The first thing I have learned is that I want to work directly with students for a majority of my day. This is more of a reminder actually, something that I have previously taken for granted. In my assistantship I am always working face to face with students or communicating with them through email. Everything I do, I can see the direct impact that it has for the students with whom I am interacting. This summer, a great deal of my work was in an office, working only with my supervisor and sets of data and evaluation. I was luckily able to do some work with students, but it was only administering evaluations. While I know that this work will have an impact on the education of future students, it is harder for me to see. I was not making a difference in the academic careers of the students to whom I administered the evaluations. Part of my own philosophy of education is that any student can succeed, given their desire, the right amount of support, and the right type of support. In assessment I am looking at a group of thousands of students, did this program work for the majority of them? But that is not my main concern; my main concern is for an individual student- when a program or support does not work for them. Every student is different, they come to higher education with different interests, abilities, and paths that got them there. So this principle, of supporting each student as an individual, has been reinforced as part of my professional credo and career goals.
This summer, I have also narrowed my career goals in terms of what I want my focus to be. Generally my interests are around providing support to students to promote academic success. I used to think that my ideal position would incorporate multiple aspects of academic success. That was because I have seen in past experiences how multiple aspects of support working together can enrich the learning environment and systems of success for students. I also thought it would provide a more diverse and enriched work experience for me. While I would still consider a position in a multi-faceted office, I had great experiences learning about disability services this summer. I attended the AHEAD (Association on Higher Education and Disabilities) conference during the second week of July. I got to meet a lot of amazing professionals and hear about their experiences. What I have learned from that, and my introduction to the Office of Disability Services at Penn State (which will be my fall internship), is that DS (disability services) will allow me to see all types of students; undergraduate to graduate, from all majors, from all ability levels, and help them achieve their academic success.
It was really only last week, in a discussion with my internship supervisor, Talia that I really decided that my career goal was shifting to focus more on disability/accessibility services. I have realized that as a new professional, it may be a better work environment to focus on one area. I may only be looking at it this way because of the intricacies involved with DS. Now that I think about it, I must also mention that DS is not just one thing; it is consulting with students, communicating with outside resources, working with and supporting assistive technology, and even institutional design in terms of physical resources. I am very glad that I had all the amazing opportunities that I did this summer. Otherwise I do not believe I would feel so sure in my current career goal to work in disability services in higher education.