Abstract
As student affair practitioners, we often place significant emphasis on student development theory to inform our practice. However, there are times in which student leadership and involvement does not align with the theoretical models many practitioners learned in the classroom. Despite students sharing a similar talent, experience, passion, and leadership potential, those with flashy resumes and interview skills often are more successful in securing positions. As a result, students who may not have had the support to develop their resumes or interview skills, yet who are still more than capable, are left at a distinct disadvantage. This case study explores the complexity of such situation as student affair practitioners navigate creating equitable access to leadership and involvement opportunities on their campus.
Keywords: Student Activities, Student Organizations, Student Leadership, Student Involvement, and Sense of Belonging
Primary Characters
Logan (he, him, his) – Logan is an entry level practitioner currently serving as a full-time Assistant Director in Student Activities. He recently graduated from his Higher Education and Student Affairs master’s program and has only been in this role for two years.
Alice (she, her, hers) – Alice is a heavily involved junior who holds leadership roles in a variety of offices and student organizations on campus. She is well known and respected among faculty and staff at the university for her charisma and ability to easily engage with others.
Bethany (she, her, hers) – Bethany, a first-generation college student, is an extremely motived and passionate junior. However, she feels as if she continues to miss the mark when applying for leadership roles in a variety of offices and student organizations on campus. In the past three years, Bethany has grown to resent Alice for her success in securing opportunities. Bethany does not understand what she is doing wrong and her sense of belonging on campus is beginning to be compromised.
Context
Bishop-Lake University (BLU) is a small private university outside of a mid-sized city in the Midwest. Attracting diverse students from across the country, BLU is extremely competitive with an acceptance rate of about 12%. Many students enjoy the university’s proximity to the nearby city, which has become one of the country’s up-and-coming places to live for young professionals.
While most students choose to start building their skills and connections early through a variety of internship and co-op experiences built into the university’s curriculum, some students seek more ‘traditional’ opportunities of on-campus leadership and involvement through offices and student organizations. These positions tend to be led by a select group of students who are heavily involved throughout the university. A common saying on campus about these students is “Once on track, never look back.” This comes from the idea students get involved their first semester on campus and move into leadership roles as soon as possible.
The staff members in the department of Student Activities have worked hard to help diversify student leadership and involvement to create more equitable access to such opportunities on their campus. However, they have faced significant obstacles engaging the greater student body as many students are uninterested in campus positions as their focus is on the internship and co-op experiences offered in partnership with the city.
Case
Quickly nearing the end of their third year at Bishop-Lake University, Alice and Bethany are sitting outside on the lawn with some of their friends reminiscing about how far they have come since entering college a few years ago. The friends are reflecting on what they are looking forward to in their upcoming senior year, when James, one of the group members, asks Alice if she has heard back from a leadership position on-campus which he knew she was interested in. Unknown by the friend group at the time, both Alice and Bethany happened to have interviewed for such role. With her curiosity intensified by James’ question, Alice goes to check her email on her phone only to find out she has been offered the position.
Congratulating their friend on her success, the group fails to realize Bethany, frazzled by the news, is franticly checking her own email only to confirm she did not get offered the position. As she reads the words ‘Thank you for interest in our office’s student leadership position. This year we had many great applicants, and we regret to inform you…” her eyes sink as she struggles not to cry in front of the group.
Bethany has been actively seeking various on-campus student involvement and leadership positions since her arrival three years ago and yet always seems to miss the mark from being offered such roles. Though Bethany has joined student organizations, she has not been able to land a leadership role. Bethany, like many of her friends (including Alice), are not interested in the internship and co-op opportunities BLU prides themselves on. Since they are seeking to attend graduate school, they are not as focused on field experiences as others at BLU who hope to find direct employment opportunities through their experiences in the nearby city.
Over her time at Bishop-Lake, Bethany has come to resent her friend Alice because she always seems to get offered every student leadership and involvement opportunity she wants. Both Bethany and Alice are highly motivated, engaged, and passionate students. In fact, the two share extremely similar experiences from their time prior to Bishop-Lake and have similar leadership styles and strengths.
Unlike Alice, Bethany is much more reserved when it comes to networking and self-promotion. Given what she feels is constant rejection, Bethany has begun doubting herself and questioning her own skills. She is struggling to feel the sense of belonging at Bishop-Lake she once had and is growing increasingly concerned about her development as she feels her resume is lacking compared to her peers.
Unsure of her next steps, Bethany has scheduled a meeting with Logan in the Department of Student Activities. Bethany has met with Logan many times and he always gives her sound advice. During the meeting, Logan acknowledges her struggles and encourages her to keep working for the opportunities she wants; Bethany feels seen and heard but walked away unsure about her next steps of action.
After their conversation, Logan felt a deep sense of empathy for Bethany who has always come to their meetings engaged and open to any advice he provides. However, this meeting seemed different to him. He felt apprehensive after their discussion and was puzzled how to move forward.
Unknown to Bethany, Alice met with Logan in her first semester on campus and explained how important being successful in college was to her. Alice comes from a low socio-economic background and was only able to attend Bishop-Lake because she received a presidential scholarship from BLU. Alice actively seeks out leadership opportunities while masking the feelings of imposter syndrome by projecting an elevated level of confidence.
On the other hand, Logan sees Bethany struggling with rejection and failure. He wants to help both students find on-campus leadership and involvement opportunities, but fears that Bethany is not learning from the adversity college has brought and sees her losing connection to the university.
Although both students are equally willing, passionate, and share similar strengths, Logan has been able to directly see how the two students’ paths differ as Alice continues to secure opportunities, whereas Bethany has been unsuccessful in her attempts. While Bethany attributes Alice’s success to her strong networking and professional interview skills, she is much less aware of the experiences Alice has had motivating involvement and leadership journey. Regardless, Bethany feels isolated and defeated.
Discussion Questions
- What developmental theory might Logan use in devising a plan to support Bethany?
- What systemic issues might be affecting student leadership and involvement at the university?
- As a department, how might Student Activities combat the current access to leadership and involvement opportunities on campus?
- How do student affairs practitioners create a greater sense of belonging for the students at their university when connection opportunities may be limited?
- How can Logan focus on the developmental needs of both Alice and Bethany?
Author’s Biography
Jacob Maddox (he, him, his) – Jacob is a second-year graduate student in the Clemson University Master of Counselor Education, Student Affairs program. He proudly serves as the Graduate Assistant for Bridge to Clemson Academic Advising and Success Initiatives. Prior to attending Clemson, Jacob graduated from Baylor University in the Spring 2023 and is passionate about large-scale event planning and helping students find their sense of belonging on-campus.