ACPA Believes

Featured Stories

This I believe – I have the power to change the world.  In fact, I believe that I have already done so, and continue to do so on a daily basis.
In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the entire Gulf Coast.  In the days following the initial hurricane, the aftermath devastated the city of New Orleans, LA.  In March of 2006, I had the opportunity to go to New Orleans on a service trip with 18 other students and faculty members of Creighton University.  Our task would be to help clean-up homes in the poorer areas of the city that had been mostly washed away by the hurricane and the flooding.  When we arrived to our worksite on the first day, we were told that the house we were going to be gutting had not been touched since the hurricane had hit six months prior.  We were also told that we might never meet the homeowners, as they had been re-located after the storm.   My team gutted that home along with two others that week.  While we never met the homeowners of any of these homes, I know that we changed their lives forever, just by choosing to spend one week of our lives helping to rebuild theirs.
The way I change the world daily doesn’t end up on CNN or even your local, nightly news.  In fact, there is a good possibility that my time will pass without a large majority of the world even knowing that I have lived.  However, I know that my impact on just one person has the ability to change their world, and, in turn, can change the world of those around them.  Because of one interaction, the circle of those affected grows indefinitely.
So, no, I will never find a cure for a deadly disease like HIV.  I’ll leave that up to the doctors and scientists.  My time as a social worker, however, helped change the lives of many people affected by this deadly virus. I accomplished this by providing them with the assistance they needed to pay for their medications, or a bus pass to take the bus to get to the hospital, or even a small, daily hot meal served in my office.  While I am no longer a social worker, I will continue to do the small, but immeasurable things that add up and can change the world of those around me. I can offer a smile to someone passing on the street, have a conversation with a student who might be struggling, and tell my girlfriend that I love her.  In turn, those who have never even met me or had any contact with me whatsoever will be affected.  It is in these small, but powerful ways that I believe I have the power to change the world.

Kevin Cleary • Graduate Community Director • The University of Arizona • cleary@life.arizona.edu

ACPA Believes: The year was 1936 and the United States was held tightly in the grip of the Great Depression. My father was a 16 year old high school student living in Ashland, Oregon. Christmas that year was going to be very difficult for the Coomes family. My grandfather was unemployed and my grandmother worked long hours for little money as a nurse’s aide. On Christmas Eve my grandmother had to work late, leaving my grandfather and father alone in a dark and cold house. Being the perceptive person he was, my grandfather noticed my father was rather depressed by the prospects of a meager Christmas. My father knew that gifts would be limited, that Christmas dinner would be sparse, and that it was unlikely that the sweet aroma of baking would fill the house. When my grandfather asked him what would make Christmas more celebrative, my father answered, “Mince meat pie.” My grandfather, rightly thinking that making a pie would give the two of them something to do and would take my father’s mind off of the challenges the family faced, said, “Let’s make one. What do we need?”

Father: “Flour, lard, and water for the crust.”

Grandfather: “We have flour, lard, and water—what do we need for a filling.”

Father: “Apples, raisins, figs, brown sugar, whiskey, and . . .meat?”

Grandfather: “Well, we have some apples, raisins, figs, and cane sugar and I have a little Bourbon. But we cannot use the roast for Christmas dinner—Mom would be really angry. We do have a tin of corned beef.”

Father: “You can’t make mincemeat pie with corned beef!”

Grandfather: “How do you know unless you have tried?”

So, the two of them spent Christmas Eve enjoying each other’s company while making what may be history’s one-and-only Corned Beef Mincemeat pie. My father never told me if the pie was any good (or even edible), but the lesson of, “How do you know unless you have tried?” has stuck with me and formed an important core belief. We must “try” even when trying is hard and may not bring the results we seek. We must try to be better. We must try new foods, new ideas, new friends, new experiences, new places. Most of all, we must constantly try to help others—students, peers, colleagues, and the larger world. We may fail as often as we succeed, but in trying we will grow and learn and we may make a contribution that benefits others. And, who knows, Corned Beef Mincemeat Pie just might be tasty; I think I’ll try some this Christmas.

Michael D. Coomes • Associate Professor and Chair, Higher Education and Student Affairs • Bowling Green State University • mcoomes@bgsu.edu

I believe . . .

I believe in a loving divine higher power.

I believe that love never fails. We are to love each other as we love ourselves.

I believe that for everything there is a time and a season, from the deepest sorrow to the highest jubilation. This is living.

I believe in honesty, direct and uncompromising.

I believe in self-awareness, the root of all learning.

I believe in family, the family who molded me and made me into the person I am today and the family of friends who love and support me.

I believe there are times of unbelief when my doubt shakes my inner core. However, I emerge either changed or unchanged, but always stronger and more certain.

I understand . . .

I understand that I do not embody all that I believe. Sometimes, people are hard to love. Sometimes I am not honest with myself or others. And I do not fully know myself . . . yet.

I believe . . .

I believe we are all on a journey towards the truth. Many paths lead to it. Not all will find it. I hope I see others there.

Jon Todd • Residence Director • UMass, Amherst • jtodd@gw.housing.umass.edu

I believe in always striving towards excellence.  Early on in my undergraduate career I learned I had the control of my life and what I was able to accomplish.  There were endless opportunities available to me and I had to choose from the available resources to accomplish what was important to me.

I could have gone to my classes each week and then gone home for the night and watched television.  Instead I decided to become involved in a number of extracurricular activities.  The most influential in my development was when I was president of my fraternity.  Once I had been elected I was instantly empowered to do anything it took in order for the chapter to become one of excellence.  It was important that the chapter was operating on the ideals and values upon which it was based.  I knew that it was impossible to make everything perfect during my one-year term in office, but I also knew that I could get a couple steps closer toward excellence.  My motivation and inspiration toward excellence for the chapter came from the very simple statement of purpose for the organization, which is “to cultivate and maintain the high ideals of friendship, justice, and learning.” At the very least I knew I had to maintain the chapter’s current operations.  However, this sense of excellence comes from the piece of trying to cultivate the different areas of the chapter.  For example, our risk management plan was probably the best on campus already, but there were areas that could be tightened up to protect the chapter.  Upon cultivating changes to the risk management program, the new challenge would be to maintain at the new level, which is that much closer to excellence.

The concept of excellence is very intangible and challenging to specifically define.  Individuals need to create and always have a personal vision of what excellence looks like to them and strive towards it.  In the context of organizations or where others are involved, there is a shared vision of excellence that must be created.  One must never get discouraged if excellence is not accomplished as fast or as easily as they would like.  As long as they are making progress and not slipping backwards, then they will be able to leave their mark.

In relation to student affairs, I think it is important to always convey this sense of excellence.  When working with students and other colleagues it is important to always challenge them and push them to always look for ways to cultivate, while also maintaining.  By doing this you act as a role model to others.  This concept of excellence includes the pieces of making consistent decisions that will not be destructive or compromise the vision.  It is important to always challenge the vision of excellence and make sure it is aligned with other personal or organizational values.

Kevin Lobdell • Graduate Assistant • University of Connecticut • kevin.lobdell@gmail.com

The Greatest Lesson

I went to a good college. I made good grades and served in many leadership positions along the way, but my belief developed out of my work with our neighborhood community college. That experience taught me the value of humility. Daily, I witnessed the struggles our students’ faced. For many, life offered immense challenges. Students balanced parenting and academic responsibilities. Other’s worried that electric or heat services would be cancelled for failure to pay ever-surmounting bills. Several more didn’t have the luxury of permanent housing that I had come to take for granted. 

In my first few weeks on the job, I was ashamed. Not because of my wealth or privilege, but because I believed working at a community college preparatory program was second-rate in comparison to my colleagues at four-year institutions. Having grown up in a nearby affluent suburb, I had been socialized to believe community colleges were a ‘dumping ground’ for anyone not smart or hard-working enough to make it in academia. When asked where I worked I would make excuses, saying it was a transitional job until I found something better. I thought I was too good to work there.

My perspective changed when I became open to conversations with students. With each conversation I developed awareness of the complexity and richness of their lives. Students divulged passions, successes, and aspirations to me. It was merely happenstance that I was the teacher, they the student. That didn’t make me a better person. It made me the teacher.  

I believe magic happened in that classroom. I witnessed tremendous acts of courage and persistence. Our students had an unwavering sense of self-discipline. They defied stereotypes and the odds against them. And it had nothing to do with me, or my job. I was not better than any student in that classroom. My education and my upbringing did not define who I was. And theirs did not define them. The true measure of who I was, was found in my interactions with students. I found magic in our mutual exchange. The opportunity to learn about their lives, to hear of their struggles and successes afforded me great humility.

Heather Wilhelm • Graduate Assistant • University of Connecticut • heather.wilhelm@uconn.ed

I believe in the power of one. One moment, one gesture, one person can change a life. For me, Dr. Scott Johnson, my college academic advisor and professor at the University of Richmond, was “the one.” After four years drifting through my majors, involving myself in countless activities, and questioning everything, in April 2005 Dr. J asked me one question that profoundly changed the course of my life: “Ashleigh, what sets you on fire?”

Dr. J liked analogies. He wanted to know what it was about my college experience that motivated me to get out of bed every morning, to work so hard, to invest so much of myself into the campus community. And though many others had asked me about my college experience, no one had ever asked where I found my purpose, what “set me on fire.” That moment flipped a switch in my head. In class, Dr. J referred to such occurrences as Ah-Ha! moments- the instant in which everything falls into place. I answered him; “orientation.”

My involvement in my college orientation program was the beating heart of my undergraduate experience, and in that one moment, in response to Dr. J’s one question, I finally recognized it as such. That day, I began searching for my first job in higher education.

Very few career paths and choices result in so many opportunities to both embody and experience the power of one than working in education and student affairs. Our roles provide daily opportunities to help, heal, teach, and empower. To liberate, counsel, encourage, and empathize. To, in some way, be the one that can make the journey through the maze-like college experience a little more navigable for our students.

To work in student affairs is to know what it feels like to celebrate with a student who has surpassed a major milestone in life, and hold the hand of a student whose world is crumbling; to give a student the extra push needed to take a big, but worthy risk, and pull a student back when the safety net relied upon is faulty; to be the advisor, confidante, administrator, and educator of students, sometimes all at once.

For me, student affairs has been a study in these contrasts, but also incredibly rewarding. And in remarkable ways, my work with and for students brings the power of one right back to me. I have learned more from my students about life than I could have imagined when I made the decision to enter student affairs, for which I am incredibly grateful. 

One moment, one gesture, one person can change everything.
 
Every day, my work with students affirms my path and motivates me to continue learning, developing, and becoming a better person. Every day I hope I help students do the same, by affirming their paths and motivating them to continue learning, developing and working toward better selves and a better world. I believe this is my calling. I believe in the power of one. 

Ashleigh Heck • Career Advisor/Graduate Student • Michigan State University • heckashl@msu.edu

I believe in stories.  I am captivated by the propensity that humans have to tell them.  There is an incredible power in the telling of a story, in the relaying of an experience.  I grew up loving the characters in novels, the ideas of the authors, the wonderful adventures and terrible tragedies that characterize the human existence in fiction.
 
Though my love of stories began with those printed and bound, I believe that the greatest stories of all can be found in the lives of others.  Each person is the author of his or her own singularly magnificent story.  Even the greatest novels pale in comparison to the intricate complexity and dynamics of a life in motion.  Those stories are not printed on paper, bound and sitting on a self, but are ever changing, dynamic existences that move into our lives waiting to be read.
 
Despite the infinite availability of these wonderful stories, many will pass into our lives and remain unread, like a classic novel gathering dust on a shelf.  Unlike the novels we cast aside, these dynamic stories, so beautifully embodied in others, will not sit on the shelf waiting for our attention, but rather will flit out of our lives when life again moves them.  The impermanence of these stories brought me to believe that as important as it is to place the proverbial pen to the paper of our lives and write, that it is equally important to take the time to listen to and to learn from the stories of others.
 
Our stories are the connecting fiber of humanity and they inextricably bind us together. The events in our stories may not always be just or noble and the value of our story may be difficult to discern.  However, each life's stories are worth seeking out, listening to and understanding.  It is through the understanding of other's stories we enrich our own.

Carrie Miller • Graduate Student • Northeastern University • c.miller@neu.edu

I believe that optimism always prevails over pessimism.  Several years ago, Dean Mack Sowell saw potential in me.  He shared his optimism for my future, and he changed my life.  I believe that my vocation, my calling, is to do the same for the wonderful students whom I have the privilege to serve.  I see ACPA as a huge organization of servant-leaders who have dedicated their lives to educating students.  We know that with every obstacle comes an opportunity.  We choose to believe that students are inherently good.  We know that what we do makes a difference.  We promote our profession by doing it in such a manner that students who would have not considered working on a college campus find themselves examining the possibilities of following our example. 

We are convinced that the college experience entails a great deal of learning that takes place outside of classrooms.  We know that student photographs from college life will most likely reflect upon those activities that are outside of the classroom.  We partner with the faculty to help students become citizens of the world.  We often wonder how great this young man or young woman could be if they would only apply themselves.  We marvel in the growth that we see from orientation to graduation.  We are prepared to stand with students and smile in the triumphant moments and to weep and mourn with them during times of tragedy and great turmoil.  Our work is deliberate, meaningful, consuming, yet so enjoyable.  Whether we are near the back of the line pushing students into their destiny, or in the front of the line pulling them into the lane of victory, we strive to always be facilitators of success.  Every young man and woman who has taken the time to write, call, or tell someone about me, serves to justify my undying optimism in the future leaders of our world.  I shall continue to believe in our students and in the guiding principles of ACPA. 

Art R. Malloy • Dean of Student Services • Savannah College of Art and Design - Atlanta • amalloy@scad.edu

I believe that we are all citizens of the world and although not all of us can effect change on a global scale, we can all do something to make our corner of the world a little brighter. Not everyone is going to be president or win the Noble Prize, most of us will not be working on a cure for cancer or the creation of a genetically altered crop to feed the world, but this does not let us off the hook. There are so many things we can do each and every day to make a difference. Volunteer in your local community, recycle your trash, hold the door for someone, vote, adopt a pet from the pound, or even just give a stranger a smile. Go on-line and sign a petition for a cause that is dear to you, it does not take a monetary donation to make a difference. How about stopping your car the next time someone wants to make a turn across traffic or a pedestrian wants to cross the street, even if it costs you a few extra seconds. Those are the things that give me a spark of hope for humanity.  If we all worked to change our little corner of the world for the good, then what a world this would be!

Shelley Nicholson • Director of Women’'s Programs/Assessment Coordinator • Campus Life and Student Affairs • WPI • shell@wpi.edu

Krista was part of the “O-Team” with me in undergrad. We spent the summer working the orientation events, and when she died that fall semester after an accident in her residence hall, the entire campus community mourned. Just a week before in the campus dining hall, she had told me that she made the decision to go into student affairs after finishing her degree. She would have been a really great addition to the profession.

The more I processed through my own grief at losing a friend, I was reminded continuously about a quote that I often heard Krista say: “Live to make a difference.” A year later, I decided to go into student affairs, partly because of Krista, but mostly because I loved the idea of working on a college campus for my career.  Krista’s voice rang around in my head as I read Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) words from Education and Identity during my first year in graduate school: “While some epiphanies are dramatic and sudden, most occur gradually and incrementally. We may not know for years that a single lecture or conversation or experience started a chain reaction that transformed some aspect of ourselves” (p. 43). It was so true. All of my conversations with friends, family, mentors, and professors throughout my four years of college had shaped me to the person I am today. Krista’s mantra of living to make a difference had made a difference to me. I can only hope in my career that I will continue to make a difference in the lives of the students, faculty, and staff that I interact with on university campuses across the country. I believe that is what we are called to do in our profession.

Sarah Howard • Academic Advisor • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • howardsj@email.unc.edu

I believe we must support students through all of their identities – and do our own work to understand how we can be better allies across identity differences. 

What I have always appreciated about ACPA is that the people within the association believe it is equally important to support the people who deliver quality service and programs to students as it is to work with students.  As a new professional 10 years ago, I felt at home with ACPA’s Standing Committees - most specifically with the Standing Committee for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Awareness. 

Starting with my first contact with the Standing Committee in 1998, I was able to see how ACPA directly supported people who identified as LGBT within the association, as well as see how we could extend this learning and support to our work with students.  Because all of us have multiple identities, I felt equally at home working with the other standing committees that both reflected who I was - and those committees that required me to be an ally.  This holistic type of learning – one that supports the learner and what is learned – showcases our commitment to adult development, both young and old.

I believe that ACPA is a fluid learning organization, one that is capable of knowing when it is important to add new things to learn, which is how we continue to provide amazing learning opportunities to members about how to work with people who may (or may not) be different from who we are.  I am proud to be both a person that provides this learning and someone who has benefited from learning about working with colleagues from all types of backgrounds. 

I believe that student affairs professionals should do their homework in learning how their multiple identities impact their ability to relate to people across difference.  And I believe that ACPA does a phenomenal job in providing opportunities to do that homework! 

Joseph Rios • Associate Director, Leadership, Diversity & First Year Programs • New Jersey Institute of Technology • jrios@adm.njit.edu

I believe in treasure. Not the kind of booty (yes I said booty) that is discovered by a pirate searching the high seas with sails of skulls and cross bones. The kind of treasure that is a brilliant idea found at that moment right as your head hits the pillow before going to sleep, but to your dismay does not reappear in the morning like you promised yourself it would. The kind of treasure that sparkles after a good conversation with a buddy about what you want to do with your life, where you’re going, where they’re going, and why they have that weird obsession with that strange reality show.

I believe I am not here to find treasure, but it is here to find me – with a few caveats – I have to be willing, open, ready, and able to let it find me. While Jack and his crew were able to find treasure within a three-hour movie, I, you, we, are not always so lucky. Treasure is not based on trying or wanting – but being.

Treasure is not about the map with a giant “X” to mark any kind of spot, it is about the search. The search for something that is real, attainable, but not mine.  Something to aspire to, reach for, to yearn, and to be.

Often in the craziness of life, I am in a hurry to get things done and I rush and rush till life’s no fun. Treasure finds you - you do not find it.

I believe the treasure is not the X, it is the dotted line.

Jeff Grim • Residential College Director • Washington University in St. Louis • jgrim@wustl.edu

As a child attending Catholic Mass I often wondered why everyone in the congregation looked like my brother, mother and me. Did only Black people worship God? I would sit thinking (instead of paying attention to the sermon) why church didn’t look more like my classroom environment, grocery store, cub scouts troop or little league team. Where were all the Latino, white, Asian and bi-racial kids I saw day in and day out and played with after school? When I asked my mother about this observation she suggested that I focus on the priest’s message instead of worrying about who was in church with me. I always had an uneasy feeling about my mother’s response and somehow knew I was interconnected to others even if it was not a lived experience religiously.

The day after the 9/11 bombings my campus held a vigil. The President and Vice-President for Student Affairs opened the event with their reflections and then invited members of the community to share their thoughts, feelings and concerns. One student shared that we (the USA) needed to root out the wrongdoers and get “them.” My heart jumped as I wondered who “them” was. At the time of the vigil we did not know who had bombed the WTC nor did we have any real indication of the complexity of the bombings that is now common knowledge. I felt compelled to speak and shared with the community that “them” is “us” and we should take a moment to remember that what happens in Rwanda affects what happens in Russia and what happens in Russia impacts the lives of people in Thailand and the lives of people in Thailand inform the lives of US citizens. We are interconnected.

Interconnectedness is something in which I believe. I believe that my life is inextricably linked to all people. And as I travel around the country to conduct diversity/leadership training, or abroad or attend programs on my campus and/or move in my local community I am reminded that what happens to others happens to me. Yet each day I see constant reminders that we don’t all share a value of interconnectedness. I see the Black community being pitted against the gay community for the passing of Proposition 8 in California, I see a wedge dividing citizens of Michigan with the passing of Proposition 2, I witness my students fighting each other over the on-going Palestinian/Israeli conflict and I see the promulgation of fear by our world leaders and media that keep us separate, divided and weary of the “other.”

Yet I hold firm to the knowledge that my work as an educator, my deep belief in social justice, my desire to leave the world in a better place than I found it as being rooted in my belief in interconnectedness. It is this belief that sustains me and helps me to experience life as a glass half-full.

Jonathan Poullard • Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students • UC Berkeley • poullard@berkeley.edu

Being new to the field has its advantages and disadvantages. My lack of experience is very much a disadvantage, but that same lack of experience allows for the opportunity to look at ACPA with a fresh pair of eyes.

I believe that universities should be in the business of helping students become well-rounded individuals. A global society is developing in front of us and understanding differences between cultures is becoming as paramount as ever. After 40 years of advocacy, it is obvious ACPA's outlook that diversity is not just a fly by night concept, but is an important focal point in developing a complete student.

I started out working in state government. Many times, this atmosphere is not the most open and thus good ideas sometime stall. ACPA continues to have a new point of view because of constant swapping of fresh ideas. Just as importantly, ideas are treated respectfully regardless of whether they are naive, useless, or brilliant.

I am a twenty-four year old that has suffered burnout in one career as well as watched others suffer the same fate at a young age. The biggest different I have observed is that the support system that exists to help members grow individually within ACPA. ACPA believes in networking its members by utilizing mentoring programs, which develops lasting relationships and future leaders in the field.

The fresh look that I observe within ACPA is that ACPA improves the experience of all of those associated with higher education. I cannot wait to get involved in this organization and see what I develop to in the field because of its presence.

Vinay Patel • University of Oklahoma • Graduate Student

I believe that I am a child of God. And, I believe that you are, too. As divine beings we are complete, whole and perfect just because we are, not because we do. We are brothers and sisters bound to a common, eternal source. Our responsibility in this living experience is to love one another and help each other become our best possible selves. We do this by loving each other; Love is all that matters and it really is all there is. I have always believed this but I know it for sure as I was offered the gift of shepherding my mother, my father, my maternal grandmother and my life partner's transition from this world to the next. I spent time with each one of them as they engaged their dying processes. "What mattered most, I asked?" And, it didn't matter if they were rich or poor, educated or uneducated, man or woman, Catholic, Methodist or Unitarian, straight or gay - what mattered most were those things experienced through their spirits and heart; the people and relationships along the way; times where they made a meaningful difference in the life of another; moments where they acted with loving kindness; joys and sorrows experienced with another; connection to their God. It was the love that mattered most - this I believe.

So, it is important to love big and bold - everyday - for this earthly life is short. I will love others and love life; our lives are gifts beyond measure. I believe that we are here on earth to make a difference and everyday we get the chance to do this - - - every minute of every day we get to choose how we will live. And, I believe that the intentionality and consciousness with which we choose to live our lives matters; I also know that the ability to choose is a gift. Since we are connected to each other, I believe that every kind act I make, every positive thought I have and every good thing I create strengthens our oneness. So, I will do good, do the right thing, live simply so others can simply live, take care of our children, our elders, each other, our earth.
And, I will always remember that all we have is this divine moment - right here, right now. The past is gone, the future has not arrived. I believe that remaining "present" is a way for us to connect more profoundly. It is where I connect to my deeper self and it is where you do, too, and in this place I connect to you my brothers, my sisters. It is in this place where we transform our humanity into divinity. It is in this sacred place that I feel whole and alive.

Patty Perillo • Davidson College • Associate Dean

ACPA Believes in the value of every member. From the moment I joined the association as a graduate student, I have felt like my voice mattered. I reviewed convention programs, voted in association elections, and presented on my research at the Annual Convention. I have been an active ACPA member since 2001 and have developed many personal and professional relationships through my involvement. In fact, my first job was a result of an interview at Placement!

ACPA Believes in the generation and dissemination of knowledge. As a doctoral student and aspiring scholar, I am drawn to ACPA publications and their role in shaping the field of student affairs. The Journal of College Student Development informs my research and provides me an outlet in which I hope to publish. Additionally, the ACPA Foundation has been a critical financial supporter of my research through my work with the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership, allowing our research team the opportunity to share our findings with a broader audience. Furthermore, presenting my work at the Annual Convention allows me to share my passion and gain feedback from top scholars in the profession also in attendance.

ACPA Believes in making a difference. Sustainability and social justice emphases are just two of the ways in which ACPA is making a difference and has influenced my life. Through a professional development opportunity at an ACPA Summer Leadership meeting, I had the opportunity to learn more about sustainable practice from a top scholar and leader in the field, Debra Rowe. I learned about ways in which I can be more sustainable in my everyday life as well as ways I can integrate those practices into my work as an educator. This opportunity continues to shape not only the way I work with students, but also the way I live my life.

ACPA Believes in me (and you!). ACPA has provided me with my professional home for seven years. I have made lifelong friends and experienced life-changing opportunities through my affiliation with ACPA. I know that ACPA Believes in me as a person and professional and will be a support for me through my entire career.

Kristan Cilente • University of Maryland, College Park • ACPA Intern