How Seattle University Graduate Erin Kwan is Expanding Access in Higher Education

Erin Kwan’s path into higher education began with a strong sense of commitment to the field and a desire to contribute to a larger mission.

“I felt like that's where big impacts were being made,” Erin says, “That's where I felt like I belonged.”

After years of experience in the field, Erin wanted to better understand the ideas behind the work they were already doing. That search led Erin to Seattle University’s Master of Arts in Higher Education Leadership and Administration.

What began as a way to deepen their professional knowledge became a much broader period of growth. “I've grown in ways that I never could have anticipated,” Erin shares.

Today, as the Executive Assistant to the Vice Presidents of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Planning & Institutional Effectiveness at Shoreline College and in their previous role as Senior Advisor in Seattle University’s Office of Prestigious Fellowships and Awards, Erin applies that learning to one of the questions that matters most to them: how higher education can become more accessible to the students it serves.

Building a Foundation in Higher Education Leadership

Erin entered the Higher Education Leadership Administration (HELA) program, formerly Student Development Administration, during their fourth year of full-time employment at Seattle University.

Years of professional experience had given Erin practical knowledge of higher education, and they wanted to deepen that knowledge through research and theory.

“I really felt that I was missing that foundational theory, best practices, scholarship piece,” Erin explains. “I was missing that academic background aspect of the higher education profession.”

The program gave Erin opportunities to study higher education through subjects such as leadership and organizational change. They learned more about how different parts of an institution function and how the decisions made within them affect students.

“I came out with so much more than I had bargained for,” Erin shares. “Not only do I now have that foundational and theoretical and scholarly view of the profession, but I also have a much better understanding of all the different aspects of higher education, the many complicated moving parts of higher education.”

Building on more than 30 years of the program’s history, HELA prepares equity-minded leaders to work across higher education and related educational organizations. The curriculum gives students a deeper understanding of the systems and responsibilities that shape colleges and universities.

Exploring New Areas of Higher Education

Some of Erin’s most memorable growth came from subjects they initially found intimidating, such as higher education law and policy.

“I was very intimidated by the prospect of sitting down and grappling with bills, policy proposals, and all things legal jargon,” Erin explains.

Working through unfamiliar material in a supportive classroom gave Erin room to ask questions and make mistakes, strengthening their confidence in areas of higher education they had not previously explored.

“I'm really grateful that I had the opportunity to grapple with it in a class and in an environment designed for learning because it just allowed me to make mistakes,” they share.

Gaining Hands-On Experience Through HELA

An internship with the University of Washington Bothell gave Erin an opportunity to experience higher education in a different institutional setting.

Working with the Office of Connected Learning, Erin supported Digital Scholars, a cohort serving first-time-in-college and first-generation students interested in computer science or related fields. The experience gave Erin another view of how students encounter opportunities within higher education, including the assumptions institutions can make about what students already know.

During the experience, Erin designed a research project evaluating how the Digital Scholars program aligned with the office’s student learning outcomes.

“That was one of the first times I was given full reign to not only design, but come up with this research project,” Erin says.

The experience brought together Erin’s interest in research with the questions they had been exploring through graduate study. It also gave them the chance to contribute something meaningful to the students and office they were working alongside.

“I am going to not only produce something that's very meaningful for the Connected Learning Office and for the Digital Scholars cohort, but for myself, to really show that I've learned and that I can operate in higher education and make a difference,” Erin remembers thinking.

Experiential learning is an important part of HELA, creating space for students to explore professional interests while bringing classroom learning into higher education settings. For Erin, the experience became an early point of connection to the questions that would become increasingly important in their work.

Understanding Equity and Access in Higher Education

Social justice became part of Erin’s graduate experience from the very beginning. “The very first course I took was a summer course titled Social Justice,” Erin recalls. “I feel like that really set me up for what I was entering into for the program as a whole.”

Those conversations continued as Erin moved through the program. “We can't have these conversations about developing and growing and improving higher education without talking about issues of access, issues of equity, issues of inclusion,” they explain.

HELA brings these questions directly into coursework. Aligning with Seattle University’s Jesuit approach to whole-person education, students consider how policies or institutional practices can influence the experiences of the people colleges and universities serve.

That emphasis reflects the broader focus on equity and justice across Seattle University’s College of Education, and those questions shapes tangible choices in Erin’s work with prestigious fellowships and awards. When thinking about the lessons that show up most frequently in their own work, Erin focuses in on those values:

“Being able to discern between equity, inclusion, and access,” Erin says. “They're all separate things; they're all related, but you can have different ways of having representation and having resources available that don't necessarily equate to access.”

One place that perspective has influenced their work is the application process. Erin has created resources in different formats with neurodivergent students in mind, giving applicants more ways to understand what can be an unfamiliar process.

That work also connected Erin with the Fulbrighters with Disabilities chapter of the Fulbright Association, where they shared resources and supported accessible programming. “That's been something that's been really special, and that I've taken directly from my program and what we learn in class and applied it to my professional practice,” Erin says.

What Does It Mean to Make Higher Education “Student Ready”?

Erin’s internship with Digital Scholars also changed the way they think about the knowledge colleagues sometimes expect students to already have. Some students Erin worked with did not understand what an internship was, or how it differed from a job.

That experience helped Erin see the “hidden curriculum” of higher education more closely. An opportunity can seem readily available on paper, while still feeling difficult to understand or pursue.

Erin emphasizes that institutions have a responsibility to recognize those differences. “We need to meet everyone who's coming onto our campuses, not just the students who are college ready.  We need to be student ready because that's who we're there for,” they share.

That means paying attention to where a process may depend on assumptions and asking whether students have the information they need to actively participate. In practice, expanding access can begin with making those unwritten expectations clear.

This student-centered perspective is closely connected to HELA’s focus on educational access. Students explore how institutions can better understand the communities they serve while considering their own role in supporting student success.

Finding Flexibility and Connection in Higher Education

HELA’s asynchronous online format gives working professionals flexibility to fit coursework into their existing responsibilities. Students can move through weekly learning on their own schedules while remaining connected to faculty and classmates throughout the program.

That flexibility mattered to Erin, who hoped to return to school while continuing to work full time. “I wasn't so sure about working full-time and doing school more or less full-time,” they recall.

Balancing the two required adjustment, especially during weeks with demanding workloads. Erin found routines that worked for them, often using public libraries near home as study spaces.

Even within an asynchronous format, the cohort became an important source of support as they worked through readings and unfamiliar ideas. Classmates brought different perspectives to the coursework and helped one another work through unfamiliar ideas.

“They would have insights that I had not pulled out of the reading, and I would be able to offer details that stuck out to me that maybe they hadn't seen,” Erin explains. “Having a collaborative cohort was really key for me.”

A Human-Centered Approach to Leadership

Erin entered the program looking for a stronger academic understanding of their profession. Their experience ultimately influenced something much more personal: how they think about the people at the heart of higher education. “They're not just students, they're people first and foremost,” Erin emphasizes.

That belief continues to inform the way Erin works with students and the questions they ask about access. The program enabled them to look closely at the processes students are asked to navigate and consider who may still face barriers.

“It really, truly became a space where I grew so much,” they share. That growth stayed with them during their seven year career at Seattle University. “Not only did it clarify my professional values and my professional mission, but also my personal one,” Erin says.

Whether they are rethinking a campus resource or questioning an unwritten expectation, Erin’s goal is to help more students understand the opportunities available to them and feel prepared to pursue them.

Learn more about Seattle University’s Master of Arts in Higher Education Leadership and Administration.