In my first semester of the masters of higher education program, I took a course on student development theories. In order to understand how a traditional undergraduate develops, we first had to reflect on our own undergraduate journey. Each student created an art project in addition to a written paper that used prominent theories to explain our experience.
I had a jagged experience that involved transferring after my second year, switching majors, then switching back. I symbolized this experience with a Jacob's ladder toy. When the top panel of the Jacob's ladder is flipped, each other panel flips in sequence. This movement creates the illusion of progress even though there is none. I used photos from the summer before my first year of college through my last semester to signify my own illusion of progress.
I learned a lot about myself through this reflective process. Even though my undergraduate experience ended more than a decade ago, there are still key moments that created those back-and-forth decisions that ultimately led me to where I am today. I did not find one developmental theory that explained my experience exactly, but the practice of trying to make sense of student psychology helped me remember what young students go through.
![Front of jacob's ladder toy](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/cf21750e1c51c55a5905a148eb946973/28e081a2-d895-4539-9930-b0d6cbbc54b5_rw_600.jpg?h=10786fd565896bcc06d9591444898c47)
![jacob's ladder toy in motion](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/cf21750e1c51c55a5905a148eb946973/2e58f383-3fc2-4788-8471-baef9de5f301_rw_600.jpg?h=3d282c6ad73687265be223ab7c88715b)