The application of knowledge is the primary tenet college advising. When it comes to working with your students, they depend on you to relay accurate and relevant information to aid them in their process of what to do after their senior year of high school. This direct transaction relies on theoretical foundations of how to best support students in different capacities and how to help them be successful in whatever avenue they choose. I have been a gatekeeper of this information to my students within different capacities for the past 5 years. From working with high school students in a small rural town, to supporting students virtually across the country, and currently serving as a college adviser with the Emily K. Center, these experiences have taught me, and continue to teach, the importance of how important it is to apply our knowledge with our students.
This past Saturday (February 9th), I joined 29 high school juniors from Durham (20 from EKC, and 9 from another access organization in Durham, StudentU) on a trip to Davidson College. Davidson was hosting their annual Junior Day event where high school juniors and their families attend the campus to garner information on the college application process, Davidson specific knowledge, and a campus tour. It had been almost a year since I had been to some sort of informational workshop on a college campus. Since starting graduate school, between classes, my assistantship with Poole, and working at EKC, it’s been incredibly difficult to attend workshops, conferences, and webinars at the same rate that I did while with College Advising Corps. What I realized was that this was the first time I have been able to apply my knowledge in an advising setting outside of direct interaction with the students.
Being at Davidson brought about important moments to acknowledge when thinking of the application of knowledge:
College knowledge in general:
I still know what I’m talking about (for the most part)
Importance of continuing the gaining of knowledge. Things change quickly and to maintain telling students accurate information, you have to take the time to listen.
The importance of nuances that are projected by schools
Students asking me questions about if Davidson was a PWI
How are they processing being in predominantly white spaces, how am I giving them the space to think through these out loud?
How are we talking about it in my advising practices and the overarching decisions to attend college?
The importance of repetition
I’m able to recall this knowledge because of the years saying it over and over, but with new knowledge, new lenses and tools, and new understandings repetition is key for ingraining it into my work and actions.
I need to be aware of how my own biases and assumptions are repeated through my actions as well, how this is reinforced implicitly, especially as my role is that of a gatekeeper of knowledge
As a gatekeeper, how am I educating students to take this knowledge beyond the direct interactions?
Being in graduate school and the exposure I’ve received to theories and scholarship is allowing me to see beyond a direct regurgitation of knowledge - a practice I’ve succumbed to in the past and I’m sure still do in various ways. However, I feel as if I am starting to apply my knowledge more. I’m wanting to think more critically of how I relay information to my students and how I help them grow in the reception of this knowledge but can foresee ways to gain it through tools and not directly from a gatekeeper. It is allowing me to think deeper about the actions I take as a professional and helping to push me.
