Johnathon Shaw

PEF Reflection

As student affairs professionals our goal is to support students. While that is a very noble

goal, professional and ethical foundations guide us as to how we best can help the students, our

peers, and ourselves. As we enter this field and grow from our experiences we should continue

to own our actions and make conscientious decisions based upon critical feedback from peers

and our own internal reflection. In areas we feel that we are deficient, we owe it to ourselves to

take steps to improve in those areas.

The Personal and Ethical Foundations, or PEF, competency is one that I would consider

the bedrock of all other competency. To me, PEF means that my life and work as a student

affairs practitioner will be guided by my moral and ethical beliefs, and in order for me to better

reflect on this foundation I need to examine my own ethics and morals.

My parents have dedicated their lives to serving others. My mother is a nurse and my

father was a paramedic. When I was young and starting to think about what I wanted to do when

I grew up, I asked my parents why they chose those jobs. The answer was simple: my parents

just wanted to help people. Mom and Dad wanted to help make the community they lived- and

would raise a family in- a better place. I find that very admirable and that had a huge impact on

me. I want to make my community a better place. That led me to study secondary education in

undergrad, because I also value education. I also believe in teamwork, honesty, and commitment.

These are all things my parents taught me and were reinforced in my life from various coaches,

teachers, and mentors.

 So how can I apply these beliefs to student affairs?

As a teacher, my goal was to provide students with an education. But that was only a part

of my role. I had to provide a safe, welcoming environment and a place where my students had

all of their basic needs met, because only then can learning occur. As a student affairs

professional, that is also my goal. I may not be teaching students in the classroom, but I have to

strive to provide for my students. Student affairs and academic personnel are a part of a team

whose only goal is to provide students with an education,

In order to be an effective member of that team, I need to also be a life-long learner. I

will need to constantly review my own practices, informal theories, and my own attitude. I will

need to consistently check my own biases and put myself in the shoes of my students. I know

that my students will have had different experiences than I had, but that does not make them any

less valuable. These experiences will shape the needs of the student, and in order for my to

provide a safe learning environment and to help that student succeed in college, I will need to be

open-minded and adaptive with my approach to working with students.