Brittanie Blunt Higher Education Practicum Reflection

My practicum environment is within the Dean of Students Unit at Georgia Southern University which is centrally located in the student union. My mentor for my practicum experience is Dean Kerry Greenstein, the Associate Dean of Students, however I have been able to work more closely with our Dean of Students, Mrs. Patrice Buckner-Jackson, as well as other employees within the Dean of Students office, Student Media and the Multicultural Student Center. The clients served include students who are in need of alcohol and drug resources as a result of violations of the student conduct code, as well as the students in the LEAD 1000 (SelfLeadership) class that I co-teach with Dean Greenstein. I tried to orient myself to the Dean of Student office by offering to expand the duties that Id originally set as things that Id like to accomplish during my semester long practicum. I tried to inquire about new things that employees within the unit may need assistance with and as a result I was able to make it clear to all that I was here to go above and beyond what was required of me. As a result, it helped the work relationships built with the employees grow on an even greater level. So far, I would rank my practicum experience as a 5 because of the new and rich experiences I have had the pleasure of being a part of. The research that I have come in to contact with while writing papers for various classes during the last year and a half of the Higher Education Administration has helped me in my practicum in that I have been able to refer back to the theory that I have learned/encountered and subsequently put that theory into action.

The biggest eye opener during my time in my practicum has been the numerous duties that the Dean of Students office is responsible for and how much I hadnt considered all of the tasks that must be carried out by the office. Working in the Office of Student Conduct, I was somewhat familiar with a few of the tasks that are carried out by the Dean of Students office, however working closely with Dean Greenstein has opened my eyes as to just how much our unit covers. The Dean of Students office is truly the epitome of student affairs because of the various ways that it is available to students and the various ways that it can/will assist students when needed. Working within the Office of Student Conduct, I was somewhat aware of this already, however it always surprises me just how much everyone gets along. Its also amazing how much the Dean of Students unit is able to laugh at work, considering all of the heavy issues that we deal with on a daily basis. I was surprised to see that every employee goes well beyond the call of duty and well beyond their job descriptions. Everyone within the Dean of Students office is willing to pitch in on any crisis, event, or daily quotidian task that may need assistance. Everyone in the office is surprisingly very willing to learn the duties of others positions so that in the event of any situation there will be someone who knows how to handle the situation. I was also pleasantly surprised to see how much the Dean of Students Office is dedicated to workshops and the professional development and advancement of its employees. My mentor and I have the same philosophy regarding our professional careers and the carryout out of the practicum duties in that we are both dedicated to research, professional development and the idea of being dependable. We are both the kind of people who appreciate being given important tasks to carry out because we appreciate the notion that there is trust with such an important task. The part of our philosophies that differ is the relational aspect of working relationships. I am completely dedicated to the idea that building relationships with people at

work is at the top of my list of things that will produce productivity of all persons involved. I enjoy building friendly relationships with co-workers and in turn feel that I, and my co-workers, are happier and work harder at our jobs. Dean Greenstein also enjoys quality time with coworkers, however it is not as much of a priority for him. The only areas where I feel I still lack experience even after my practicum are in the area of assessment, programming and supervision. I am working on trying to find time to seek knowledge regarding assessment that is necessary in higher education. I am also trying to work on gaining supervisory roles in my graduate assistantship because I have yet to have that supervisory experience. Lastly, in the Dean of Students office there arent very many opportunities for Graduate Assistants to orchestrate programs, so that is another thing that I wish I had more content knowledge or skills in. In order to be a well-rounded student affairs professional, I do think that I will need these skills and I am hoping that the experience that I have gained during my practicum, as well as during my graduate assistantship, will lead me to opportunities that will include the learning of these skills.