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Narrative Description

Marina Briones

Loyola University Chicago

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Moving to Chicago at 21 years old, directly out of my undergraduate career, I faced

several different challenges I did not feel prepared for. Navigating the next two years of my life

through Loyola’s Higher Education master’s program gave me the tools and resources I needed

to face these challenges with resiliency and grit. The process was not easy and there were times I

felt I could not move forward any longer, but Loyola gave me the strength I needed to stay

motivated. I look to reflect on how the impact of Loyola’s Higher Education program has given

me the skills to be a well prepared educator despite the challenges I faced throughout my career.

Before this program, I was unable to distinguish how a deeper understanding of self

could impact how I carry myself as an educator and student affairs professional. The first day I

walked into my multiculturalism class with Dr. Bridget Kelly Turner, I knew this would not be

the case for long. Coming into class with all my insecurities and not feeling well adjusted to the

Chicago culture played an influential role in how I presented myself as a person. Simultaneously

experiencing anxiety and depression, I did not think I could make it through this program. I was

unable to let go and ask for help, I tried so hard to keep to myself and focus primarily on school

and getting good grades. This proved to be more difficult than I wanted, I could not sit silent in

class and expect to learn and do well. I reached a breaking point finals week of my first semester

and in this time learned more about myself than ever.

The overarching theme I found within my time at Loyola was getting over the fact that I

was so far away from everything I was used to. I needed to adjust to my surroundings and

embrace the situation I was in. With the closest friends I had in my cohort, I disclosed my

anxiety and depression and instantly felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I could not

believe how much support I received from the people in my program. I learned what a real

support system looks like in the face of adversity. I learned that I had to break down my walls
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and that by doing so I was not weak, but resilient. Getting to know myself, for what seemed like

the first time, is one of the experiences I am most grateful for receiving from this program. As I

slowly broke down the wall I had built up inside I was able to participate more in class, do better

in class assignments, and perform better at work. My leadership style changed completely, I

shifted from a purely logistical and pragmatic sense of leadership to a more person focused and

relationship building leadership style. I learned that by taking the time to listen to people’s

stories I was able to create deep relationships. Through deep relationships, students felt

comfortable in opening up to me therefore changing their view on their own leadership and work

ethic in our office. I was able to see the differences in what drove people in their lives and adjust

to their needs.

In addition to understanding how to ask for help and break down my barriers, I learned

how important certain values are to me and why. With the anxiety and depression I faced in

graduate school, I realized much of it was difficult to navigate because of the distance from

anything I had ever known, location, family, and friends. Knowing absolutely no one impacted

me negatively for an immense amount of time. As time passed, I realized this was because at my

core, my family is what I value the most. Consequently, unity is another one of my strongest

values. Sticking together to reach an outcome, as is discussed in achieving social justice is

something I really strive to do. I am a driven person and I look to uniting with others to achieve

success in creating a more inclusive and just world. My third important value, is to fight for a

just world and being a voice for the voiceless. I have always felt connected to this value,

especially as a woman of color, but immersed in this program I had the agency to act upon it

more freely. I have learned so much about the actionable steps I can and will take in order to
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fulfill this value. This program gave me the tools I needed and the people I needed to feel like I

am worthy and educated enough to succeed in the world.

My initial choice to move to Chicago was fueled by the challenge I wanted to face.

Through this process, I was granted some of the greatest opportunities of my life. My first

graduate assistantship, the one I have been in the longest is my role as an academic coach in the

Center for Tutoring and Academic Excellence (CTAE) in Loyola’s Sullivan Center. This role

took me out of my element, working in residential life and alternative breaks. I had never worked

in academic affairs and looked to this position to make me a better rounded professional. 2 years

working at Loyola has shown me how to work closely with students with disabilities and provide

proper guidance to students adjusting to college. There is so much more that affects a student’s

experience, not just academics. It is my goal as a teacher in University 112 (a learning strategies

course), when working in athletics, or in the CTAE to get to know the students I am working

with digging deep to the issue(s) that prohibit them from being as successful as they want to be.

As my first year came to an end, I scoured the internship pool for internships that would

round me out even more. As I had never worked in orientation, I decided it was time to put

myself through the NODA application process. I was fortunate enough to receive a NODA

internship at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York. This internship taught me how to

work out of my element in another way. Through this orientation program, I learned how to train

& supervise orientation leaders, how to perform under pressure and a very strict time limit, and

how to utilize excellent customer service skills.

I was also fortunate enough to simultaneously receive an internship at the University of

Illinois at Chicago which began two days after my NODA internship ended. This one semester

internship resulted in an extended one year advisor position which has given me experiences that
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I will never forget. One year working at UIC has shown me how to be “on the other side.” I

learned how pivotal it is to understand the demographic of UIC in order to create successful

programming. I shifted from the advisee to the advisor and now had the power and responsibility

to guide my students in the right direction for their programs.

The most important content I have learned from this program is how social justice

influences lives currently and throughout history inside and outside of the classroom. In the way

I speak, in the way I think, and in the way I interpret things social justice has now become

second nature to me. It is vital to have a critical lens when learning new material. Throughout

this program I learned that without a critical lens, it is nearly impossible to achieve social justice.

With the passion I have for reaching a socially just world, starting through influencing as an

educator, I must see beyond the scope of my own identities and what I am comfortable with. I

cannot choose to be silent as that perpetuates the oppressive state of mind. Being a voice for the

voiceless motivates me more than sitting back and avoiding conflict. Taking not only the

understanding of one’s own intersectional identities, but the fact that intersectionality is what

drives everyone to who they are as humans cannot be looked over. Social justice requires a

lifelong learning approach in which one must work toward educating themselves in issues they

do and do not identify with. Thus, leading to an opportunity for equity in which everyone can see

themselves represented, hear others like them, and feel safe walking outside just like the majority

can.

Another important concept I learned in this program is understanding one is an educator

before any title they may hold. Through this concept, I know that it is my duty to educate myself

and consistently grow as a person who takes the time to go beyond my comfort zone and my own

intersectional identities to be an ally for the endless amount of individuals I am to encounter in

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my lifetime. Loyola has given me such an advantage through the social justice lens it puts in its

curriculum and throughout the campus culture. I have seen through the various institutions I have

attended and worked at, how social justice takes more of a backseat rather than being placed at

the forefront. I am ecstatic for the challenge that lies ahead. I look to take what I have learned

and become an educator that influences students at campuses throughout all the different

positions I hold throughout the country. As I have seen time and time again in this program, the

impact one can make with intentional actions is limitless. I look forward to stepping out into the

workforce taking my education, my resiliency, and my grit to set the world on fire.