Vision: Develop a brief personal statement introducing yourself.
Purpose: What is the purpose of your digital portfolio?
Audience: Who are your target audiences?
CHALLENGE: Sum up your life in six words!
Video: “Six Tips for Writing Six-Word Memoirs.” (2021). Sixwordmemoirs.com. https://www.sixwordmemoirs.com/community/six-in-schools/video-six-tips-for-writing-six-word-memoirs/
Your "About Me" section is an opportunity to introduce yourself to various inward and outward-facing audiences.
Artifact: headshot, personal image
Who are you?
Why did you choose to attend Dominican University?
What is your major (and minor, if applicable), and why did you choose this field of study?
What are your strengths and areas for growth?
What challenges or fears do you have about college?
Who or what inspires you?
What do you hope to gain from your Dominican experience?
Highlight the work that best represents your skills, creativity, and academic achievements.
Artifact: research, reflection on research, creative work image, reflection on creative process
Undergraduate & Graduate Research (published or pending)
Creative Works in various artistic media such as graphic art, dance, music, podcasts, poetry, drama, photography, and more
Writing Samples
The Education Plan is guided by interactions with campus mentors, such as your academic advisor, integrative coach, faculty mentor, peer mentor, and other professionals, to set short, medium, and long-term goals.
Artifact: SMART Goals, timeline, projected plan
If there was one thing you could change in the world, what would it be?
What are you passionate about?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
What are your short, medium, and long-term goals?
What fields of study interest you and why?
What extracurricular experiences (e.g., service-learning, internships, study abroad) do you want to pursue?
Reflect on an experience and share lessons learned, biases confronted, or other challenges to your perspective before and after the experience.
Artifact: reflections, images at placement, media that showcases applied experiences and/or theory in practice
Service-Learning, Community Partnerships
Community Service, Outreach, or Involvement
Spiritual and Religious Life
Clinicals
Fieldwork
Start your digital portfolio with a professional statement outlining your long-term vision. If your vision is still evolving, share your goals for personal and professional growth.
Artifact: Resume/CV (hyperlink to LinkedIn), certifications, credentials
What career paths interest you?
How do you see your coursework building career readiness skills?
What out-of-class experiences have shaped your professional vision?
How do your values align with this vision?
What is your next step?
Informational interview
Career shadowing
Research
Many paid and unpaid positions can speak toward your leadership skills, personal agency, and upholding the values and ethics of commitment.
Artifact: images in action, reflections, professional events,
Peer Mentor or other mentor-mentee relationship
Student government
Student organizations, clubs, groups, and other affinity groups
Internships
Assistantships
Clinicals
Part-time or full-time employment
Reflect on these experiences and how they align with your growth as an ethical leader and socially responsible global citizen.
Artifact: media of experience, reflections, course assignments
Study abroad experience, reflections on global immersion, or travel
“Global” experiences, reflecting on how global knowledge has shaped your local experiences
Essays demonstrating your understanding of global issues
Applied course learning that showcases global perspectives
Students:
Our identities can be both constant and evolving. Some aspects remain steady throughout our lives, while others shift as we acquire new skills or take on different roles.
Certain parts of our identity feel central to who we are, regardless of the context, while others may feel more fluid or dependent on the situation.
Additionally, some identities are labels others assign to us, while others may be ones we don’t necessarily recognize in ourselves, even though others see them.
Educators:
If students will be sharing their identity charts with a partner or in groups, it’s important to inform them ahead of time. For students who may not feel comfortable sharing their charts, they can choose to elaborate on one or two aspects of their identity while keeping the rest of their chart private.
After discussing their charts, students can compile a list of the categories they used to describe themselves. This list can then serve as a guide for creating identity charts for others or for different groups.
Credit: Adapted from Levi Romero's Where I'm From Poem Template, www.fhjconsulting.com
CHALLENGE: Perspective taking; consider your story retold from another's perspective and/or identity.
How does your story shift?
Video: Adichie, C. N. (2009). The Danger of a Single Story [YouTube Video]. In TED Talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg