Running head: DIGITAL STORY ANALYSIS 1

Digital Story Analytical Paper

Sara Espinosa

Northern Illinois University

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Analyzing My Digital Story

Understanding how students perceive themselves, make meaning of their surroundings,

and grow and learn requires an understanding of student development theory (Patton, Renn,

Guido, and Quaye, 2016). Student development theory is defined by Patton et al. (2016) as a

collection of theories related to college students that explains how they grow and develop

holistically; with increased complexity, while enrolled in a postsecondary educational

environment (p. 6). The purpose of this paper is to examine a compilation of images, music,

and personal narratives, also known as a digital story, within the framework of student

development theories, specifically transition and ethnic identity development theories, to

understand my personal growth and coming to terms with my cultural identity.

Transition Theory

Schlossbergs theory of transition is founded in adult development literature and

encompasses different areas of transition such as the types, process, and factors of coping with

transition (Patton et al., 2016). According to Goodman, Schlossberg, and Anderson (as cited in

Patton et al., 2016), a transition is any event, or non-event, which results in changed relations,

routines, assumptions, and roles (p. 37). However, transition only occurs if an individual

attaches meaning and recognizes an event as a transitional period in their life; therefore an

important concept attached to the theory of transition is that of self-perception because according

to Goodman et al. (as cited in Patton et al., 2016), transition only exists if defined as such by the

individuals experiencing it (p. 37).

The theory of transition is further defined by the different types of transition that exist, the

context, process, and coping of that transitional period. The three types of transition included in

transition theory are: (a) anticipated transitions, which occur predictably; (b) unanticipated
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transitions, which are not predictable or scheduled; and (c) non-events, transitions that are

expected but do not occur (Patton et al., 2016, p. 37). Additionally, the context of transition is

determined by the relationship and setting of a transition. For example, context can refer to

whether it is a personal transition (such as a move, new job, etc.) or someone elses transition

(such as someone moving away, the start or end of a relationship, the death of a loved one, etc.)

that impacts an individual and in the aspect of a persons life in which that transition occurs

(such as personal life, family, work, etc.) (Patton et al., 2016). Lastly, according to Goodman et

al. (as cited in Patton et al., 2016), the process of transition is composed of phases in which an

individual moves in, through, and out of transition. This process of transition is also

accompanied by a process of coping influenced by four major factors defined by Goodman et al.

(as cited by Patton et al., 2016), as the 4 Ss of transition: situation (examining the situation), self

(how an individual views life and their resources for coping), support (social support such as

relationships, family, friends, institutions/communities), and strategies (modifying, controlling,

and managing the situation).

Examining the Digital Story Through Transition Theory

In my life, I have experienced many periods of transition, some positive and others

negative; however, in my digital story, I specifically highlight several transitional periods that

had a strong impact on my personal development and coming to terms with my cultural identity.

The first major transition I experienced occurred at a very young age when I immigrated to the

United States with my parents. Because self-perception is a key piece of identifying transition

(Patton et al., 2016) and I was very young when this happened, it is only in retrospect that I can

consider this as a period of unanticipated transition that impacted my life in many other ways.

This was an unanticipated event as it is not something that I planned for nor did my parents have
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the intention of moving to the United States long-term, but because it happened, it brought along

unintended consequences. For example, in my digital story I explain how being away from my

home country meant that I was not surrounded by my own language or culture and was only able

to learn about these things from my mother, or in other informal settings until I was old enough

to make a conscious decision to learn these in school or on my own.

Years later, at the age of 15, just after my sophomore year in high school, I experienced

what I consider my first major transition after immigrating to the United States. While not

specifically mentioned in my digital story, my parents divorce and a need to flee a situation of

domestic violence prompted an unanticipated transition, one I did mention in my digital story:

my mother, two sisters, and I moved from Texas to Chicago to begin a new life on our own.

Despite the divorce not being a personal transition as I was not the one experiencing it, it was

still a transition that impacted me because many changes occurred and I experienced multiple

periods of transition simultaneously such as transitioning out of my life in Texas and into my

new life in Chicago while at the same time, leaving friendships behind, building new ones, and

moving from one school to another.

Shortly thereafter, just two years after moving to Chicago, I faced another major defining

moment: my transition to college. Once again I experienced multiple phases of transition as I

moved out of my home for the first time and moved in to college; however, this time it was my

transition and it was anticipated, unlike the move from Texas to Chicago. Because many of my

friends did not go on to college or did not attend the same institution as me, I also had to build

new relationships, leaving behind not just my family and town but also many friendships and

was once again tasked with creating new ones. This was probably one of the most difficult

transitions I faced, perhaps even more difficult than moving from Texas because I was going
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through most of this on my own. Although my family was a constant support, it was up to me to

build new relationships, connections, and establish a new life and home in my collegetown.

Lastly, the final transitional moment depicted in my digital story came four years later, on

my fifth year as an undergraduate student when, prompted by a desire to better understand my

ethnic background and cultural identity, I decided to move to Mexico City to complete a six-

month study abroad program. This time, the transition was also anticipated and seemingly much

larger, though once again multi-faceted. During this time I transitioned not only out of my home

and college but also out of the only country I had known during my entire life, and into the

country where I was born yet knew so little about. I also faced a full cultural transition as I was,

for the first time, in a country where I was no longer a minority. Everyone around me was like

me and spoke like me, and this, on its own, was also a very important transition in my life. It

was the first time that I felt like I fit in and did not feel like an outsider

During these different pivotal moments, the process of transition occurred in overlapping,

nonlinear phases of moving in, through, and out of transition. Additionally, when considering

the 4 Ss of transition, my ability to cope was slightly different each time. When examining the

situation of the transitions I experienced, it can be said that they occurred for different

anticipated or unanticipated events and at different points in time, and my role within these

changed because in some of these transitional periods I was not the one in control of the

situation. For example, when I was younger and had to move, it was my mom determining those

transitional periods whereas when I grew up, I was able to make those decision such as when I

participated in the study abroad program. When applying the concept of the 4 Ss, the greatest

variance came through the support I received as I navigated these transitional periods. In most of

these, my family played the biggest role as they were also involved in this process and were,
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therefore, the closest ones during these moments of change. In addition to my family, however, I

also experienced support from friends, institutions, and communities. For example, when I

moved into college I built new networks and became involved student organizations and the

student cultural centers. Both of these provided me with a space on campus to ease my transition

and played a significant role in my being able to adapt to the university. Similarly, the study

abroad offices on campus and at my host institution abroad provided me with support and

resources that helped ease my transition into my host institution for the duration of my study

abroad program. Similarly, my home institution provided me with resources to ease my

transition back home at the end of my study abroad program. Though I did not speak about the

closing transition of returning home after studying abroad, this was yet another transition I faced,

though this time it did not seem as harsh or stressful, but rather I felt empowered by a sense of

knowing who I was and where I came from after being able to explore and live my culture in my

home country.

Ethnic Identity Development

In addition to transition theory, I also used the theory of ethnic identity founded on

Phinneys Model of Ethnic Identity Development to help frame the narrative of my digital story.

According to Patton et al. (2016), this model has been tested and studied more than any other

related to ethnic identity (p. 135); it is a linear, three-stage model that focuses on the

commonalities of ethnic groups instead of focusing on the differences (Patton et al., 2016).

The three stages outlined in this model are: Stage 1: Unexamined Ethnic Identity, Stage 2:

Ethnic Identity Search/Moratorium, and Stage 3: Ethnic Identity Achievement (Patton et al.,

2016, 135-36).
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Individuals in Stage 1 have neither explored nor committed to an ethnic identity. This

may be the case for those who have not yet been faced with a situation that causes them to see or

understand the importance of ethnicity (Patton et al., 2016). Because of this, they have not

explored their feelings or attitudes regarding ethnicity, and therefore this stage is marked by

disinterest in ethnicity (Patton et al., 2016, p. 135). For example, as I mentioned my digital

story, I grew up in McAllen, a town in southern Texas near the northeastern border with

Mexicos state of Tamaulipas, where I was born. In McAllen, I grew up primarily around other

Mexican and Mexican-American students. However, because I lived on the south side of

McAllen, we were much closer to the border and there were many more Mexican students and

families than you may typically see in other Texas towns. Therefore, I did not necessarily see

myself as different from anyone else nor did I realize any of the implications of my ethnic

identity on a day-to-day basis. It was very common for students to speak Spanish at school,

though not necessarily in the classroom, and most of my teachers were Latina/o and bilingual, so

I always assumed that the norm was for everyone to be Mexican and speak Spanish and anyone

who did not, was the exception to that rule.

In Stage 2, individuals awareness on ethnic identity and ethnic issues increases as they

either gradually recognize that their ethnicity is not the dominant one or are often faced with

significant experiences (such as incidents of racism or discrimination) that prompt them to

explore their ethnic identity (Patton et al., 2016). For those same reasons, this stage is often

accompanied by a sense of anger toward the dominant group and guilt or embarrassment about

individuals own past lack of knowledge of racial and ethnic issues (Patton et al., 2016, p. 136).

Though I never experienced an act of blatant racism, I slowly realized that I was part of the

minority group and not the majority as I had previously thought. Because I was in a part of town
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where I was surrounded by other Mexican students, I had been sheltered by that notion, but I

soon realized that I was the outsider. This became evident to me when I realized that my

language, history, and culture were not the ones emphasized in school, nor was I encouraged by

teachers to explore them. While I learned many things from my culture at home from my mother

or popular culture, when I entered high school, I became very aware and embarrassed about the

fact that I was barely realizing my identity as a Mexican/Hispanic student, and I was especially

embarrassed about the fact that I did not speak Spanish very well, even though I was born in

Mexico. There was a sense of guilt and betrayal that followed me because I began to realize how

little I knew about my ethnic background. I started taking Spanish courses in high school and

explored other aspects of my culture such as the history and music of it, but just as I was starting

to learn more about my background, my mother, sisters, and I moved to Chicago. As I

previously mentioned, this was an unanticipated move that happened as a result of my parents

divorce and a need to flee a situation of domestic violence. This move changed many things in

my perspective because I was now further away from my home country and once again felt

disconnected from my ethnic identity. After the move, my primary focus was becoming

acquainted with my new environment, surroundings, and school, so after the move, there was no

follow-up to that initial exploration of my ethnic identity while I finished up high school.

Once I graduated high school, I enrolled and transitioned into the University of Illinois at

Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Once there, I was once again faced with the feeling of being a

minority and lacked a sense of belonging. It was in college that I first witnessed racism when I

learned about the universitys racist mascot and saw racist messages chalked around campus.

This moved me to re-explore my ethnic identity by finding ways to understand where I came

from and also make myself feel at home. During this time, I joined student organizations on
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campus and became closely affiliated to the cultural houses on campus, especially La Casa

Cultural Latina, which is the Latina/o cultural house on campus. As described in my digital

story, it was then that I met people who looked like me, and spoke like me, and made me feel at

home, and I soon developed a sense of belonging; however, that feeling was exclusive to those

spaces where I was surrounded by peers who shared a similar background or language.

While I became more involved on campus, I still felt like something was missing.

Despite finding a sense of belonging, I did not feel like I quite knew who I was and was still

missing a larger piece of my cultural background. I wanted to be immersed in my culture, so I

decided to study abroad in my home country, Mexico. Since I had never been to Mexico,

primarily due to my former status as an undocumented student, I did not know where to go, so I

chose to study abroad in Mexico City because it is the capital of the country and it is rich in art

and history. While abroad, I participated in many activities like folkloric dancing, visited as

many museums as I could, and interacted with people as often as possible. Though I was finally

in an environment where I was not the outsider, I did feel a bit self-conscious at first because I

felt like I stood out or like people knew I didnt belong there. However, as time went by I

became more comfortable and was able to blend in with everyone else. Many people were

surprised when they found out I was not a local student and that brought me a great sense of

pride because it validated my sense of belonging and it made me feel like I had finally learned

enough about my cultural identity to fit in.

At that point, I feel like I reached the third and final stage. In the third stage, students are

able to resolve their identity conflicts and come to terms with their ethnicity in the sociocultural

and historical context in which they live (Patton et al., 2016, p. 136). Although this moment

happened while I was still abroad, I believe that gave me a greater sense of confidence that I
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brought back with me when I returned to the U.S. Though I knew I was still part of a minority

group here in the U.S., being able to understand that somewhere, in another country, in another

culture and society, I belonged allowed me to accept myself within my surroundings. I gained a

better understanding of what it means to be a Mexican immigrant in this country and how I could

embrace my culture and still belong within a different culture and society.

Application

Taking into consideration my experiences, I believe the theories of transition and ethnic

identity development can be utilized by institutions to better understand students and provide

support services for them. In the case of transitions, institutions can prove to be especially useful

when considering the role institutions can play in serving as support for students through the

concepts of the 4 Ss of transition (Patton et al., 2016). By becoming familiar with the transition

process, institutions can provide students with resources to help them understand the transitions

they are experiencing and assist them in coping by serving as a part of their support system.

Similarly, institutions can incorporate the concepts from ethnic identity development theory in a

manner that would allow them to provide students with a space and a sense of belonging,

whether that is through spaces on campus, student organizations, or even faculty and staff that

can be there to serve as support for those students.

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References

Patton, L.D., Renn, K. A., Guido, F. M., & Quaye, S. J. (2010). Student development in college:

Theory, research, and practice. (3rd Edition, pp. 355-378) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.