HEAL 223: PRACTITIONER REFLECTION 1

Practitioner Reflection

My experience working in student affairs and in the field of higher education has been a

lot of DEI (diversity, inclusion, and equity) work. Ever since I was a sophomore at Fresno State,

I have worked as a program coordinator at the Cross Cultural and Gender Center. Having this

experience for several years now has led me to learn more about the ethnic, gender, racial, and

social class identities.

To start off, I currently work as the Latino/a Programs and Services student coordinator.

My responsibilities include creating campus wide programming that address issues from a

Latino/a/e perspective and intersectional related issues. Some examples include organizing the

Cesar Chavez Commemoration, Dia De Los Muertos, Hispanic Heritage Month, and La Posada.

However, a particular event that I saw the ethnic development theory being applied to was the

“The Peluda Chronicles: Embracing My Body Hair As A Latina”.

This event was made to be a discussion on the reconstruction and reframing of traditional

beauty standards in the Latino/a/e community. In this discussion, other Latino students stated

their experiences related to acculturation, which refers to “changes in beliefs, values, and

behaviors of ethnic individuals as a result of contact with, and desired or undesired adaptation to,

the dominant culture” (Patton et al., 2016, p. 132). The author speaks about how Latino

individuals conform to their behaviors or beliefs. Similarly, students at our program’s event

shared that they felt the need to conform to the dominant culture’s beauty standards. These

Eurocentric beauty standards include having light skin and/or eyes, having a thin figure, and

being hairless. As a result of these ideals, individuals felt insecure of their physical appearances,

experienced shame due to their body hair, and felt the need to constantly shave or dye their hair.
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Another event that I heard stories about Latino students experiencing the need to conform

was our virtual event titled “Beyond Skin Deep: The Social Construction of Meaning in Chicanx

Tattoos”. At this event, I noticed that there were two stages of the racial and cultural identity

development model present. Our webinar speaker spoke about how he felt a lot of inner turmoil

within himself due to the backlash he received for having tattoos (although these tattoos were

symbolic of his ethnic background). Some examples include stereotyping and discriminatory

treatment. Sue and Sue’s (2003) model stated that the introspection stage involves individuals

trying to “find a balance between the dominant culture and their own cultural heritage and the

role of both in shaping their identity” (p. 95). The speaker mentioned a memory of having to

switch from acting professional at his workplace and completely covering up, to coming home,

and freely being able to wear whatever he wanted.

The last stage of the racial and cultural identity development model is synergistic

articulation and awareness. This stage is when an individual “integrates their knowledge and

experiences into a new identity whereby they accept themselves … and balance their

racial/ethnic identity with other aspects of their identity” (Patton et al., 2016, p. 95). This

development model could be applied in my event as the speaker shared that even after all his

experiences, he accepts himself wholly and does not care what others may think of him. He also

encouraged our attendees to not have assumptions about others no matter what their appearance

is like.

My time at the Cross Cultural and Gender Center has also allowed me to collaborate with

diverse student coordinators from different affinity groups. For example, last year I collaborated

with the gender programs and services coordinator to host “Examining Machismo”. Machismo is

a Spanish term that is rooted in toxic masculinity and strongly enforces gender roles. My
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coworker and I believed that it was important to create this interactive event as the weight of

gender roles can deeply affect the lives of college students.

Patton et al. (2016) state that gender roles continue to play a central role in the lives of

undergraduate students and is supported by abundant evidence on gender-related phenomena

including “academic major, career choices, dating, socialization, and sexual activity” (p. 181) At

our interactive event, Latino students and other students of different ethnic backgrounds

expressed the damage that gender roles played in their day to day lives. A specific testimony that

I remember hearing was a male student saying that they were always told to be strong and never

cry. Another female student shared that the expectations of her gender has caused a decrease in

her self-esteem and confidence.

Moreover, an event where I heard stories about the development of students’ social class

identity was at our event titled “I Am First: Undergraduate First-Generation Student Panel”. This

panel discussion featured four students (two identifying as male and two identifying as female)

who spoke about their experiences as first generation college students. The questions we asked

them ranged from what challenges they have had to overcome in their educational journey as

well as what resources they utilized on campus. An underlying theme from both our panelists

and audience members was the negative effects of their social class.

Patton et al. (2016) state that social class influences “whether or not college is affordable,

and whether college is an option at all … It also affects the transition to college, college

readiness, [and] academic preparedness” (p. 244). Most of our panelists mentioned that they

experienced Imposter Syndrome at the start of their first year at Fresno State as they did not feel

prepared for college-level course content. Some of them shared that they hesitated whether to
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even enroll into college as they knew that it would be a high financial burden for their family.

Overall, it is clear that social class takes a profound toll on the lives of many college students.
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References

Patton, L. D., Renn, K. A., Guido, F. M., Quaye, S. J., & Evans, N. J., (2016). Student

development in college: Theory, research, and Practice (3rd Ed.). Jossey-Bass. [Digital

Copy Available via HML].