My Person-Environment Interaction Analysis

“The degree of person–environment congruence is thought to be predictive of an individual’s attraction to and satisfaction or stability within an environment” (Strange & Banning, 2015, p. 74).

I am someone who loves the work that is done within a Residence Life setting. I care deeply about ensuring that students’ most basic needs are met so that they are able to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally, and this is arguably Residence Life’s most important goal. I enjoy the energetic nature of the work, and I love that my day is always different. When thinking about my experience with the Residence Life environment at IU, I appreciate it for all that it has taught me about this work and about myself. There are aspects of Residence Life which are very important to me. For example, I firmly believe that student development should be a high priority. One of the best parts about Residence Life is that students are growing and learning in a space which is separate from the academic world. They are learning to be members of a community, how to take care of themselves, how to resolve conflicts and problems, and more. I do not necessarily believe that student development is always the highest priority in the IU Residence Life environment. There are a number of factors which contribute to this, but I think IU’s size is a significant one which cannot be overlooked. In an environment this large, other things must come first in order to keep everything running. Knowing this, I plan to look for a position in Residence Life at a smaller institution, one which will allow me to focus more closely on student development and which has an environment that is focused more on supporting student development. This overarching idea has influenced how I have evaluated my attraction, satisfaction, and stability as a Graduate Supervisor at IU.

Attraction

There are some elements of McNutt and Residence Life which I find attractive. For instance, as I described in my introduction paragraph above, I am highly attracted to this field as a whole. I find working within Residence Life to be highly meaningful, and I can see myself working in the field for many, many years to come. I am also incredibly happy to work with student staff members. I feel that I am able to provide advice and support, and these feelings are valuable to me. Finally, I would love to work with students who are interested in different fields. McNutt has an incredibly large population of students who are studying in the Kelley School of Business. I come from a strong Liberal Arts background, so this educational area is less attractive to me. I am more attracted to the idea of working with students who are also interested in the Liberal Arts, as I believe that I would be better able to support and understand their unique experiences and challenges. With this in mind, I also recognize that I am attracted to my environment because of how busy and ever-changing it is. In a smaller, less complex environment, I may not have access to the new and exciting tasks that exist in a building such as McNutt.

Satisfaction

Overall, I am satisfied at IU because I feel that I am actively learning each day. Every skill that I have learned and that I practice is one that I believe will benefit me in the long run. I also really enjoy working with my RAs. I also believe that I have been very lucky in that I have formed positive connections with my supervisors. This is something that other Graduate Supervisors at IU have struggled with, and though there are areas in which my supervisors and I differ, I trust that they have my best interests and the best interests of my staff in mind. I also feel that I can trust them to respect my time, my boundaries, and my autonomy. The ways in which I am less satisfied revolve around the organization of IU's Residence Life department. Though I am closely connected with many of the administrators within Residence Life, I think it is difficult to successfully balance the different needs of so many residence centers. The needs of McNutt and the Northwest Neighborhood are is very different from the needs of residence centers in other neighborhoods. However, because the environment is so large, the same policies, procedures, and practices are all the same across all neighborhoods, in order to maintain consistency. I believe that working at an institution that is able to be a bit more flexible will be more satisfying.

Stability

Throughout my time at IU, my role has been very stable. Many Graduate Supervisors choose to transition to a different residence center between their two years with Residence Life, but I chose to stay in McNutt because I had a very positive experience last year. Further, for the first time in many years, McNutt had a large number of returning student staff members. I was looking forward to having an opportunity in which I would be able to work with some of the same students and Leadership Team members, and I was excited to be able to train new RAs and Leadership Teams members with a bit of experience under my belt. On a different note, I do not believe that Residence Life as a whole is a stable environment. Staff members are constantly leaving and being hired, and there is very much a staffing deficit in the department as a whole. I think that my experience with stability has been one that is unique, and I hope to transition to an environment which is a bit more stable. Keeping in mind that retention has been a challenge across higher education institutions though, I would love to focus on identifying an environment like the one I am in at McNutt, which feels more stable even within a less stable overarching environment.