Assessment is a critical activity in the life of a professor. The authors' interest in professors' internal experiences of assessment led them to conduct a grounded theory study in which they interviewed 16 faculty teaching in social science and pre-professional programs, asking them to reflect on assessing master's thesis and capstone projects. They identified two primary domains of assessment activity--Visible and Unseen. Within these domains, they recognized Understanding Self as the assessor and Being in Relationship with students as the core dimensions that professors described as central to assessing student work. The authors propose a model of professors' internal experiences of assessment and suggest that a deeper understanding of the relational and emotional dynamics of teaching situates faculty to be more intentional and effective in responding to students and student work.