AARON MCPHERSON

Advising and Supporting

 

Category: Proficient

 

In this competency, I have developed in the following areas:

• “Establish rapport with students, groups, colleagues, and others that acknowledges differences in lived experiences” (p. 36)

• “Recognize the strengths and limitations of one’s own worldview on communication with others (e.g., how terminology could either liberate or constrain others with different gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities, cultural backgrounds, etc.)” (p. 36)

• “Facilitate reflection to make meaning from experiences with students, groups, colleagues, and others” (p. 36)

• “Facilitate individual decision-making and goalsetting” (p. 36)

• “Facilitate problem-solving”  (p. 36)

• “Facilitate or coach group decision-making, goalsetting, and process” (p. 36)

• “Mentor students and staff” (p. 36)

 

Activities: 

 

TWFS One-on-ones. I sought after the experience in the Center for Leadership primarily because I wanted more opportunities to developing Advising and supporting skills through working directly with students. Through my experience advising the Thompson Working Family Scholars I have been available to develop skills around facilitating individual decision-making, goalsetting, and problem-solving. Before I was able to establish these skills I had to establish rapport with each of my students. What I have learned through this experience is that there are some students who are easy to do this with and some that it is hard. I believe that the students who it is harder to establish relationships with need the relationship more, so I have worked harder at building a positive and trusting relationship by being dependable. The students that I work with are from a variety of different backgrounds so I have learned how to change my advising style between students. Some students are looking for a friend while others need more of a mentor or a teacher. Through my advising I have been able to help students work out a difficult roommate situation and develop a plan to improve their grades.

 

FALCON Mentoring. Through my assistantship I have had the opportunity to informally mentor the student workers in my office, known as Front Area Leader and Central Office Interns (FALCONs). This experience has allowed me to make a more personal connection with students at a different level than my other advising experience because I work with the students on a daily basis and get to informally hear about their lives, whether that be about school, family, or other activities. While I am in the office working with the students in the office I can provide advice about personal relationships, their grad school search, or their classes. Even though it is not a formal advising relationship, I feel like I am able to help them more because we have a well established relationship and they trust me. Generally many of them are considering going into student affairs, so we spend a lot of time talking about the graduate school search process. I have been able to offer invaluable experience and tips to these students. Alternatively, I have learned so much from these students about BGSU, the students here, and different worldviews. Like the TWFS scholars, these students come from many backgrounds, and I enjoy hearing their perspective on the institution based on their background.

 

PLA Forum Planning. The PLA Forum Planning team gave me the opportunity to facilitate group dialogue, planning, and decision making. Advising and mentoring this group required wrangling a lot of new ideas the students had and developing a plan of action. As a group, we were able to determine what the needs of Forum were and then came up with ideas that would fit those needs. I was able to coach the students through determining what was best for the current group of students based on background and learning levels.

 

Reference 

ACPA & NASPA (2015).  Professional competency areas for student affairs practitioners.  Washington, DC: Authors.