Talking Stick - September/October 2017 - 34

REGROUP

The Student-Centered Professional: Self Reflection
Please put an X in the box that most closely relates to your lived experience as a student affairs professional.

Very often

Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do not know/
Does not apply

I participate in at least one activity that is designed for
me to engage with students on a regular basis.
I provide opportunity for student feedback on the
budgetary process.
I use a variety of communication methods to engage
with students.
I maintain consistent awareness of current
student trends and opinions (anecdotally and from
data), rather than my personal student experience.
I can articulate in 30 seconds or less the importance of
being student focused.
I am transparent with students about my goals for them
as an educator.
I invite students to participate in task forces,
committees, or project teams.
I interact in meaningful ways with students who do not
serve in a student staff position within my department.
I place students at the center of my work by prioritizing
my time in a fashion that highlights students' importance.
I speak overtly about the student experience and my
role as an educator when engaging with colleagues.

tive for staff who decide on preventative
maintenance plans, placement of living
and learning communities, and other
considerations.
As responsible professionals, we
value the fiscal stewardship of student
monies. Inviting students to react to
budget proposals that pertain to use of
student dollars can both engage their
voices in how funds are used and hold
staff accountable for understanding
how students engage with, benefit
from, and perceive expenditures. Residential students, whether serving in
formalized student leader roles or not,
can participate in committees, task
forces, and ad hoc teams to infuse the
student perspective while simultaneously engaging in experiential learning
opportunities that can influence their
future endeavors. Might an alumni
34

TALKING STICK

board for your living-learning programs be a way to invite perspective
from students who have an affinity
with a residential community on your
campus? Aaron Lucier, director of
housing operations at East Carolina
University in Greenville, North Carolina, speaks of the value of seeking
a contemporary perspective. "As we
move further away from the generation of the current students we work
with, it is important that you don't use
the lens of your own student experience as much - because to be centered
on the students of today, you need to
function from their experiences and
expectations." Tim Lade, a residence
life coordinator at MacEwan University
in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, notes
the importance of seeing students as
stakeholders. "We shouldn't make a

decision about our residence community without consulting the community. That isn't to say they are the
boss, but they are stakeholders (as are
parents), and being leaderful as a student affairs practitioner means, in my
mind, treating them as partners and
contributors to our community."
Undoubtedly, prioritizing the
student experience can symbolically
help us "pay it forward" from gifts of
our mentors and lived experiences as
students. Housing and residence life
staff, as individuals and as collective
teams, can feel content in their roles
as positive agents of students' learning
and development. This commitment
can and does contribute to being caring and invested in students' success.
On-campus residential communities are our students' homes for a

Talking Stick - September/October 2017

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