In a recent episode of Student Affairs NOW, Christopher S. Travers, assistant professor of higher education and student affairs, joins a national panel of graduate preparation faculty to explore the question: What should every new student affairs graduate student know before beginning their program?
The conversation covers finding your voice, embracing theory and reflection, building professional relationships, navigating uncertainty and creating a sustainable career in student affairs. Travers encourages students to recognize the knowledge and experiences they already bring to graduate school and to resist the pressure to have everything figured out. “Trust that [you] know what it is [you] already know. Much of Western education and schooling experiences that folks have, particularly Black and brown folks, is a particular kind of disciplining and a distancing from who they are and the home epistemologies they bring into the space,” he says. “I’m always just trying to encourage my students that you are knowers. You are holders of knowledge. And while it is important for you to understand some of the core competencies about student affairs, that’s also important not to forget who you are and what it is you already know.”
