"Your students are your best PR." Come for this and more sweet nuggets of wisdom from the current ACSD Diversity Chair, Yicaury Melo. She hails from Gordon College in the greater Boston area where she has worked for years on raising the multicultural program on campus from the ground up. This episode is rich with specific strategies and ideas that Yicaury has employed successfully on her campus. It also features an in-depth description of a new certification opportunity through the ACSD called Elevate. Be sure to follow up at acsd.org for more information if you are interested in the certification program.

0:50 Opening and banter

2:30 Introduction of guest

5:15 Multicultural programming at Gordon College

18:30 Diversity work in ACSD

19:48 Introducing the Elevate Certificate

28:27 Advancing support on under resourced campuses

34:35 Resources Yicaury suggests for you

39:11 Call for crowdsourced ideas for the podcast

Yicaury is happy to be reached at [email protected] with your questions and ideas! And please reach out to [email protected] with your ideas for future episodes.

We're back! Recorded at the ACSD conference in June 2023, Episode 7 will introduce you to Kristy Morgan and Steve Ivester. At the time of recording, Kristy served as the President of ACSD and Steve was the President Elect. If you have been looking for a passive way to learn more about the association, you've come to the right spot! Together, you'll hear them share the mission and vision of the ACSD. Kristy and Steve are wonderful people, engaging speakers, and both are thoroughly experienced in the field. They were an insightful and delightful pair to speak with as our first double interview of the season.

0:00 Opening and banter

2:41 Guest introduction

6:23 Detailed description of President and President Elect roles

9:50 Steve's prep-work and vision for his Presidency

13:40 Kristy's reflection on her Presidency

17:05 Recommendations for young professionals

21:15 Kara roasts Skip Trudeau

22:05 How members can get involved in the ACSD

28:55 Closing

In this world of Higher Ed, summer is notorious for transitions. Whether you are making a job change yourself or welcoming a new teammate in the coming months, you'll find something relatable in this episode with Lyndsey. Our guest has served nearly a year as the Assistant Director of Residence Life Programs at Taylor University. As a former colleague and close friend to both our hosts, this episode platforms a round-table conversation about change and transition. Each voice brings something valuable to the conversation having navigated simultaneous as each spent the summer of 2022 moving to a new state and starting a new level of job at a new campus. You'll hear some philosophical discussion about adapting to new cultures and framing a transition experience, but you'll also walk away with some tangible ideas for how to make a new city or campus feel like home. We hope you enjoy it!

Do you have imposter syndrome about your imposter syndrome? Alex Staup is the Director of Student Engagement at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, and he hits on this and more relatable points as he walks us through his professional and educational history. He has held a number of roles in Student Development all while at Lee, complimented by a completed Masters in Higher Education and PhD in progress at Purdue in Educational Studies. Alex is a an avid proponent of student development theory, but like all good Student Development professionals, he knows the magic lies in turning theory into practice. Wherever you lie on the spectrum of having all of Chickering's publications memorized to not knowing student development had any academic applications, you'll find something to learn from this conversation.

Jose Brown is a Residence Director at Anderson University in Anderson, South Carolina, which happens to be the site of the 2023 ACSD conference. In this episode, Jose describes some of the work that goes into hosting the annual conference and what attendees can expect, but his episode is much more than that. We also explore his experience in Christian Higher Education as a person of color and hear his experience in working with teams of student leaders to help foster a passion for diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice in their own lives. Jose is passionate about the spiritual lives of his students, and he is a great example of a young RD who's goal is to step further into the world of Christian Higher Ed as his experience both broadens and deepens in the areas he is passionate about.

Lisa Igram is currently the Interim Vice President and Dean of Student Wellness in the division of Student Development at Biola University in La Mirada, California. She is also in the midst of a PhD program of Divinity and Religious Studies at the University of Aberdeen. In this uplifting conversation, Lisa tells us about how her work is driven by her deep and broad-spanning passions, but also how she is able to "keep the wheels on" during institutional seasons of need. In her Dean role, Lisa has been able to drive the conversation of wholistic wellness at Biola in new ways, although she readily admits that her interim Vice President role often takes her attention away from innovation in that area. Lisa unpacks hot topics of work engagement, self-care, and institutional loyalty through her unique multi-disciplinary approach and clear authentic care for her students and peers.

Katie Garrett is currently the Assistant Director of Programming at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In this episode, Katie tells us stories of her time spent in multiple roles at different types of institutions. She discusses how her passion for and education in spiritual formation paired with her rich experience in camp ministry and Christian higher education is benefitting her role now at a non-faith based institution.

What is A Higher Education podcast? And why re-launch it after some time off? Dr. Mark Muha, Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students at Trinity International University, along with Kara Martin, Associate Director of Residence Life at George Fox University, introduce themselves as co-hosts and answer why a podcast through the ACSD could be helpful to student development professionals.