I feel like I can’t emphasize enough that one of my greatest goals was to just attend college. Now that I am less than 60 days away from graduating with my Masters degree, I have started to form new goals. In the future I want to be able to do things like teach an online course at my institution, start an initiative on campus for a great student need, and continue to advise and empower students with neurodiverse needs. There are several goals I need to work on to get there…

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In order to teach an online course at my institution, I want to truly research the best online learning class format practices. At our college we have an Educational Exploration course that is a 1 credit graduation requirement that students take their first semester of college. It is a big goal of mine to not only teach this course but to teach it online. Online courses tend to have a bad reputation at my institution among students, and the course itself has a bad reputation as many students don’t believe it is engaging enough and a waste of time so I want to be a part of that change to make it a positive thing.
Along with my degree in Educational Technology and my certificates I need to do more research. I want to be able to plan out how I could teach the course and mock up what kind of assignments I could create for learners to make them successful. One way I plan to reach this goal is to see what other institutions are doing and note what is working and what is not working. One resource I found was from University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and their Course-In-A-Box. The website talks about how to create an online course and has several points that not only align with what I have learned in school, but other resources as well.

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I have an immense urge to help students and have always wanted to start an initiative or a campus-wide drive that will actually help my students' needs on campus. I want to begin by identifying different areas of student needs by surveying, and interviewing students and staff members on campus. Additionally, I need to research and learn about how to create a successful initiative and one resource I have found is from LabXchange about Taking Initiative and Starting Projects for high school students. The article gives great advice on how to start and I am hopeful to see how other organizations have approached this. I have always admired individuals who head these initiatives and would love to be someone who could use my organization skills to lead this.

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After a recent webinar, Working with Neurodiverse Students on College Campuses' with Jane Thierfeld Brown, I have found a new desire to continue educating myself on the best ways to serve and assist neurodiverse students as an advisor. With the numbers increasing overtime of autistic individuals, I know that adjusting the way I assist students to make sure I am clear and an advocate is a necessity. One resource I found that I will continue to look for is from a resource I regularly use in my profession, NACADA. The article Proactive Approaches for Academic Advisors Supporting Students with Autism, has many intervention tactics to assist these students, backed by academic research.

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In conclusion, as I come to the end of my Master’s degree, I am excited for the future. The goals I am working towards– to teach an online course, launch a campus initiative to address student needs, and to enhance my support for neurodiverse students– are not just goals but things I need to accomplish in order to foster an environment that is productive and inclusive. By doing more research, engaging with my students and using existing resources I hope to create meaningful change on my campus. Each step I take towards my goals shows my commitment to education and being an advocate for student success. I am looking forward to the future and hope that I can reach these goals sooner than later, but just as importantly with success.