PROFESSIONAL STATEMENT OF STUDENT AFFAIRS (100) (A professional statement on why I chose Higher Education)

GOAL: The goal of this assignment is for students to develop a professional statement of student affairs to serve as the foundation of one’s own future practices and dispositions in the student affairs profession. This will be a foundational document, which students will continue to build upon in preparation for their future job search. Many employers who recruit for student affairs positions will require candidates to provide a professional statement or be able to explain orally their career interest and commitment to the profession. Students will draw on how their learning in this course will shape their future practices and dispositions as a student affairs professional/practitioner. 

Content: A professional  statement should address the following:

• Why are you interested in a career in student affairs? What first sparked your interest in this field?
• What functional area or areas of student affairs (e.g., residence life, student activities, admissions, etc.) are you interested in working in and why?
• What do you believe is rewarding about a career in student affairs?
• How do you believe you will make a contribution to student affairs and help the students you will work with in the future?
• How has your learning in this course prepared you for a career in student affairs?  For instance, you might discuss how your knowledge of specific material covered in this class will be useful to your work with students or your perspective on understanding the ‘whole’ student will inform your work.
• Any other information that you believe would be appropriate to include in your professional statement.

Format Guidelines: Using a Microsoft Word document, students will prepare a Professional Statement that is double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins, and is formatted using APA, 6th Ed. Style.

• The paper should have an APA title page.
• The paper should also have an APA reference page containing sources used in the philosophy statement such as the textbook, supplemental readings, etc.
•  Students should use APA style in-text citations when paraphrasing or quoting information from the article. Direct quotes will need to be placed in quotation marks.

Graduate students in the SA 503  should write a 4-5 full typed page statement. The page requirements do not include the title page and a reference page.

Writing Style: This assignment should be grammatically correct and well-organized.

• Because this assignment is ‘your’ professional statement, you will need to write it using first-person pronouns.

NOTE: Do NOT use any information from the Internet in completing this assignment!