Running Head: JOURNAL ENTRY 1

Journal Entry

Oklahoma State University

Hudson Clare
JOURNAL ENTRY 2

Reflections

To begin with I would like to talk about my professional and personal Identity. When I

reflect on my upbringing there are a number of things that contribute to why I am the way that I

am as a professional. First, I think as a child I had a lot of expectations placed on me by my

family, these expectations consisted of things such as excellence, hard work, success, and

stewardship. How these affected me, is it has pushed me my entire life to make sure that I am

always at the top. When I pair my family expectations with my personality type which is an

ESFP and my enneagram type which is type three, I see so much of why I am the way that I am.

One of my greatest desires in life is to be successful and to do something that is worth value. I

think this is yes because of my upbringing but also because of how I am wired in my thinking. In

addition, culturally I have been surrounded by middle-upper class individuals my entire life who

have shown me what it means to be successful through hard work and excellence. Despite all of

my encounters with successful people, I have also had some experiences that have shaped me in

the way that I want to be perceived as a professional. My senior year of college I interned for

Chick-fil-A and worked alongside some very successful people that allowed their success to

distract them from being good stewards of their time or money. This pursuit of success caused

them to lose sight of the important relationships in their life which is something that I know as a

professional I never want to lose sight of.

Secondly, I think the question of what is a good student? what are worthy programs? And

what are effective management strategies? All of these questions are relative to the person who is

asking the questions. For myself, I look at what a good student is and I measure their success in

relationship to what the student is capable of. Their measure of success is not dictated by their

environment but rather dictated by their will to succeed. Succeeding can look a variety of
JOURNAL ENTRY 3

different ways for a student, it can be in the realm of academic, social, athletic or work related

success to name a few. In regard to what are worthy programs, for me I look at this from maybe

a skewed lens that says that good programs are one of two things, either something that translates

to a career that benefits society or a career that provides an opportunity to be fiscally successful.

Lastly, effective management strategies need to be done by doing things individually because it

allows you to reach each person in the way that is best suited for their needs.

Thirdly, the issue of professionalism in the workplace can be summed up to boundaries.

Some of the challenges that I see with boundaries is that there are some clear black and white

boundaries but more often than not they are grey issues. To establish the appropriate boundaries

as a professional, one must evaluate who they are as an individual and what are going to be the

hardest boundaries to keep in check. If someone does not walk through potential scenarios that

will cause them to fall or flounder they are dooming themselves to make an ethical mistake.

Another issue that may contribute to someone breaking boundaries is allowing their personal life

to mix to much with their professional work.

For myself I don’t know which direction I will be heading in after the completion of my

masters degree. It is quite possible that I could leave higher education all together and work in

the business industry in a field such as sales. Regardless of the area that I land, I believe the three

competencies that are most important for me are leadership, human and organizational resources,

and personal foundations. The reason these are so important is they all work together to create a

relationally driven mindset that leads, organizes and challenges people to grow and succeed. I

want to continue to understand myself and the human behaviors of the people around me so that

I may meet their wants and needs. This requires me to be intentionally tuned into the people I

come into contact with daily.

JOURNAL ENTRY 4

Now that I have given you the areas that are most important I want to give you the areas

that will be most challenging for me to develop. The first one is assessment, evaluation, and

research. I believe that this is useful to figure out what is the best practices in any line of work,

but have a hard time figuring out why I need to validate every level of work that I do. I see the

value in assessment and this line of work, but I would rather be on the front line and building

relationships and doing the practical skills, while having someone else do the critiquing of the

work to decipher whether or not it is effective in relationship to industry standards. For the

challenging areas I believe I can address these through being cognizant of the fact that these are

struggles for me personally and working to find solutions to grow as a professional. It is a matter

of setting my pride aside and realizing there are areas of the job I don’t enjoy but can help me

develop as a professional.

To begin with I would like to talk about the role that supervision plays in the internship

that I am doing. Unfortunately, there has been challenges in the area of supervision within my

internship. I have a supervisor who was not initially assigned to work with me and did not get the

responsibility of overseeing the intern until a week before my arrival. First, I think this put us

behind the eight ball because I had been corresponding with a person who held a drastically

different role and was the head of camps and conferences. Her role was completely devoted to

summer activities and was the one who sold the internship to me in the interview process. My

current supervisor, didn’t know anything about me prior to my arrival, nor did he know anything

about the expectations I had for the interview. This caused there to be a lot of catching up not

only about expectations of what the job was supposed to be, but also working to understand who

I was as a person and employee. The relational building stage of the supervisor and supervisee

role has yet to happen, instead of looking at my mentor as someone I can glean wisdom from, the
JOURNAL ENTRY 5

relationship has developed as someone who just gives me tasks to do and there is no rhyme or

reason for the task being done. I think as a supervisee I have come to understand my supervisor

pretty well, I have done this through observation of him in his work and non-work environment,

plus I listen to how his co-workers talk about him as a peer of theirs. This has allowed me to

understand the expectations he has for me and what guides him to make the decisions he makes

and doesn’t make. I think the relational side of knowing me has not been super developed on his

end with me, I would say I know him tenfold better than he knows me. As the summer internship

is coming to a close, I don’t think the relational side of the supervisor or supervisee relationship

will grow beyond the point that it is currently in, unless I’m super proactive and start telling him

things about me.

I believe in my internship there has been one experience thus far that has radically

affected me. I think about this experience daily, and it causes me to reconsider a lot about myself

and student affairs. As soon as I stepped foot at my internship, I felt like I was going through my

senior year of undergrad all over again. There was a bombarding of questions regarding my

future plans after grad school and what I wanted for myself professionally. To go into further

detail of my experience, I will give a little background. In the Housing field. I’m already a little

different than most because I was a student athlete. When I tell people this, they immediately ask

how I got into Res Life and that always turns into a longwinded answer that basically boils down

to the fact I’m a relational person who wanted to give back. When I got to my internship, I was

having a conversation with someone who is familiar with Oklahoma State and I was telling this

individual that I was weighing my options after graduation and that I thought I may do res life

but that I was leaning toward other professions. We talked a little about my experiences and his

experiences and he told me that I should reconsider what I want for my life because Res Life is a
JOURNAL ENTRY 6

fall back plan for most. The professional staff member stated, “My colleagues and myself have

concluded that people get into Housing and Res Life because their first dream didn’t work out”.

When the professional staff member said this, he did not have any change in his

demeanor or influx of voice. Instead it seemed as if he felt strongly about his conviction and felt

supported by his conversations with others. As soon as I heard this, I deflated and felt disbelief

that someone would make this statement to someone considering the profession. It made me

rethink my future almost immediately. I think for most of my first year of grad school, I

questioned why I was even doing this for two years of my life. To think that this line of work

was perceived by most as a fall back plan was disheartening because I aspire to do something

that is worthwhile and great with my life. I couldn’t help but think of how this conversation

would have affected someone who didn’t have any other things planned out option wise outside

of Res Life. I know I have other options but for some, this is what they are dead set they are to

do with their lives. I also had a hard time because the tone of this staff member was one of

discontentment and zero passion for his line of work which directly hurts the students, his co-

workers who try and the institutional organizations mission.

In such a formative time in students’ lives where they are learning who they are and some

students are developing to be world changers, I think to have someone so apathetic about their

work shows that maybe my supervisor didn’t experience as transformative of a college

experience as some wish to have. I think there is a lot that can be learned from my experience, I

believe that there is value in the line of work that I do but that there aren’t always “wow”

moments like other careers experience daily. I think that its about the environment that you are in

and what you are using the work to for yourself as a professional. For myself I want to use my

Res Life experience to catapult myself into other successful relationally driven career fields. I
JOURNAL ENTRY 7

think to conclude it would be important for me to continually self evaluate my heart in the work

I’m doing because I never want to think I’m doing this just because it’s a fall back plan that’s

easier than chasing something I really want for my life.

To begin with I would like to talk about the various different legal threats at the

University of Tennessee Chattanooga and how these could potentially transform into lawsuits by

both students and the community. The first threat comes from the students and it pertains to the

quality of the spaces in which they reside. In 2017, the university newspaper wrote a story about

how the mold that was in the building affected the allergies of students on campus. To combat

this the university purchased dehumidifiers for rooms that were most affected by humidity that

creates mold. They also do health and safety checks pretty regularly to make sure that the

students are not overlooking something that could jeopardize their health. The reality of this

situation is that they are seeking to be proactive but due to the climate and the build quality of

the buildings mold is almost inevitable. The second legal issue that is of concern for the

department is in regard to conduct hearings. I was speaking to my supervisor who said that there

is always a concern that a conduct meeting could end in legal implications. For example, if there

is a conduct hearing where a student feels that there has been bias involved in making a decision

the university could be sued. To troubleshoot against this the university tries to educate all staff

members of diversity, bias, and inclusion topics. The department of housing said that they wish

they could offer job insurance through ACPA which would be used for malpractice in case of a

lawsuit for conduct cases. Thirdly, if a student says they have a service animal in a residence

hall, the department says they federally cannot say a student cannot have a service animal. To

combat against this the university tries to just be mindful of students feeling and try to be tactful

in how they ask if a student is a support animal. Personally, I think the things that have surprised
JOURNAL ENTRY 8

me the most from these three issues is that people can nitpick over little things that are almost

unavoidable and that the department doesn’t always have the infrastructure to support these

issues. I think what surprises me the most is that if you are personally challenged by a student or

the community for job related issues, the department isn’t necessarily going to protect or go to

bat for you. I think I need to learn more about my rights as a professional and what could

jeopardize my professional and personal life. I think the issues pertaining to higher education

will be pertinent to me over the next year, but I think I will be moving into business professional

work which will change legal ramifications because of business law.

When I asked my supervisor of the biggest ethical issue that he has had to deal with, he

boiled it down to communication. He said that with communication the department heads will

relay information to him that will directly impact students or student staff, but they tell him not

to tell them until they have a formal statement to give. The issue with this is that the department

takes weeks if not months to provide the information to the parties affected and in mist cased it

can affect the job status or living environments of the people. My supervisor said that despite he

being told not to give information, he will choose to give the information if he thinks it is

necessary for a student to know so that they can make accommodations for the future. I think that

though he was instructed to not do something you have to remain true to your values and

convictions and if by withholding information from someone you feel like you are compromising

them you should tell them. In this case, I think he did the right thing by telling staff members that

they were going to get a pay reduction so that students could plan ahead for upcoming financial

adjustments. I think I’m prepared for a similar situation as this because I want to always remain

true to my convictions and I never want to bend the truth to protect my superiors if in the midst

of doing this I hinder someone else. I think there are a ton of ethical issues in the profession that
JOURNAL ENTRY 9

I want to go in which is business. The reason is that business is driven by power and money and

with that comes the desire to act unethical at times to get ahead in an industry or gain the

business of people.

1. For this exercise I would choose option B

2. The reason I would select this option is because I am a relationally driven individual.

Though I enjoy all facets that come with the administrative tasks of the job, the ability to

interact with people in meaningful ways is more in suit with the strengths I have

personally and professionally.

3. The human resource lens is the way that this is framed. It uses the precedent that the

people are the driving forces in the structure and flow of an organization.

4. I think with this option there is a potential that the intricate details of the position can get

lost in the cracks because the focus is specifically on relationship building.

Myths Regional universities have They said that they had to I think from my
less to offer than flagship continually combat the experiences at OSU, I can
universities stigma that students were concur that not being the
attending second tier flagship university causes
institutions. The there to be a environment
university fortunately does of competition and
a good job of improving comparison
the academic programs to
be nationally recognized
Visions & Values Serve residents and They said that they do this They do this in my
students with high levels by not necessarily always opinion in fear of losing
of customer service keeping the business at the students and their need to
forefront of their mind but retain students as a
rather just doing what the regional university with
student wants. 11k students and 3k on
their campus.
Heroes & Heroines Dr. Cotton (Chancellor of There is a lot of positive From everything I have
Student affairs attitude regarding Dr. heard this man seems to
Cotton. He has come into be great and a visionary
the university and has for the school. The issue is
sought to make changes that the person above him
and improve the student is content with the status
affairs division. By doing quo and doesn’t want to
this, he has hired top deviate from “what has
talent and let go people always worked”
who are only hired
 JOURNAL ENTRY 10

because of their longevity

with the university.
Stories & Fairy Tales It was interesting to hear There a lot of highs and One of the consistent
all of the stories of how lows expressed by the themes is that I believe
the professionals got to professional staff, it seems people don’t love the
UTC from their home that they all can find some department but have a
institutions elements of positive and strong desire to continue
negative with UTC living in Chattanooga and
UTC provides a urban
style of living in a
beautifully scenic region.
Ceremonies The ceremonies that seem The department said there I think that this is
to be the biggest here are are no real ceremonies at consistent with most
graduation and the university outside of universities, the big
homecoming graduation ceremonies revolve
around the exodus of
students.
Rituals The rituals that are most The university was I believe the university is
important to students are initially founded as a in a hard place because
not pertinent to the private Christian there is not a lot of school
university but more so university but was pride and the city is more
rights of passage of living eventually absorbed by of the draw for students. It
in Chattanooga the university of is hard to engage students
Tennessee system, so with university sponsored
there are not a lot of events when they live in
rituals. the downtown of a great
city.
Humor, metaphor, & Play The progression of the The mascot has gone from It appears that the
university mascot the moccasin shoe to a marketing department
mocking bird and the needs a little help.
students like to make fun
of the history of the
mascot.

I think by doing this exercise I realized there are not a lot of high points involving the university

of Tennessee at Chattanooga. It makes me appreciative of a university with a lot of heritage and

traditions like OSU. I think what is needed at UTC is to have someone come in with a vision and

challenge the university to grow in ways that enthuses the student population.

 I will strive to make self care important

 Being healthy physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually will allow me to be

the best professional I can be.

 I will strive to be present in all moments

 I believe as soon as you disengage with a person or a group you lose influence
 JOURNAL ENTRY 11

 I will continue to network and ask questions

 By continuing the process of meeting people who are both successful and wise, it gives

me the opportunity to grow to be like them

 I will make sure to use time to self-reflect

 To be able to assess both my strengths and weaknesses and recognize and tell them to

others will allow myself to be successful individually and help the collective group be

more successful.