# data[].attributes.body
I feel that there are a lot of contributing factors that motivated my decision to choose a career in student affairs, and by extension, choose to join the Student Development Administration masters program here at SU.
First and foremost, I would say a primary motivator has been my mentors as an undergraduate who saw potential in me to do an amazing job in this field and suggest it as a path. Their guidance was integral in me getting to where I am today.
Second, I would cite my involvement in forms of student leadership as a high schooler and undergrad as being major motivators for this path. Without those experiences, I would not have dived into this field, or probably even known that it existed.
Third, a major motivator for me in this field is my marginalized identities as: a queer and nonbinary person, a first-generation college graduate, as a person with multiple disabilities, as a person from a low-income background, and more. Despite these oppressions, I made it through and I want to be able to support other people facing marginalization to be resilient and successful.
Fourth, my opportunities to connect with peers through conferences and leadership organizations was a major motivator in my work. I had the opportunity throughout undergrad to participate in conferences and meet fellow future student affairs professionals from across the country and build lasting personal and professional relationships.
Lastly, I feel that my love for learning, growing, and facilitating those things for others has been a powerful motivator. I take great satisfaction in being able to learn new information and then pass that information along to people who have not learned it yet. Education is the most powerful system for this transfer of information and I am honored to be part of it.

# data[].attributes.body
I am pursuing my masters degree in Student Development Administration because I truly believe that everyone should have access to higher education. In my journey as a first generation college student, I was privileged with the amount of support I received from the organizations that I was a part of, and the mentors that shaped my career both educationally and professionally. I want to be able to give back and pay that mentorship forward. Higher education was not built for everyone, and I believe that we can recreate this system to be more equitable and accessible to everyone. I found community throughout being in college, and it is important that we support communities who are going to make a difference in the future. I think knowing that a certain part of a student's developmental growth is integral to them changing the world is what motivates me to do the work that I do.

# data[].attributes.body
The main reason why I am pursing my masters degree in the MSBL program is to stay competitive in the job market and to find a full time job in the division 1 setting. I received my undergraduate degree in athletic training, but our accreditation body is requiring all programs to change to a masters level degree. So therefore, I need a masters to stay competitive in the job market that will be full of professionals with a masters in athletic training not a bachelors. What makes me feel passionate and excited about learning is the opportunity to refine my skills as a clinician and improve the care of my patients (student-athletes). I have found myself more recently not as excited to learn because I am over loaded with school responsibilities. But I find this passion and fire come back when I am on breaks over the summer, so I am excited to see how this passion and excitement to learn grows after I graduate. I think a unique aspect to the medical field is we are required to complete continuing education units in order to keep our certification. So it is embedded in me to want to learn more, and refine my skills. Five things that motivate me to learn are: 1)being able to provide the best care to my patients 2)seeking out new ways of thinking and doing through best practices 3) my family, as they have supported me along this journey and will be the first to complete a bachelors and master degree 4) I want to leave an impact on those patients I work with 5) I want to advocate for my profession as an allied health care profession and the best way to do that is through educating others.

# data[].attributes.body
There’s a wide variety of reasons that I am pursing this degree. I’m currently working in the field of higher education, and hope to continue to purse this career path, and in order to do so, need to get a Master’s degree, as it’s required by most employers to do the work we do. After being in the field for a year, I’ve come to realize how much I have to learn. I have a good amount of experience for a person of my age, with no Master’s degree, but I am constantly humbled at how much I continue to learn through my experience. I want and need to be better informed on a non-experiential level because I believe it will help me do my job better.

In a general sense, I have also missed academia. Throughout my past year out of school, I have still strived to challenge and educate myself, but I have missed being a part of a community of learning, where we not only investigate material, but also learn from each other.

# data[].attributes.body
What motivated me to pursue a degree in MAEd - TESOL it will give me the opportunity to work overseas. I have a passion for learning and teaching languages, and with this particular degree, it will guarantee me a job in any country I choose to move to one day. I lived in Turkey for 4-years, and during my time abroad, I had the opportunity to teach EFL students English full-time, but also working in ESL/EFL curriculum development. It was a fantastic experience, and that was another factor that drove me to further my education in this particular field. I am currently 26-years-old, and I have been in school since I was 4-years-old, I honestly do not know life without education. My five motivations for learning are; (1) I know that furthering my education and learning more about my particular field will assist me with landing a great position as an educator. A job that will be well worth it in the end. (2) I want to make an impact on this world and to transfer the knowledge that I have learned to the generations that will come after me. (3) I come from an immigrant family who is uneducated, and I want to make them proud. (4) I seek out new knowledge to actively develop new skills. I am actively learning new approaches, taking in new information that will help me do a better job, but ultimately make me a more knowledgeable individual. (5) Others doubted me throughout my life, so proving other wrong and that I can be successful in life is another major motivating factor.

# data[].attributes.body
When I think of motivation, I think of it as encouraging growth within my own concept of self, but also in achieving something worthwhile for me and for others. I am pursuing my Masters degree as a means to prepare myself in a more professional way for the field I want to pursue. My five motivations for learning are to: continue to challenge my critical thinking, be successful intellectually, be able to serve others, be able to support myself, and be able to show resilience.

# data[].attributes.body
I am pursuing a degree in Student Development Administration for a variety of reasons and motivators. My undergraduate experience greatly influenced me to pursue this specific field as I recognized how vital this time is in an individual’s life is as it provides new growth, exploration, and more. Having the opportunity to be involved with the Office of Student Involvement & Leadership, Multi-Ethnic Programs, and Center for Reconciliation allowed me to interact with students and learn more about the career of student development. It sparked a passion within me of wanting to support all students and make them feel heard and loved during their college experience. These are 5 motivators of why I desire to learn and pursue my master’s degree:
(1) I have always been a strong believer that there is always more to learn. This motivated me to pursue a master’s degree and also drives me to never stop seeking to learn.
(2) My family is a huge motivator for me as they have always encouraged me to pursue a career that I am passionate about. As a First-Generation college student, they always encouraged me to value education and to never stop learning. I hope to make them proud in the work that I do.
(3) I want to support and be an advocate for students. I recognize the inequity and challenges arise, and I hope to learn how I can be the advocate and supporter students need in the current world we live in.
(4) I want to be able to critically self-reflect. Throughout this program, I hope to learn more about my strengths as well as areas of growth as a future educator. I hope to explore my own identities and how that intersects with my work in this field.
(5) I want to make a change in the world and I believe that in order for me to do that I have to keep on learning from others and myself.

# data[].attributes.body
My motivation to learn and pursue my degree comes from my experiences in undergrad figuring out how to navigate and succeed in a system of education that was not meant for me. Additionally, my involvement and work experiences in undergrad also pushed me into the higher education field. I was involved in Fraternity and Sorority Life, Residential Education, the Diversity/Inclusion Office, and the Outreach/Admissions Office on campus. These three experiences connected me to want to create a change in the way higher education is structured and who is hired to support marginalized students, like myself. While my undergraduate experiences catapulted me into doing my Masters in Student Development Administration, the work I currently do in Housing and Residence Life is what makes me feel passionate about learning in this field. These are important as I think of my 5 motivators: 1. My past experiences as a marginalized student on a predominately white campus has made me feel like it's my duty to advocate and support marginalized students ; 2. I want to continue to have a better understanding of self and how my identities make an impact on how I do my work in this field; 3. I want to be the role model I never had for my younger brother and younger siblings as a First-Generation college student; 4. Our current political landscape is a huge motivator because our students, specifically our marginalized students, are in need of great support to succeed in this system that is constantly pushing them, and myself, out; and 5. My personal desire to make a difference in other people's lives and create a change in the future for those generations that will come after me. These 5 motivators are important to me and why i do the work that I do.

# data[].attributes.body
I'm pursuing a degree in education purely for the money. But if I had to say anything else, it'd be the following..
When I was a freshman at UC Santa Barbara, I wasn't sure what to expect. I moved in, met my hallmates, and had our floor meeting. Immediately my RA brought a sense of community that I felt supported in. It's this experience that led me to be an RA myself later on. In my RA position, I supported students and provided opportunities to them so that they could have a chance to thrive in the University. It's this work that inspired me to pursue a career in Higher Education. The following is a more organized list of motivational factors that contribute to why I am pursuing said career. (1) I feel as if I found my best self at UCSB. I was connected to on-campus organizations, that provided me the resources to thrive. (2) I believe it is meaningful work. I am pursuing this work because, in a way, it is like I am giving back to an experience that meant a lot to me. I hope that others will have a positive experience as I did. (3) I know depending on what people look like or where people come from, they will be provided different opportunities. It's my hope to work towards the goal of everyone having the same opportunities in higher education. (4) Before I discovered this field of Higher Education and Student Affairs, my parents pushed me in the direction of engineering, I don't blame them. As immigrants from S. Korea they had a very narrow version of what success looked like. To this day, I still have trouble explaining to them what I do for work and what I am studying. I hope one day they can see me in a work I adore as well as one that provides a stable livelihood. (5) Don Lubach, a dean at UCSB, was a huge mentor of mine. Observing him, it seemed to me he had the most fun job. Hanging out with college student leaders and advising them. I one day hope to hold a position very similar to his.

# data[].attributes.body
My decision to study student development was informed by my experiences navigating higher education at a predominately white institution and my involvements during undergraduate studies. I strive to be a change agent in higher education and advocate for students. Earning this degree is one of the biggest motivations, as I am entering a field where a Masters is necessary to enter and move up in the field. I want to understand how things work and knowing there is so much to be learned motivates me to continually look for resources and ways to be engaged. Over the summer I created a reading list and 'attended' a few webinars since I had a more time, as compared to the academic year, to explore and learn independently in a non-formal setting. As I learn on a continuous basis, I find so much value in expanding my knowledge and gaining the vocabulary to engage with others. My family is a big motivator for me, as they instilled the importance of being a lifelong learner in me and continue to support my educational endeavors.

# data[].attributes.body
Reflecting a bit on the reading this week, what has always motivated me to learn, for better or worse, was the drive to succeed, to get good grades and to make my parents happy as a result. Obviously, this is a prime example of a behaviorist motivation and I've come to believe that it has a lot of flaws. When I tutor high schoolers for ACT/SAT the pressure to succeed in spite of themselves is hard to ignore but it's a common thread of their motivation. Still now, as I go through this program, that drive is hard to quell. Many of us have been conditioned in this manner, and I still use it as a motivator, despite knowing it's flaws and how it ignores my personal needs.

But the drive to learn new, exciting ideas and concepts is a major driver of motivation for me. I always loved taking history classes in college that covered nations or eras that I had never given much thought to. A favorite example was the History of Poland, taught by a professor from there to boot. Needless to say, Poland has a pretty fascinating history that I would never have been exposed to without that motivator.

Another motivator is the belief in education's ability to advance the individual through means previously unavailable to them. Mass education is still a relatively new,  ongoing project in human history, and I would like to believe that better educators across all fields are needed to continue this noble pursuit for the betterment of the many rather than just the few.

A simpler drive comes from just a personal desire for a career in something where I feel the results are more visible. After half a decade in sales, sitting behind a computer, the drive for human contact surrounding real life subjects rather than boorish lingo has immense appeal to me. There's a reason my favorite part of my old job was going to trade shows and talking to people face to face and educating them about our products.

Finally, there is some political drive to my desire to learn. Our current events notwithstanding, I've always believed that the best path for helping to ease our social and political divisions might be through a more thorough, stronger educational system that this country should strive for. Unfortunately, education has been unfairly maligned in many ways in American life, and I feel that our now deeper yet more visible than ever divisions are a byproduct of that. Some scoff at my thoughts that education can be used to better our political situations and problems, often telling me that the simplest solution is to vote. But there's so much more that can change the problems we're in than voting. It starts at an organic level, one where educational outcomes are more valued than they are now, and that has to start somewhere.

# data[].attributes.body
I am pursuing my current degree in Student Development Administration because I think it is important to create outstanding experiences for students throughout higher education. I also believe I am pursuing SDA to assist in helping many types of students find the path that is right for them. Approaching education with a foundation of equity and compassion is so important to me. I want to meet students where they are are expand their horizons in a direction they choose.

I feel passionate and excited about learning when I am able to fully understand a concept and be able to explain it in my own words.

(1)I feel like at this point in my life I try to create my personal mastery of a subject to best be a translator of dense theory into tangible and realistic application that any human can understand. (2) I also want to learn to better myself and be a member of a changing world.(3) I am motivated by wanting to make myself and my family proud.  (4) I grew up with difficulties learning and many educators deemed me a "non-academic" so I want to prove them wrong and fill by personal cup with proof that I am enough as a personal and educator. (5) Finally, I am motivated by the fact that I have the power to put good into the world and assist in guiding students to their truth.

# data[].attributes.body
Choosing to study Student Development and work with college students was a choice I made because of my work as an Americorps member in College Access. I saw the success my students achieved and the hard work they put in. I wanted to see what the other side of the college access process was like and wanted to be part of receiving and supporting students once they had completed high school. One value I always hold is being student-centered and being very open and explicit about it. I think students should always be at the forefront of Student Affairs Professionals minds and not be distracted or entrapped in the bureaucracy that institutions higher education have. What excites me is the possibility of creating environments for students to learn and giving students space to express what they know and don't know and to ask questions in a collaborative and open manner. Students are my main motivator because I have seen the power that education holds and the journey that students walk in order to learn more.

When I think about my other motivators, I think they all center around creating new and positive environments for others as well as my own personal growth. I want to be able to support myself and also move into a field where the norm is for professionals to have master's degrees. I was also motivated because the topic of College Access is very much a growing area in Higher Ed and I think that it is a place where barriers can be broken down. I think large scale, institutional oppression and injustice is everywhere and ingrained in so much of our society. I want to be an advocate for students and create change so that future students can always be guarunteed to find and achieve their full potential.

# data[].attributes.body
As a teacher, I personally believe that I should continue learning and honing my craft which is the very reason why I decided to take my master's degree. I chose to take TESOL as my major because I fell in love with it when I started assisting ESL/EFL teachers when I was still an undergraduate student. It feels calming and satisfying when I help someone learn English especially when they see it as a very huge block in their lives. It is a gratifying feeling when someone falls in  love with the language. The times when a student has the "It's that simple?!", "That is interesting," and "I want to learn more," scenarios make all the effort and time worth it.

The endless quest for knowledge and answers as well as the struggle to be the best that I can be fuel my drive to learn more. Knowing that there is still more to be learned invigorates me to continue searching and learning. What makes learning more enticing and worth it is that you meet people who know things that you don't and you connect with them. Although teaching is a profession that is undervalued and underpaid, the fact that the profession has the power to change lives and change the world make the profession worth it.

# data[].attributes.body
This graduate program has been what I was researching for since my undergraduate career, especially when I found out that clinical psychology was not my niche after taking a few courses. I have been always interested with language and education, especially as a person who was raised in a multicultural household with an overseas Chinese mother and a father that hails from "British" Hong Kong. As the first born child, I hardly had any opportunities to speak English at home, since my parents could only get through with casual speech, but not technical terms if it came to going to see the doctor or other matters that included professionals. I am pursuing this program because I want to be a language instructor, or even a professor one day by educating second language learners and sharing my difficult experiences with language learning and language acquisition. Although I decided not to pursue clinical psychology, the thought process behind adult learning or psychology is something that I am very familiar with after reading this weeks assigned articles and watching this video.

The intrinsic motivation behind my educational endeavor is how I can develop a student's fluency in a second language by understanding where they are coming from and by providing the support that makes them feel good to motivate them to continue succeeding.  It provides me the framework to continue the "social mobility" of ethnic minorities where English is not a language that is commonly spoken at home or in their country of origin. I find that as a minority in the United States, I need to share my knowledge and passion in order to motivate others to continue learning more about language. As my Korean professor once said, "learning in a second language is a process that happens until you die" which really resonated in me, since I feel that language is always changing everyday. The last piece of motivation I would like to share is that it is never too late to learn about another language, as being bilingual or even multilingual has benefits with neurological development as an individual starts the aging process.

# data[].attributes.body
This is my second graduate program, so it is safe to say that one of the things that motivate me is a love of learning. I think I feel the most comfortable in a formal education setting. I like learning about new concepts and sharing ideas with others. Another factor that motivates me is learning more about things that interest me. I have had an interest in teaching in South Korea and learning more about the language and the culture. A year ago I decided to pursue the TESOL program since I wanted to teach ESL in a college setting or teach adult ESL in South Korea after I complete the program. I also did as much research as I could about the area I was going to be living in for the year. I think I even know more about the city I live in than some of my students.

I think what I am most passionate about is teaching and learning from my students. I am truly grateful when my students have that "light bulb" or "aha" moment and they smile because they somehow made a connection or understood something new. The constant sharing of knowledge whether it is in the form of a lesson or through social interaction that I find truly feel genuine. I think it’s exciting to see students who really want to learn and share that same enthusiasm and passion for learning. Also, when I share my enthusiasm and positive outlook about learning, it can change their mindset even if it is just for one class. I feel a sense of purpose when I can be a positive influence and also be a part of their learning experience.

# data[].attributes.body
I guess there's a few different reasons why I'm pursuing my degreee in TESOL. I feel that one of the biggest reasons is because of self interest and community. I always love learning about other cultures and I feel more connected in an unfamiliar environment. I've lived in Germany for 2 years and Japan for 2 years before. I always loved the fact that I was constantly learning. I also feel great when it comes to teaching. Feeling like I've made a positive impact on someone's life really makes me feel good. Teaching in general is never a good paying job, but it excites me that it can provide me a venue to pursue all the things that I love to do: help people, travel, and learn. I love that I'm afforded that ability. I feel like the more I learn in an environment, then the better teacher that I'll be able to be. I love that never ending circle between student and teacher. It makes me want to constantly improve myself and because it's mentally stimulating it's something that I've grown to love and appreciate.
I feel like teaching does give me autonomy, mastery, and purpose though. I get to be in charge of my own class, I'm in a constant state of wanting to be better, and my purpose is to help people learn a new language. I love that teaching gives me all of this as well as opportunities to travel, engage in new cultures, and go on adventures. I'm looking forward to the future.

# data[].attributes.body
Hello Everyone,

When I think of motivation, I think about my family, and having the opportunity to learn and grow- continue learning and growing as a person. Growing up, my motivation was my mother, family because of what I witnessed/saw, and I wanted to make my family prouds. Currently, what motivates me to learn are the opportunity to learn, graduate from the TESOL Program, to continue teaching with a Master's Degree, and my family (husband and my lovely young daughter). Currently, I'm the only person in my family who is working to support my family. My motivation would be my daughter. My husband is proud and hopes that we as her parents could provide for her. He once told me that our parents/families are our first university, and in that way, we, her parents, are her first university; therefore, I would want the best for her where most children in Cambodia don't have what she has. Additionally, my other motivations rooted from the humanistic learning approach towards wanting to become "whole" as the person I hope to become. The video describes the difference between "extrinsic" and "intrinsic"; with intrinsic mindset, you are the "autonomy" of your action; you are your motivator, and with "mastery and purpose", you are doing something that is fulfilling at what you are good at. Thus, I feel learning and teaching allow me to find and be engaged in what I'm interested, especially in educational settings that allow me to learn and be connected with others by sharing and reflecting on common thoughts and practices.

Finally, what passionate and excited me about learning is when I get the opportunity to learn and share with others, especially when my students share about their life and struggles, and how the learning environment/the classroom is a sacred place for them/us to share, learn, and grow together. If I could teach from this perspective, I feel that my journey has a purpose, which was how I got interested when I applied to the graduate program at Seattle University when I was doing my second year of AmeriCorps as an Academic Educator at a community college and various non-profits working with students of diverse backgrounds and adversity.

# data[].attributes.body
I have always been self-motivated with my learning and have discovered my calling as a motivational performer/speaker/writer through that. Most of my motivation for learning has really stemmed from a human focus approach through relationship. My motivation for learning has also always stemmed from a place to uplift, validate, and celebrate the knowledge, competence, and diverse gifts people with marginalized backgrounds absolutely contribute to the world. I am very passionate about learning the inevitable differences people have through the many identities one holds, but also really finding the common threads between that. I am pursuing my graduate degree because I am passionate about learning beyond the traditional classroom, especially by means of storytelling and performance. I believe that the wisdom I have been sharing through keynotes, performances , facilitation's at institutions across the country is vital and necessary. Personally, my greatest learning has happened through experiential means and witnessing other people with intersectional identities like my own, use their voice and show that they are thriving. I am motivated and passionate to continue paving a path that my ancestors are proud of for being authentically me, and being a role model for other students who need to see themselves reflected.

# data[].attributes.body
I am currently pursing my graduate degree, and my biggest motivation of learning is to contribute greatly to the society after I finish my graduate program. As an ambitious and internationally-minded individual, I hope to apply myself towards a goal of contributing to society through my effort on the current state of affairs. A curious mind, which also motivates me to learn. I am passionate about helping others and I enjoy simple happiness in life, even if just giving up a seat on the train to an elderly or a person that's in need. I believe my graduate program is prepping me in gearing towards what I want to accomplish in not only my career goal, but also in life. Moreover, I consider myself an open-minded person with a good listening skill, and pursuing new knowledge brings me joy even if gets challenging sometimes, because at the end of the day, I believe it is such a rewarding experience and opportunity. I would't have it any other way. :)

# data[].attributes.body
I am pursuing my degree because many different kinds of motivation. The first is social-economic factors, which consist of social-economic changes, different kind of media and some other variables. Starting from 2000, the economy in China increase more and more. Lots of people generally realize the importance of education that speaking well English is considered as a part of it. US as an English-speaking country which is also famous for its great education quality. As a L2 learner of English, US’s social status and English-speaking environment gave me motivation on learning in the TESOL program. I also have internal motivation that I am interested in linguistics and I hope I can be a good educator by shearing my own experience of language learning as well as my knowledge and ability. The distinction and connection between different languages are always fascinating to me. In addition, by planning my feature career, I did realize the importance of learning well English. I also found the market of teaching English in non-English speaking countries. I think these are all the motivations why I am choosing the TESOL program and pursing my degree.

# data[].attributes.body
When I think back now, I think I’ve always been a very motivated learner. I think culture plays an important role in my learning. When I was younger, parents were the ones motivated to learn. I did not want to disappoint them. I wanted to please and make them proud, so I was motivated to finish my credits early and to get the grades I thought would make them happy.

As I get older and get to learn about myself more, I find that what motivates me to learn is my own desire to be better. I simply just want to know more to fulfill my curiosity. Learning can give you new career opportunity and it also helps me to escape from boredom after a long period of time. I think this is the reason why I decided to pursue a degree in computer science, which is completely different from what I have done and learned. Although I have a science background, this degree is definitely the hardest thing I’ve learned so far. However, this also makes me feels stronger than ever because it even makes me more motivated. Each little step along the way makes me feel very rewarding. I think the most exciting thing about learning is the ability to challenge myself.  I also believe that women, especially minorities, are underrepresented in the STEM field. I hope to use the skills I learn to create a community to bring people together and just give back for those in need.

# data[].attributes.body
In the early years of my higher education I felt like I was aimlessly going through the motions of taking classes to fulfill requirements and I didn’t really know where it was all leading me to. I felt like I was completing courses to get the grade, to please other people and to do what everyone else thought was “right”. It came to a point where I had to take a break and re evaluate why I was doing what I was doing, What was it for? Where did I want to go with all this education that I was just accumulating under my belt? It took that break and a realization that I was able to understand what my true motivations were and why and where I wanted to go. I now understand that I am motivated to learn because I truly enjoy the process, I enjoy the challenge and the interaction with new material and ideas that challenge my current state of thinking with like-minded people. I want to pursue education because I feel like it is such an important part of every single persons life, we all go to school, some decide to continue on to higher ed, and I want to learn how to make it as great of an experience for others as it had been for me. I realized when I was the happiest, most motivated and at a good place in my life was when I was in school and in the classroom. The money is also a motivating factor but not high on my list, I am not pursuing a degree in education for the money, I know it is not a highly lucrative career, especially the area that I want to continue to work with - nonprofits, refugees and community based ESL classes. Another motivating factor that I have been able to identify is the sense and feeling of being rewarded by helping others learn, it is not a monetary reward but a smile on a students face, or just a great sense of joy when students are able to make connections to new ideas with my help and guidance. Also, especially in CB ESL classes, another motivating factor is the idea that I am giving back in a way to those who really need the support. Being able to continue to do these things for students makes me feel passionate and excited to learn. I want to be able to better serve my students and provide them the highest quality education I can and I can only do this through continuing to learn about the theories, models and strategies to help apply to them.

# data[].attributes.body
Testing the Padlet! Here is a pic of my pup