April 8, 2019

Stephen Kim was awarded a CIRTL travel grant to attend the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Conference in March 2019 as part of his ongoing professional development in the areas of teaching, communication, and student engagement. He shares the following reflection on attending the conference:

CIRTL at Cornell provided funding for me to attend NASPA’s Annual Conference in Los Angeles, one of the largest gathering of student affairs professionals in the United States. At NASPA, I presented with colleagues from the West Campus House System about the Graduate Resident Fellow position. This position is unique in that PhD students and professional students are trained in student affairs while they are also undergoing their academic education. My colleagues and I spoke on how this exposure to student affairs helps graduate students become future faculty members who understand better the rhythms of undergraduate life. This understanding helps craft more effective and empathetic teaching and advising. Attending panels at NASPA also sparked much thinking on how to create more inclusive classrooms. I intentionally made an effort to attend panels dedicated to student populations I know less about, which include students with anxiety and students on the autism spectrum. The advice and knowledge from the panels will serve me well as I continue to think about how to be a better teacher.

Stephen Kim is a Ph.D. Candidate in English, with minor fields in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and American Studies. Read Stephen’s student spotlight on the Graduate School site