NASPA and ACPA (2010) define Advising and Helping as the competency which, “addresses the knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to providing counseling and advising support, direction, feedback, critique, referral, and guidance”( p. 6). Through my role as a graduate resident director, I have achieved an exemplary proficiency in this competency. Sarah and Cuyler both provide individual narratives that speak to my mastery of this competency area.

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In my capacity as a graduate resident director I supervise 15 resident assistants who are charged to support students’ wellness needs. The artifacts demonstrated that I have established rapport through building a relationship. Sarah’s narrative describes the relationship that I cultivated with her through our supervisory interaction. My supervisory style is developmental which allows me to accommodate different individuals needs. I seek to develop my students that work with me through identifying areas through which they can constructively grow. Growth occurs after I create a trusting relationship that is based on genuine rapport. In these students’ biweekly one-on-one meetings I exhibit effective listening skills through asking students reflective questions about their experiences on campus. Cuyler’s narrative describes our relationship as one in which I serve as a mentor. He reflects upon our interactions as ones that have helped to give him more confidence through constant encouragement.

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In addition to my supervision experiences, I serve as an area coordinator on call. As such, I support the campus in its initial crisis response. All of the on call professionals undergo a series of trainings that equip first responders with the tools to recognize warning signs for students in distress. Furthermore the trainings orient us to campus and community resources in order to effectively refer students to the appropriate resources for their individual situation. Lastly we are trained to appropriately respond and report effectively in order to support the entire campus community. In addition to the initial training that orients us to the system, I participate in monthly on-call meetings that allowed all of the campus partners to convene in order to address any gaps in professional development. During the year we focus on issues like on-call fatigue where we work to manage any feelings of burnout that we might have.

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In my on call role I responded to a variety of student needs ranging from roommate conflicts to students that in distress for mental health needs.Through these experiences, I have gained a greater skill set supporting students who were struggling with mental health concerns. I am comfortable administering an assessment for suicidal ideation that identifies level of concern for students that are expressing self harm. This assessment encompasses questions like, "On a scale of 1-10, how likely are you to commit suicide?." The answers to these questions will then help me identify the level of risk for the student in concern. Through following the crisis protocol at Oberlin, I typically confer about students in distress with my on call partners—the dean on call and the counselor on call. Consulting with my on call partners about an individual student’s needs helps to support the student the on call team Through my experiencing administering this assessment, I have also gained a greater understanding of when a student needs to be referred to campus partners for additional support. Cuyler’s narrative recounts an instance where I was able to identify a student in distress and support the student through their initial crisis in order to get them the long term support they needed. Furthermore, the student went on to talk about how this experience then shaped their professional interactions that he had with his own residents.

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I have also demonstrated understanding of cultural competence in my application of advising and helping skills. In the Spring of 2013 the Oberlin campus community had several bias incidents on campus. My learning communities include identity based residential spaces and many student leaders and residents within my buildings had identities that were targeted. I was deliberate in including wellness interventions as a part of the administrative response. My students were actively involved in the activism efforts that were created to react to the bias incidents. My support of students included individual advising and referral to campus partners like the multicultural resource center and the counseling center. It was important to recognize that the communities that were significantly impacted-- students of color and LGBTQ students might have barriers that prevent them from utilizing the counseling center as a resource. I was incredibly mindful of the stigma that could exist for the counseling center and supported students through connecting them with individual counselors that shared their identities in order to help these individuals feel more comfortable utilizing these resources. Ultimately these experiences work together to demonstrate an exemplary competency in the Advising and Helping area.

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