Personal Philosophy Statement - Nicolas Babarskis

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Personal Philosophy Statement

Nicolas Babarskis

Florida State University

EDH 530 ? Capstone in Higher Education

Dr. Kathy Guthrie

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Personal Philosophy Statement Like many educational endeavors, student affairs, at its best, is a field that is powered by "true believers." Few careers draw a clear link between personal passions, natural talents, and individual values as clearly as Student Affairs. Education, as a vocation, requires this harmony of passions, talents, and values because its goals and objectives can be paradoxically broad and specific. Education is geared towards the needs of the individual and society. Its outcomes are both qualitative and quantitatively measured. This ambiguity necessitates that each practitioner have an internally consistent narrative for the "how" and "why" of Student Affairs work. My personal and foundational values are directly related to my commitment to embodying an institutional "ethic of care" towards students. While most administrators and personnel at institutions of higher education would highlight a care and concern for students as part of why they do their work, student affairs professionals uniquely embody an institutional posturing towards students that communicates and operationalizes a deep care for students' well being.

Contextualization of the work of student affairs professionals is important. There are historical, cultural, and political factors that influence our ability to achieve our operational goals. Student Affairs professionals should work to expand their understanding and familiarity with these external factors. Administrators that work at public institutions should be following local and national current events. A good example of the significance of this need is the current public scrutiny on

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institutional Title IX policy and institutional responses to sexual assault and victim's rights.

Every professional should be able to tell a compelling story. Understanding our history and legacy is an important part of building that compelling narrative. Placing student affairs work within the larger context of the development of American higher education can provide a bulwark against critics who believe our administrative services are no long required or cost too much. As an example, I highlight the deeply important work of student affairs administrators during the tumultuous years of the civil rights movement in the late 1960s. On campuses all across the United States student affairs professionals were on the ground building relationships with students and engaging in dialogue as the campus communities around them roiled with discontent and frustration. The individual relationships administrators built with students and the negotiations they engaged not only educated students, but also brokered peace and civility on many college campuses.

As a Student Affairs professional, I hew closely to pragmatism and postmodernism as my guiding philosophies. I embrace both because of my commitment to the primacy of experience in the educational process. As Robert Young (2003) wrote "Pragmatic education is individually constructed. The learner's experience is the center of the educational process, but experience by itself is not necessarily educational..." (p. 93).

Student's educational experiences should be contextualized to their backgrounds and suppositions about the world. It is impossible to separate what a student will extrapolate from any individual experience without acknowledging how her past experiences, cultural identity, and

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social background influence her interpretations of events. As Young (2003) stated "...postmodernists center experience in the human context, but they contend that individuality is deeply related to social power..." (p. 94).

Individual reflection and a commitment to critically examining my personal foundations will remain an important aspect of my career. Reflection makes me a better educator by giving me a deeper well from which to offer perspective. Guiding a student through the process of evaluating an experience so that it creates a lasting impact requires that I understand my biases as formed through my own context.

In my first ten years in the profession I will work towards advanced skill in Ethical Professional Practice, History, Philosophy and Values, and Law, Policy and Governance. I prefer to think about the "big picture" and by advancing knowledge liberally in each of the competencies I hope to play into this strength.

A doctoral program of some sort is on my future horizon and I hope to initiate my continued education at some point within the next 7 years.

As an undergraduate I had the privilege to serve as student body president. This role gave me the opportunity to interact and advise the college's board of trustees. I remember clearly that near the end of my tenure I witnessed the transition process for our outgoing college president of over 12 years. Watching that behind--closed--doors ceremony gave me a deep respect for the depth of knowledge, competence and commitment that the board and senior leadership of the college embodied. I made a vow in that moment that I would like to gain a deep enough knowledge in my chosen career, esteem among my colleagues through service and support, and a respected balance in personal and professional endeavors that I

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could serve as a member of those trustees. As I embark on the beginning of what I hope to be a long career I believe my graduate experience at Florida State University has set me up well to achieve this dream.

References Young, Robert B. (2003) Philosophies and Values Guiding The Student Affairs

Profession. In Komives, Susan R. & Woodward, Dudley B. Jr. and Associates (Eds.), Student Services: A Handbook for the Profession (4th ed.) San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass.

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