Directorate Spotlight: Kate Miller (Awards and Recognition Coordinator 2016-2017)

Name: Kate Miller

Position on Board: Awards and Recognition Coordinator

Institutions & Job Title:  Recent graduate—job searching

How long on the directorate? In my first year

What have been some significant experiences about being engaged/involved in ACPA CASHE? CASHE has been an incredibly supportive experience for a new professional.  I have had the opportunity to share my perspective with passionate professionals that I look to for advice and guidance.  The supportive environment of CASHE and the passion for learning and students that its members hold have given me a place in the student affairs profession.

What is your vision for the directorate and ACPA at large? I hope to see ACPA and CASHE connecting with their members at new levels through embracing the many identities of our membership.  The more ACPA and CASHE connect with their members, the more we as a community will be able to support students throughout their development processes with shared best practices and knowledge.

What are your topical areas of interest (within and outside of ACPA CASHE)? Within CASHE, I am interested in finding members with new ideas to support students.  As a new professional, I'm determined to be a sponge and learn as much as possible about my colleagues in student affairs.  Outside of CASHE, I'm interested in institutional policy in regards to disability, retention/persistence, and first-year support programs.

What do you do in your free time/ outside of work? I like to spend time with friends.  I live by my stomach, so I love making my friends dinner and having conversations about everything from politics to music.  More often than not, dinner turns into us playing with my one-year-old kitten.

Tell us one thing no one in ACPA knows about you? Most people don't know that I love to play strategy games to keep my mind working hard.  Whether it's a computer or board game, I'm fascinated by understanding the big picture of a long-running game, such as chess, and how small steps can drastically change the results.

What is your favorite quote and why?

"For all its uncertainty, we cannot escape the future." -Barbara Jordan (Democratic Conference, 1976). 

When I was in grade school, I was asked to learn about a historical figure who broke boundaries.  The class was given a list and I didn't know who Barbara Jordan was, so I thought, why not, she was from Texas just like me.  As I read about Jordan's life and experiences as a lawyer, then politician, and saw that she truly broke boundaries in ways that I couldn't imagine then in the late 1990's.  While Jordan and I were separated by race, I found similarities between us that gave me hope as I grew up.  Jordan lived happily with her female partner, she defied traditions and gave speeches about facts and ways to change instead of just attacking other politicians, and she praised knowledge and the development of our education system.  I consistently find myself referring to her work as I get older and her wisdom becomes clearer.

Is there anything else you want to share in your highlight? I encourage everyone to learn something every day.  Reflecting on my favorite quote helped me learn even more about Barbara Jordan and remember why I connected with the story of such an extraordinary, funny, and passionate woman.