I have made two key realizations about what I have learned about myself and how I have changed since I have entered the program. First, I have learned that my own experiences and story contain truth and knowledge. Upon entering this program, I still subscribed to the belief that knowledge and information existed external to oneself. I attribute this viewpoint to coming from a largely science related academic discipline. Knowledge was presented as fact that needed to be memorized and internalized. I do acknowledge that there was a great deal of application with this knowledge - we were often given bricks and tools and expected to build a house. However, I think this program introduced me to the notion that my story and experiences contained the knowledge to address the problems presented in the classroom. In other words, many of my classes challenged my to connect the theoretical and abstract content to my practical lived experiences. Making these connections was an empowering experience for me - I developed a greater understanding of my story and greater confidence in sharing it. I think this experience also illuminated for me that the students I work with also have power and knowledge in their stories and part of my job as a professional in higher education is to work with them to make the critical connections between their academic and lived experience.