Practicum Experience

Hi, My name is Rachel Benway, and today we discussing

my turning points practicum that I did this semester with

the Allens Center.

So my learning goals when I started all of this

in mid January or to better understand the population of

students that I was working with because I have never

worked with students who were quote student leaders and anybody

who had failed a class in any, um, kind of

understanding what failing class means, and I wanted to become

more knowledgeable of Resource is at Ohio University because I

came in knowing absolutely nothing.

At least I thought, and I also wanted to apply

a developmental theory to a student, And I also wanted

to journal about my experiences and my personal feelings after

each meeting.

So my responsibilities throughout this part to come, where to

meet with four students weekly at least or at most

an hour and attend to staff meeting with the rest

of the graduate assistants in the Allen Center and their

supervisors. And so I would go for about half an

hour each week and just talk about turning points and

had a better server students and do really cute and

fun, um, little ice breakers and then communicate with my

supervisor, who is Antony Kludd and I just adore her,

and we've gotten to know each other a little bit

through this experience, and she's been really helpful because I've

done nothing like this before.

And then also my responsibility was to share notes about

the weak and how I felt and how my students

kind of succeeded throughout the week or had some setbacks.

Some activities that I did with my students during our

weekly meetings, which again, at most or an hour, Um,

but they kind of, you know, varied how long they

would last, depending on what the student needed that week.

So we would do study skills and we would work

on motivation.

And I would make sure to encourage my students to

talk to professors.

They were not comfortable doing this at the beginning of

our time together, because that is really not what they've

done in the past and not where they kind of

saw themselves.

And so making sure that they were talking with their

professors or there's ah t A's or maybe even getting

a tutor, and so just making sure that communication is

open. And then we did a lot of journaling exercises.

Three of my four students really thrived and really enjoyed

writing and kind of sitting with their thoughts and making

sure that they could have time to reflect and also

to grow and recognizing that one of my biggest things

this semester was put to them.

Just say, Hey, what do you need to say right

now? And I can or cannot respond And they really

kind of love that because that again made no expectation

for me and for them, and I could kind of

just go with it.

And then also in that if it was a negative

feeling or a positive feeling, reminding them that it's good

and helpful to sit in those feelings and to feel

their success because each of them had different successes along

the way.

And then we also had a lot of emotional conversations,

both good and bad again, a lot of them their

first week.

They were like, just so you know, I have super

stubborn and so that was a little nerve racking for

me. But we moved on and, um, I saw the

stubbornness, but we were able to work through it together

and then also again to remind them to sit in

the good that they were feeling.

And we did interactive videos while we were meeting in

person. Um, the Turning Points website has a lot that

was ableto help lead our meetings and then helping them

understand blackboard and Dar's.

Because again, while I'm treating these students holistically and making

sure they're good on multiple different, um, levels of success,

it's also really important for them to get reinstated to

the university and to make sure that they're on the

right track.

We used blackboard and ours and then to finish off

my lessons that I personally learned throughout this experiences were

to be my students where they are, because again, I've

never been in this situation personally, and so it was

really important for me.

Thio kind of sit with them and move along how

they wanted Thio and to help them how they want,

not how I want, because two of my students are

very similar to me and the other two were not,

and so just making sure that I was helping them

in their best interest was really important for me and

I won't be everyone's favorite now.

Of course, I already knew this, but I never really

thought of it in the idea of students.

And so that was kind of what I was working

through this semester, because the way that I use mentors

or advisers, um, is very different than my students do.

And again, that was part of the reason they don't

like asking for help.

So and I do.

And so working through that together was interesting and then

academic advising is not scary.

I always think that it is because academics are intense,

but it really isn't.

Especially once I had the right information and I could.

I learned from the mistakes that I might have made

and help them.

And then students who feel classes are not bad.

They just had bad times.

Um, the way that I was welcomed into the program

was with really hard truths, and so I was kind

of nervous.

But once I met my students, none of those truths

were true for my students.

And so just making sure that I know to come

into a situation with unopened mind has been really important,

especially in the eyes of students, but even more so

students who might have had ah ah, harder Shell or

someone who has fallen on harder times.

So this is my recap of my practicum this semester.

I really enjoyed it, and I really loved getting to

know my students and getting to dive into academic advising

and big old fan of the Allen Center and all

those who work there, and that's all I got subscribe

to my channel.

Practicum Experience

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