NASPA Regional Conference

Virtual Professional Development Conference

The National Association of Student Personnel Administration (NASPA) hosts this event every year. The aim of the conference is to connect Student Affairs professionals and share with them the latest research and concepts for the field. This year, the conference was held virtually due to CoVid-19.

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Term: Fall 2020

Learning Domains:

• Leadership

• Personal and Professional Development

• Social Justice and Advocacy

• Education

Learning Outcomes:

SWiBAT identify modern social justice issues that affect the education of all students in society.

SWiBAT gain a better understanding of the Student Affairs Profession and requirements need to be successful in it.

SWiBAT explain the importance of attending Conferences as a professional in Student Affairs.

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Reflection

This was the first time I ever attended any type of conference. Because it was a virtual event, I do believe that I did not gain as much from it as I hoped. However, I did get to experience many of the features that I would have in an in-person event. The workshops I attended involved break-out rooms where we, the attendees, collaborated to create or find solutions to a prompt. During these break-out rooms, I was able to speak and learn from Student Affairs Professionals in various and from various schools. I have to admit that I was timid and somewhat intimidated at first. I thought that my ideas as a student would not be accepted by the professionals. However, after working in different break-out rooms, I learned that the professionals attending the event think in much the same way that I do. Many of their ideas reflected the concepts that we learned in class.

Additionally, some of the prompts were as challenging to them as they were to me. This gave me insight into the various ways that Student Affairs Professionals act when posed with a complex student issue. The professional would analyze the problem in much the same way that we do in class. These activities also provided me with ideas as to why attending conferences are essential. The Student Affairs Professionals in attendance were asked to use and improve their skills to solve our students' issues. Therefore, by attending conferences, we can all continue to learn and develop the skills necessary and gain the knowledge needed to improve the Educational Field.

During the workshop, titled "Designing Counterspaces for Students Through Co-curricular and Extracurricularr Opportunities," I learned about the various challenges that underrepresented students face at Arizona State University. The students, most of which were Latinx, described microaggressions, and discrimination that affected their learning. Furthermore, students are often not included in committees and meetings that affect the entire student body. The workshop discussed ways to facilitate different types of counter-spaces for various students and more ways to involve students in the decision-making process in Universities.

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Evidence