Moral, Ethical, and Spiritual Compass
Graduates should possess a well-defined personal moral, ethical, and spiritual compass that
provides grounding and direction. This "compass" should include:
a) personal moral, ethical, and spiritual commitments that are reflected through honesty,
truth-telling, and servant-oriented approach to leadership;
b) an ability to articulate a Christian worldview that reflects the values, ethics, and
principal teachings of the Christian faith;
c) an understanding of and commitment to the codes of ethics guiding
the various student affairs professional organizations.
provides grounding and direction. This "compass" should include:
a) personal moral, ethical, and spiritual commitments that are reflected through honesty,
truth-telling, and servant-oriented approach to leadership;
b) an ability to articulate a Christian worldview that reflects the values, ethics, and
principal teachings of the Christian faith;
c) an understanding of and commitment to the codes of ethics guiding
the various student affairs professional organizations.
Core Values/Ethics Paper
"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." This quote by E.E Cummings was a part of the paper I wrote in the Legal and Ethical Issues in College Student Affairs course. I wrote this paper communicating my core ethical values, which have developed the person I am today. This paper articulated my personal moral, ethical and spiritual compass, which derive from my family, faith, culture and lived experiences. My values play a huge role influencing how I work with students. My desire to counsel and teach community college students is a direct result of pursuing a career that exercises my values. Because of my love for individuality, I am a firm believer in encouraging students to pursue education in what they desire, and not conform to societal or familial pressures. Providing my students with as much information to empower them to make educational decisions based on their desires and unique qualities is very important to me as a professional. I value education and it is my duty to educate my students on their options and create pathways for them to achieve their goals.
"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." This quote by E.E Cummings was a part of the paper I wrote in the Legal and Ethical Issues in College Student Affairs course. I wrote this paper communicating my core ethical values, which have developed the person I am today. This paper articulated my personal moral, ethical and spiritual compass, which derive from my family, faith, culture and lived experiences. My values play a huge role influencing how I work with students. My desire to counsel and teach community college students is a direct result of pursuing a career that exercises my values. Because of my love for individuality, I am a firm believer in encouraging students to pursue education in what they desire, and not conform to societal or familial pressures. Providing my students with as much information to empower them to make educational decisions based on their desires and unique qualities is very important to me as a professional. I value education and it is my duty to educate my students on their options and create pathways for them to achieve their goals.
Understanding the Marginalized Atheist/Agnostic Student Workshop
In The Role of Diversity in Student Affairs Practice course, I designed a Diversity Development Workshop. The workshop was geared in helping my cohort develop attitudes, beliefs, values and self-awareness necessary to serve students who are culturally different from themselves. I chose to work with a group focusing on the marginalization of atheist students. Atheist students, like atheists in the broader society, are often stigmatized as immoral, evil, or god-hating. Because of this stigmatization, it is common for atheists to hide that aspect of their identity, rendering them invisible. Educators contribute to that invisibility when they fail to include nonbelieving perspectives in religious and spiritual development work with students, thus marginalizing atheist students further. Sadly, religious campus can be a lonely place for someone who doesn't subscribe to faith (Winston, 2011). This workshop was advantageous in building a broader perspective for my cohort, and me especially since we are a dominantly Christian based group of graduate students.
Winston, K. (2011). Atheists organize at religious colleges. Christian Century, 128(24), 14-15.
In The Role of Diversity in Student Affairs Practice course, I designed a Diversity Development Workshop. The workshop was geared in helping my cohort develop attitudes, beliefs, values and self-awareness necessary to serve students who are culturally different from themselves. I chose to work with a group focusing on the marginalization of atheist students. Atheist students, like atheists in the broader society, are often stigmatized as immoral, evil, or god-hating. Because of this stigmatization, it is common for atheists to hide that aspect of their identity, rendering them invisible. Educators contribute to that invisibility when they fail to include nonbelieving perspectives in religious and spiritual development work with students, thus marginalizing atheist students further. Sadly, religious campus can be a lonely place for someone who doesn't subscribe to faith (Winston, 2011). This workshop was advantageous in building a broader perspective for my cohort, and me especially since we are a dominantly Christian based group of graduate students.
Winston, K. (2011). Atheists organize at religious colleges. Christian Century, 128(24), 14-15.
Let Your Life Speak, Parker J. Palmer
In the Introduction to College Student Affairs course I was assigned to read “Let Your Life Speak.” In reading Parker Palmers book I was encouraged by the rawness of the authors search in finding himself. The reading is an authentic look into the author’s life of seeking out his true calling. Throughout the book, I self-reflected on the woman I am and am becoming in what I value, what I stand for, what I truly believe in and how it all intertwines into my vocation and calling. Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening to and accepting “true self” with limits and potentials (Palmer, 2000, pg. 4). Palmer’s philosophy in discovering ones path in life has greatly influenced how I treat and guide the students I advise, mentor and teach.
Palmer, Parker. (2000). Let Your Life Speak. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
In the Introduction to College Student Affairs course I was assigned to read “Let Your Life Speak.” In reading Parker Palmers book I was encouraged by the rawness of the authors search in finding himself. The reading is an authentic look into the author’s life of seeking out his true calling. Throughout the book, I self-reflected on the woman I am and am becoming in what I value, what I stand for, what I truly believe in and how it all intertwines into my vocation and calling. Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening to and accepting “true self” with limits and potentials (Palmer, 2000, pg. 4). Palmer’s philosophy in discovering ones path in life has greatly influenced how I treat and guide the students I advise, mentor and teach.
Palmer, Parker. (2000). Let Your Life Speak. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey Bass.