After reflecting on my strengths and areas of growth, action is the next step.  It is important to keep up with information in areas that I see as strengths so they can continue to be areas of strength.  It is equally important to continue to learn and expand my knowledge and skills in the areas of growth I identified so that I may become a better professional.  Over the next three years I want to develop in the realms of best practices of community based work, student leadership, faculty involvement, student learning, and Title IX. 

            To sustain my knowledge of best practices for community-based work I plan on maintaining ties both to Break Away and my state affiliate of Campus Compact.  Break Away is the national organization that supports alternative break trips.  As the organization that trains student leaders in community engagement, they have professional development opportunities for the professionals who advise these trips and the student organizers.  For example, an installment in their national conference call series is themed around putting theory into practice on trips: “Principle to Practice.”  Campus Compact also offers conferences throughout the year, across the country with various foci on the facets of community engagement.  My passion for alternative breaks was ignited by my attendance at a Break Away conference hosted by Ohio Campus Compact.  I made several meaningful connections both to Break Away and to other alternative break advisors at various Ohio schools similar to Oberlin College.  Ohio Campus Compact also offers regional conferences and networking.  These resources will be helpful in the exchange of best practices and collective problem-solving.

            I also plan on becoming an active member of the Commission for Student Involvement (CSI) in ACPA.  Not only is service learning programs supported by this commission, but also other student leadership opportunities such as campus activities and Greek life.  One of the accomplishments by CSI is a collaboration with the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.  The two groups combined efforts to accomplish comprehensive research into service learning.  Involvement in such an organization would provide growth opportunities for both community-based engagement and student leadership through scholarship, presentation opportunities, and networking opportunities.  Should I return to Residence Life there are also ample professional development opportunities through the Association of College and University Housing Officers – Internationl (ACUHO-I), or the National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH).  I have attended both regional affiliate conferences for those organizations and found them very enlightening.  Particular themes to the conference sessions would include living learning community administration, best practices in conduct, and student staff training models.  NACURH has an advisor training program, and the networking opportunities are productive for problem solving.  I completed the first stage of advisor resources through NACURH, and I would like to complete the second stage and contribute by leading first-stage advisor resource sessions.

            Faculty involvement in community-based learning (CBL) courses is an area in which I can develop to be a more successful professional within the field of service learning programs.  At Oberlin it has been identified as an area of growth for the institution and the Bonner Center for Service and Learning (BCSL).  CBL course development is not recognized as 'service' as faculty apply for tenure, so it is often overlooked as a pedagogy.  The book Social Responsibility and Sustainability uses several CBL courses from a variety of institutions and issue areas to provide examples of ways that faculty can be more involved in CBL courses.  Most of those models have a faculty component in the planning and preparation for service trips.  As such, some of the featured programs encompass an entire semester worth of classes while working at a site, and others are local community-based projects.  This tome will be a valuable resource for professional development.  Involvement in CSI should also produce fruitful methods for faculty involvement in service learning endeavors through networking with other professionals and learning about different models.

            Integration of student learning theories and models with student affairs practice is an area of growth.  I am familiar with student development theories, but not specifically theories of teaching and student learning.  Action steps include finding the equivalent of a Center for Teaching Excellence to see if they offer workshops on teaching theory and practices.  Informational interviews with faculty, especially should I work for an institution with an education department, would prove very useful for expanding my knowledge base of learning theories.  I would also utilize professional contacts within the realm of service learning programs to develop a teaching theory that is successful for CBLs and workshops about reflection and community-engaged practices.

            Finally, Title IX is an area in which I would like to learn more about.  I have been to two trainings within the BCSL, one for BCSL staff and the other for Community Service Work Study Program (CSWSP) community partners.  Based on what I learned from those trainings the community partners with whom we work are also subject to Title IX, as well as high schools where tutors do their service.  I would like to continue to attend more Title IX trainings so I can have a fuller understanding of fully compliant procedures and policies for community partners.  I have seen advertisements through ACPA for a conference discussing Title IX, which would be helpful to attend.  The Oberlin College Title IX Coordinator, Meredith Raimondo, indicated that there are concerns that have yet to be clarified in terms of community partners and high schools (M. Raimondo, personal communication, January 26, 2016).  If attending one of the larger conferences is not possible then information sessions with the college’s Title IX coordinator and communicating with service-learning professionals at other institutions would be helpful in determining best practices and steps forward regarding Title IX implications in the community.