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Statement of Professional Practice: Holistic and Developmental Advising and Mentoring

Hannah K. Fisher

Department of Counseling and Higher Education, Northern Illinois University

HESA 586: Internship in Higher Education & Student Affairs

Danae Miesbauer

2 August 2022
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My goal as a student affairs educator is to aid in the development of students to be

critical, self-aware, self-confident, and compassionate community members. This involves
advising techniques that are holistic, developmental, collaborative, validating, and student-
centered. To best support student development, I first must understand my own positionality.
Student affairs staff have daily interactions with people of varying beliefs and values
based on their identities and experiences. I must understand how my experiences and identities
influence my own beliefs, values, and biases to understand those of others. While this process
and its outcomes change through time, consistent reflexivity allows me to better communicate
and serve students. For instance, my White, middle-class family supported me financially and
emotionally through college. Many students I currently advise have strained family relationships
and pay for tuition on their own through loans and part-time work. Rather than assume their
concerns and struggles based on my own background, I offer space for them to share their
experiences, concerns, goals, and known resources. My role as an advisor is to supplement their
knowledge with further resources and mentors that could benefit them based on their stories.
Acknowledging our differing backgrounds and situating myself as the learner and collaborator at
the beginning of these conversations gives students agency over their stories and future, and me
an opportunity to reflect and learn.
As I understand my own background, I also want to help students develop their self-
awareness as complex people. Students are not just students. They have intersecting identities
and roles, and subsequent dynamic situations that complicate their lives. As an advisor and
mentor, I must view and interact with students as whole individuals. I can guide students in
exploring their identities, roles, and responsibilities and advise them on managing these aspects.
Through doing so, we can be more proactive in providing resources and help them develop into
independent, self-confident adults.
Advising and mentoring is not always a one-on-one process with students. There are
other collaborators like faculty, staff, and familial support systems with different strengths that
can also aid students. To advise holistically, the students and I should take advantage of these
strengths. This can be difficult in institutions with siloed resources. Networking across campus
and in the community has strengthened my relationships with people that can help my students.
Partnerships with faculty, disability resources, counseling, athletics, and more create proactive
communication about concerns and help students feel supported as a whole person.
The most important collaborator, though, is the student. Through developmental advising
and mentoring, I hope students feel more confident in themselves and the decisions they make. I
hope they feel validated in their experiences, supported in their struggles, and encouraged to
advocate for themselves. While it is difficult to measure the success of these ideals, I equate
successful student affairs education with the feelings of belonging and warmth that my students
leave with. A professor of mine mentioned that in student affairs we plant seeds, maybe provide
some sustenance, but we often do not get to witness the flower in bloom. Fortunately, I have seen
sprouts bare as students make small steps forward by practicing self-advocacy, being confident
in their decisions, or learning from mistakes. Those are moments when I feel successful.