) an individual that is willing to help those seeking help, (3) the helping individual is competent and skilled enough to train, and (4) an environment that is conducive for help to be given and received.