Running head: LEARNING SUMMARY 1

Internship II Learning Summary

Lucas A. Miller

Wright State University

LEARNING SUMMARY 2

I completed my internship at Wright State University in the Community Standards and Student

Conduct Office under the supervision of Dr. Chris Taylor with assistance from Christopher Hogan,

Assistant Director, and Stephen Cody Benedict, Graduate Assistant. I possessed minimal experience in

student conduct through my work as a Community Director for the Lake Campus of Wright State

University. My main goal for working in the student conduct area of student affairs was to gain an

understanding of the happenings in the office beyond the minuscule number of conduct cases involving

Lake Campus housing students. During my time working in this office I have learned about the student

conduct field and more about where I want to work as I continue growing in the student affairs field.

My project during my internship was to research restorative justice as an option in the Wright

State conduct process. The university uses educational sanctions, but there is no tangible incentive to

students who choose educational sanctions over standard punitive sanctions such as fines and

probation. My research directed me to discuss restorative justice processes at other state universities in

Ohio and see what school had implemented policies, and which institutions had educational sanctions as

part of their conduct process.

While work on my project was the primary focus of the internship, I wanted to learn as much as

I could from my experience. I worked as a Conduct Officer. Because I was only on campus one day each

week, I did not have the opportunity to adjudicate the number of conduct cases I would have liked. I

assisted other conduct officers with their assigned cases. Assisting others allowed me to see how

different people adjudicated cases. Some cases were similar, which made the differences in adjudication

obvious. I questioned whether having vast differences within the process might cause students to be

treated unfairly. I found that students, although treated differently, were treated fairly due to the

appeal process. Each student was provided the opportunity to appeal the decision of the conduct officer

to Dr. Taylor. Not many conduct case decisions were appealed during my internship because the

conduct officers generally included discussions about the students level of responsibility and their
LEARNING SUMMARY 3

acceptance of that responsibility. There is one case that stands out when I discuss my experience. A

situation was documented involving young man. I was not the conduct officer for the situation, but was

in the room and recognized opportunities for the student to make changes to avoid returning to the

conduct office. At the end of the meeting, I asked the student if he would be willing to let me ask a

couple questions. The student asked if I was the guy in-charge. When I explained, I wanted to have a

conversation about the situation, he stated if it is not mandatory, then I dont care what you have to

say. I know I wanted to help the student, but it is difficult to continue wanting to help someone who is

rude and does not accept advice.

Through my experience in the Community Standards and Student Conduct office I learned about

my personal and professional goals in higher education and within the student affairs field. I enjoyed

working in student conduct and could see myself working in the department. However, I realize my level

of tact does not always work well with students involved in conduct situations. I believe students should

take responsibility for their actions, but I understand students are not done growing and therefore not

all students are at the same developmental point in their lives. The purpose of student affairs in higher

education is to assist students through their growth and development, meaning as a student affairs

professional I need to be patient with students. The only problem I see with me working in student

conduct is casing involving Title IX and other related issues. Personally, I have little tolerance for

inappropriate sexual situations. Separating my personal and professional self in these situations is

difficult because of situations involving people I care about. During my time as a Resident Assistant in

undergrad I had a close friend who confided in me about a situation where they were a victim of sexual

violence and I was never able to work with the perpetrator the same again. I have worked with a

student as a professional staff member who was involved in a Title IX situation. The student was a

student worker on campus and the relationship we built makes it difficult to work with the other
LEARNING SUMMARY 4

individual involved. I believe professional growth will provide me the tools to work within these

situations, but I do not want to get to the point where situations in this realm do not affect me.

I plan to continue working with different offices on the Dayton and Lake Campuses to learn

about the areas in student affairs. I want to build my knowledge base enough to consider myself a

generalist in student affairs with more knowledge in the area I want to continue working. If I take the

time to learn about different areas and continue my academic education through to a terminal degree, I

will be able to become a successful director of a program or department. I understand the importance

of different areas on college campuses, and want to be able to bring areas together to better serve

students and the community wherever I decide to continue my career.