Narrative Reflection

          Brené Brown’s book Braving the Wilderness reminded me that we when we are entering new environments the unknown can make us feel isolated and alone. It also opened my mind to the idea that many people are ‘braving the wilderness’ just living their true identities-that while I might experience an environment as inclusive someone else might experience that same environment as exclusive. I was aware of this, but I do not think I fully understood the impact of what it means for those who must constantly be “brave.’ This impacted the way that I thought about how student’s experience learning environments and how I would like to help improve them.

          Reflecting on why I chose this master’s program I realized at first it was because of its focus on international higher education combined with its short-term study abroad requirements. After attending the last two years of courses the things I realized that I most appreciated were the multiculturalism, diversity, equity, access, and social justice discussions that surrounded much of our learning. In ELPS 550 our discussion about the purpose of study abroad programs have made me think about my time in Vietnam. I have been wondering whether the experience provided unique learning opportunities and if it was life changing outside of the typical tourist/cultural experiences. I feel that I did gain an understanding of the Vietnamese education system, the differences of public, private, and community colleges, the students who have access, and how the federal government was very heavily involved in the policy and practices of higher education. Physically touring the institutions did provide a sense of surveillance that watching videos having virtual meetings would not convey, but is this transformational? Maybe. We had some tourist/cultural experiences, but no service-learning or experiential learning experiences. It does make me question whether I had a ‘transformational’ experience or if I could have experienced what I did from the USA. 

          When I reflect on my personal growth, I think it did transform some of my thinking about how to improve access and opportunity for students not only in countries like Vietnam, but at home in my own community. Seeing the struggles that others are facing in other countries made me more aware of how those same struggles are present in my own community. I know many students struggled to access the internet and devices and found online learning environments disengaging and boring during the pandemic. I am hoping my continued education can help me identify ways to improve access, opportunity, and the online learning environment for students in my community. I also think my time in Vietnam challenged and transformed me personally because I witnessed some of my classmates struggle with our housing and their problems started to invade our learning experiences. I learned that as a leader of a study-abroad program you will be faced with challenges and before they affect the learning experience of the group they should be addressed. I also learned that making jokes about the situation can backfire, so you must be careful about how you joke about people’s feelings and situations. This experience made me realize one day I could be hosting students abroad and I will learn many new things from the host perspective. I think because this program studies the study-abroad experience, I shifted to a mindset that allowed me to consider how I want to experience study abroad both as a student and as a host.  I tend to be direct so hope that I can avoid some of the issues we experienced by being upfront but understand sometimes university protocol may keep me from being as direct as I would like to be.  Another area I will focus on is the pre-departure preparation I provide to students based on our conversations in ELPS 550 and in an attempt to better set student expectations with their study-abroad realities. 

          Reflecting on my time at Loyola University Chicago I feel grateful to have gained the knowledge and experience I have from the IHMED program. It was challenging at times and pushed me to limits personally and professionally in ways that I had not previously expected. This created some personal anxiety and turmoil until I was able to reconcile my new and old belief systems. Personally, some of my previous belief systems were challenged, such as how to confront and solve issues. I often want to solve the problem or issue we are facing, not that I always think I have the solution, but I want to help solve the issue. This is not necessarily problem if others look and think like me. If they do not look and think like me, then I need to stop trying to be the savior and listen to what others think about the problem. For example, ask questions about how they perform certain practices, how they define certain terms or what they think are barriers to solving the problem. This takes the focus less of listening to find a solution, and more on learning about the problem from another perspective. Through this program learned how to become a better listener professionally and I hope that this allows me to support my domestic, international, and study-abroad students in the future. In past classes I would rush and want to be the first to respond, but I challenged myself to let others speak up before sending out messages or responding to questions from professors. By the end of the course, I was becoming better at responding to my classmates’ thoughts and experiences instead of only responding to topics or ideas I had prepared prior to class. 

          I was surprised at how much I felt what I was learning could be applied to my personal experiences. For example, Schlossberg’s transition theory (the four S’s: situation, self, support, strategies) very much applied to my domestic and study abroad learning. For example, dealing with jet leg is a common issue for study abroad students. For me personally, it meant that until I had transitioned to a new sleep pattern my ability to focus on class would be diminished. Therefore, I evaluated the situationand decided to set rules about not staying out late, having bedtime before 11pm and trying to establish a good night-time routine. I evaluated (my)selfand previous jetlag experiences and understood that I manage my jetlag best by establishing this type of routine. I communicated with my roommate about my sleeping habits so that I could understand her sleeping habits and gain her support. I developed strategies prior to departure, such as bringing a sleep mask, headphones, and a cooling pillow to assist in my dealing with jetlag. The content and theories, things I learned about myself, my internship experience and a renewed sense of how social justice can inform my practice were critical to gain in order to pursue my next professional goal: to obtain an Ed.D.  

          I believe that my communication skills improved during this program from writing formally to informally to presenting information and sharing my thoughts. I improved my discussions skills in blog posts, and in zoom class by being able to incorporate strategies, theories, and models into discussions of social justice, equity, application, practice, etc. I improved research search skills, not only through class activities but by attending sessions that Loyola offered through the library and meeting one-on-one with the librarian to review techniques. I improved my editing skills by working with the writing center. I feel the use of these services was critical to improving my writing skills and plan to tell students how these types of services improved my experiences and grades. In practice I would like to display servant leadership to my students and find ways to encourage students to attend sessions that will improve their research, study, writing skills. I attended most of my sessions online, and one in person. Finding the balance of offering these types of training online/in-person post COVID-19 is going to be important. 

          My internship experience was affected by COVID-19. I was able to work with a few professors in the graduate school of Health Sciences at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut to create a short-term study abroad program in Brisbane, Australia. Communication was mainly though brief email and Zoom meetings which did not allow for deep conversations about the process and our program at the time. However, I must acknowledge that because of technology, I was able to obtain experience writing a short-term study abroad program for a university far away from my home. I gained valuable knowledge and insight having been a part of the application process and continued discussions regarding modifying the program for possible approval of this program with a Fall 2022 start date. Without COVID-19 I might not have had this type of opportunity. It’s exciting to consider the ways that I can continue to modify the program to make it more experiential and provide students with a unique learning experience that will inform their future practice and increase their global mindset while at the same time increase their local awareness of health issues. I like the combination of experiential learning with short-term study abroad experiences because I think they can provide an impactful experience within a short-time frame. For example, if I can expand my Sacred Heart program to include a learning experience with the Royal Flying Doctors, in Australia this could provide Sacred Heart medical/healthcare graduate students with insight into providing healthcare to rural or remote areas that they can apply to their work in their local communities in the future. 

          When I started this master’s program, I thought more in terms of comparisons and rankings of international institutions, but now understand the importance of so many other factors that impact and contribute to the quality of the education that students receive from an institution. For example, comparisons and rankings are based in a Western model of education and this means that the value they place on criteria for rankings will be skewed toward Western ideals such as capitalism, individualism, English speaking, etc. I found Keeling’s (2006) Learning Reconsidered to be extremely helpful in framing how to think about assessment and maintain a student-learning centered focus that is less reliant on rankings and comparisons. This program has forced me to think about the definitions of things like ‘quality’ and what they mean to various stakeholders like me, students, faculty, staff, board members, the community, the region, the government, etc. I am looking forward to applying the knowledge I gained in this program to my future in higher education. 

References

Keeling, R. P. (Ed.) (2006). Learning reconsidered 2: Implementing a campus-wide focus on 

         the student experience. Washington, DC: American College Personnel Association,  

         Association of College and University Housing Officers- International, Association of 

         College Unions-International, National Academic Advising Association, National 

         Association for Campus Activities, National Association of Student Personnel   

         Administrators, and National Intramural- Recreational Sports Association.