Statement of Goal and Professional Experience
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STATEMENT OF GOALS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE BY JOHN OGRAH, Ph.D. STUDENT AFFAIRS IN HIGHER EDUCATION APPLICANT.

My background and study as an international student in the United States motivated me to pursue a Ph.D. in Student Affairs Concentration. Being among the minority ethnic group in Nigeria, I witnessed first-hand systemic injustice, ethnic discrimination, and inequality expressed in oppressive policies and practices in my community. My family was a victim of this also. My father died when I was nine years old without ever having attended college. After high school, my siblings ended their education, unwilling to study at the city university because of the fear of ethnic/racial victimization and the stigma of the most marginalized minorities. The thought that theories and practice in student affairs can help address these problems sparked my interest in contributing positively to minoritized students’ engagement by researching the educational experience of students of diversity and minoritized identities.

I feel confident about the training I have received while pursuing my master’s degree in Counseling and College Student Personnel at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. It has equipped me with the necessary counseling skills and professional competencies for the College of Education’s Student Affairs in Higher Education Ph.D. program in the Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs, Kansas State University. I graduated with a GPA of 3.756, a grade that would have been higher as I had suffered from an illness that affected my academic performance. In addition, I served in the Office of Student Retention, Teacher Education, Office of Student Conduct, Academic Success Program, Writing Tutor/Fellow, and Office of Student First (First-Generation Students Advising) at Shippensburg University. These experiences afforded me the opportunity to gain practical knowledge of the student affairs competencies areas of law, policy and governance (LPG), Technology (LG), advising and supporting (AS), student learning and development (LSD), assessment, evaluation and research (AER) as well as leadership (LEAD). In my role as an intern in the office of students conduct, I filed and maintained incident reports, scheduled and conducted meetings and hearings, and issued sanctions designed to promote positive behaviour in Shippensburg University.

My previous experience with ethnic seclusion and education in Nigeria inspired me to write my first book, “Seduced by justice: Response to structural imbalance in Nigeria” (Ograh, 2014) in which I drew attention of both the government and the church, to make them appreciate that structural injustice and students’ ethnic identity can affect their development and a sense of belonging. As a result, I have become increasingly aware of the value of student learning and development, and multicultural competencies in addressing issues that plague diverse students.

Throughout my study and work as a diverse student success and retention coach at Shippensburg University, I found that African American and Hispanic students predominantly account for the majority of minoritized students at a predominantly white institution and saw how their identity intersects with their perception of college satisfaction. To research the problem, I conducted a qualitative survey to sample students’ perception of their racial identity. From my results, I found that the students were experiencing a lack of cultural immersion and racial discrimination on campus and from this, I perceived a lack of cultural sensitivity and cognitive dissonance. As a result, I turned to Maddox-Moore, Martin and Collier (2016) who recommend communities of support as vital in “fostering a space that promotes the integration of multiple identities, support the enactment of self-care, and unpack current issues that may influence our worldviews.” (p.16). Therefore, I shared my findings with other college student personnel workers by presenting a paper “Effecting change in African American students’ learning engagement” at Towson University, in Maryland.

Following my work with students from diverse background, and experience with assessment, evaluation and research competency, I felt motivated to replicate the research in my master’s capstone project by studying undergraduate students from Africa and Asia as aggregates of international students in Shippensburg University. Based on a constructivist epistemological paradigm, the study used a narrative inquiry to assess and understand international undergraduate students’ engagement and a sense of community at Shippensburg University. I adopted a qualitative research method to evaluate the CAS functional areas of (1) Student Learning, Development, and Success, and (2) Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. The findings indicated that international students’ ethnic/racial identity intersect to predict their engagement and perception of a sense of community on campus. The result also indicated that the students’ engagements were influenced by socializing and peer interaction, supportive campus programs, instruction and activities, and students’ engagement levels. The study’s implication for student affairs practice is that inclusive campus ecology and a sense of community is an essential vector in understanding how diverse students academically and socially engage on campus. As such, the study recommended carrying out a quantitative study in the future to investigate and determine the interaction effect that race/ethnicity and multiple identities have on minoritized students’ engagement.

It is this drive for diversity and inclusion in student affairs practice that now motivates me to complete a Ph.D. program in student affairs in higher education so that I am better equipped with thorough grounding in research, professional competencies and practice to contribute to the knowledge base of higher education leadership, and to help minoritized students feel included and supported. I am particularly interested in researching educational experience of students of diversity and minoritized identities as well as understanding the intersectional approach to cultivate diverse students. The intersectional lens “allows for the ability to acknowledge multiple and overlapping identity elements within each student, rather than limiting an individual to identify with only one element of their identity” (Hakkola, 2019, p.2). The qualitative research I conducted was through a student population in a predominantly white institution, however, I am eager to further my research through quantitative studies using a wider pool of minoritized students’ population.

I believe that the College of Education’s Student Affairs in Higher Education Ph.D. program in the Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs, Kansas State University, aligns with my research and career goals, which are is to engage in research and to assume positions in an institution of higher education. Not only is the course content of your Ph.D. program diverse and encompassing many areas, but your University also provides a culturally diverse environment, as well as exceptional learning resources and opportunities in personal development and research. In addition to the learning opportunities that your program offers, I will be delighted to work with, and learn from other highly knowledgeable professors in the faculty.

Your doctorate program will sharpen my research skills and deepen my knowledge of student affairs, especially working with students of diverse backgrounds and with minoritized identities. Besides, my experiences and involvement with student affairs as an intern and presently as diverse student success and retention coach have extensively prepared me for this program. I am confident that your doctorate program is ideal for me. It will be fulfilling to understand students’ learning and development better through your highly efficient program.

References

Maddox-Moore, C.E., Martin, J.A & Collier, J.C. (March 2016). Finding community in the

intersections. 2016 NASPA Annual Conference: The Annual Knowledge Community Conference Publication. Retrieved from http://apps.naspa.org/files/2016-naspa.final.pdf

Hakkola, L. (2019). Examining diversity in student affairs: An analysis of diversity

definitions and supports. Journal of Student Affairs.

Ograh, J. E (2020). Effecting change in African American students’ learning

engagement. March 7; A paper presented at the Mid-Atlantic Writing Center Association 2020 Conference, Towson University, Maryland, United States.

Ograh, J. E. (2014) Seduced by Justice: Response to Structural Imbalance in Nigeria. Benin

City: Reize Nigeria Limited