Award Receipient

Award Recipients - Conference Updates

Samantha Meyer, 2018 President’s Award Recipient

February 8, 2019 by 0 Comments

Most of the awards presented by SoACE are received through a nomination process, vetted by committee, and then approved on by the board.  One annual award, however, is given at the sole discretion the sitting President, based upon his/her desire to recognize a member who has distinguished themselves by their service to the Association.  The President’s Award has been presented since SoACE’s founding in 2007.

During the President’s Reception at the 2018 Annual Conference, Mark Colvenbach, the 2018-19 President, awarded Samantha Meyer with one of two 2018 President’s Awards. Rachel King from UNC Charlotte also received the award. When presenting the award to Samantha, Mark shared the following:

Samantha Meyer embodies so many of the qualities it takes to be a successful professional within SoACE and Higher Education. Over the past few years, SoACE has made tremendous strides in elevating its resources and deliverables for its membership. With this growth, there can be challenges to ensure the quality and type of programs match the expectations of members served.  Samantha was instrumental in elevating SoACE’s ability to truly serve as a “go to” organization for its members with her leadership role on the newly-created SoACE Branding Guide. This project was time consuming, yet critical to SoACE’s ability to streamline branding and marketing across its various committees and teams to present one unified message to membership.  This effort, along with various additional volunteer roles, make Samantha an easy choice for this year’s President Award.

Samantha Meyer (ABJ ’13, MA ’14) graduated from the University of Georgia majoring in public relations and women’s studies during her undergraduate studies, and Grady’s 4+1 program for her master’s degree. Her love of the UGA campus community led her to work at the University of Georgia Career Center as the career consultant for students in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Through that role, she helped Grady students with all of their career-related needs and assisted employers with getting connected to students. In addition, she served students on the Career Center’s internal diversity and inclusion committee, to ensure equitable career services and networking opportunities for UGA’s diverse student populations.

In her role as director of experiential programs, Samantha ensures all Grady College students are meeting UGA’s experiential learning requirement, and putting their skills learned in Grady to use through internships, studying abroad, research and hands-on classroom experiences.  She is also the staff advisor for the Grady-based Women in Media student organization and serves at the Graphic Designer for the Southern Association of Colleges and Employers.

Award Recipients - Diversity & Inclusion

Wake Forest University and Ernst & Young, 2018 Mosaic Award Recipients

January 11, 2019 by 0 Comments

At the 2018 Annual Conference in Atlanta, SoACE presented the Mosaic Award to Ernst & Young and the Wake Forest University Office of Personal and Career Development, who, in the spirit of diversity and inclusion, collaborated on a project entitled “Diversity Matters: Building Professional and Career Relationships.”  The focus of this program is to connect students from underrepresented groups (e.g., women, students of color, LGBTQ students, students with disabilities, and first-generation students) with employers who care about recruiting diverse talent.  Resources provided by this initiative ensured students would be well presented and prepared with fresh haircuts, counseling support and professional attire.

One of the students participating in the event shared the following: 

I have been feeling pretty lost lately when thinking about my plans for the future, and what I need to do in college to get there.  Just attending a prep workshop for Diversity Matters eased my mind.  And then attending the actual event, having a career coach at the table, and being coached and supported up until we started the actual event was so helpful.  I felt prepared and more confident, asking questions of employers and even branching out by looking into fields that people in my major don’t normally pursue.  I feel like I mattered to these employers, giving me a chance to stand out because of my diverse background, not disadvantaged by it.

The award was accepted by Ryan Emerson from Ernst & Young, along with Cheryl Hicks, Dana Hutchens, and Lori Sykes from Wake Forest University’s Office of Personal & Career Development (pictured below).

Criteria for the Mosaic Award includes a commitment to the spirit of diversity and inclusion through active participation in promoting diversity and inclusion initiatives within the last twelve months. In addition, the organization(s) must support positive communication and education that promote mutual respect, acceptance, cooperation or tolerance among people of different backgrounds. The Mosaic Award is presented to a group or organization that exemplifies these same commitments and intertwines them within their professional practice.

Award Recipients

Kristin Walker Presented with 2018 Spelman Johnson Rising Star Award at NACE Conference

November 9, 2018 by 0 Comments

At the NACE Annual Conference in New Orleans this June, Kristin Walker from Clemson University was presented with the Spelman Johnson Rising Star Award. This award, which is accompanied by a monetary prize and trophy, recognizes one individual each year who has demonstrated strong leadership potential and has contributed to both the career services profession and NACE.

According to a Clemson media release by Philip Sikes, in addition to the NACE award, “Walker has received numerous accolades for her work as CCPD’s associate director for analytics and initiatives. She received the Women in Higher Education Achievement Award from the National Panhellenic Council in September 2017, was elected to the board for the Southern Association of College Student Affairs in November and was named one of the employees of the year in the Division of Student Affairs in December. In February 2018, she received an Award for Excellence from the Clemson University board of trustees.”

This year has been a humbling one I will cherish. To be recognized by NACE absolutely took me by surprise. You don’t get involved to be recognized; you get involved in hopes of giving back and making a difference that will ultimately benefit all students. I only hope to be able to continue to give back to our profession.

I have the best colleagues within CCPD, Academic Affairs and Student Affairs,” she said. “What is really catching national attention is how departments at Clemson are embracing the core competencies and integrating them into the already great work being done. This award is about Clemson leading the conversation and being a rising star.

Kristin played an integral role in the development of a symposium focused on taking a career competency initiative institution-wide. In 2017, there were 60 institutions and organizations in attendance with over 180 individual attendees, and in its second year over 90 institutions and organizations attended with over 220 individual attendees. The Competency Symposium Planning Team is excited to host this year’s symposium at The Ohio State University on May 20 and 21, 2019. In June 2017, Kristin helped facilitate an abbreviated program for attendees of the annual Florida Association of Colleges and Employers Conference and will be co-presenting a pre-conference session at SoACE with Tim Harding.

In August 2018, Kristin transitioned from her role as the Associate Director of Analytics and Initiatives to the Director of Assessment and supporting Clemson University’s division of student affairs and its 22 departments. Kristin has 15 years of experience in education, career services, and fraternity/sorority life. She earned her B.S. in English from Radford University, and her M.Ed. in Counselor Education and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Clemson University. Before focusing on assessment, she worked in Clemson’s #1 2018 Princeton Review Ranked, Center for Career and Professional Development where she coordinated its competency initiative and assessment while overseeing the areas of graduate programs, off-campus internships, and social media. Kristin teaches in Clemson’s masters and doctoral programs and has been a volunteer and board member of her sorority, Alpha Sigma Tau.  She currently serves as the Vice President for Marketing and Outreach for SACSA and as the Knowledge Group Chair for Assessment and Data Analytics for SoACE. Through her professional and volunteer roles, Kristin has traveled to and worked with students at over 40 college campuses. Her research interests include career development, fraternity/sorority life, and STEM education.  She has co-authored a chapter in the book Multiculturalism on Campus: Theory, Models, and Practices for Understanding Diversity and Creating Inclusion, and is co-editing a volume of New Directions in Student Services on career transitions for student affairs practitioners.