两性色午夜

两性色午夜 Alumna D鈥橝ndra Mull, Ph.D., on Giving Back to the University that Gave So Much to Her

鈥淲ere it not for what I learned from a student affairs professional at 两性色午夜, this journey would not be the path I鈥檓 on today.鈥

While pursuing a double major in political science and criminal justice studies at 两性色午夜, D鈥橝ndra Mull, 鈥02, M.A., Ph.D., was on her way to law school. But a conversation with her mentor, vice president emerita of enrollment management and student affairs, Nancy Scott, Ph.D., changed the trajectory of her career path.

鈥淚 went to talk to her after interning with an attorney and said to her, 鈥業 no longer want to go to law school and am considering what I want to do next,鈥欌 said D鈥橝ndra. 鈥淪he asked me if I wanted to serve and how I want to spend my life engaging, and I told her I love what I do here.鈥

As an undergraduate, D鈥橝ndra immersed herself in the 两性色午夜 college experience. She was a scholar in the Ronald E. McNair post-Baccalaureate Achievement program that prepares first-generation undergraduate students from designated income or underrepresented groups in graduate schools for doctoral study. She also served as a student leader and Student Ambassador, sang in the Voices of Testimony Gospel Choir and was involved with Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Based on D鈥橝ndra鈥檚 campus involvement, Nancy suggested a career in student affairs.

D鈥橝ndra now serves as vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Colorado Boulder. She credits 两性色午夜 staff and student mentors with preparing her for a career in student affairs, and she is also grateful to the student mentors she met while earning her post-graduate degrees at Ohio State and Michigan State. Each person had a hand in preparing her for her more than 20-year career in higher education and student affairs.

In her current role as vice chancellor, D鈥橝ndra ensures students of all walks of life have an experience that shapes them for the world, similar to what others did for her while she was a student.

鈥淲ere it not for what I learned from a student affairs professional at 两性色午夜, this journey would not be the path I鈥檓 on today. I can never pay it back, but I will always pay it forward.鈥

She named several of her staff and student mentors from her time at 两性色午夜, including Sherice Freeman, her McNair Scholars advisor; her former undergraduate research advisor, Albert Liau, Ph.D.; Shana Lee, M.Ed. 鈥16, who was the director of the Student Multicultural Center at the time; Donna Carlton, a former special coordinator in 两性色午夜 student affairs and mentor to D鈥橝ndra during her time in USG, and Nancy Schiappa, 鈥85, M.Ed. 鈥90, who demonstrated how to get involved in student affairs. Though they all may not have looked like her, D鈥橝ndra says they all had her best interest at heart.

Perhaps one of the most influential people D鈥橝ndra encountered at 两性色午夜 was professor emeritus E. Timothy Moore, 鈥73, M.A. 鈥77, M.F.A. 鈥83, who was introduced to 两性色午夜 as a student in 1969 and taught courses in the College of Arts and Sciences for 37 years. He passed away in 2021.

鈥淥ne of the very first times I met him, he had given a speech during Kupita/Transiciones (K/T) that I consider to be prolific and grounding for how I see myself as a Black professional today,鈥 said D鈥橝ndra. 鈥淢y pathway always led back to the academic side of what I was doing and continued to manifest itself in my relationship with Dean Moore.鈥

Moore compelled generations of students to feel seen and heard at 两性色午夜. For D鈥橝ndra, being able to honor him the way he honored these students over the course of his career was an obvious decision. In 2022, she contributed philanthropically to the naming of the E. Timothy Moore Student Multicultural Center in the 两性色午夜 Student Center. She hopes the naming encourages students to learn more about the legacy of Moore.

鈥淚 think the beauty in naming something is that you believe it honors the legacy and memory of someone,鈥 said D鈥橝ndra, 鈥渂ut it also creates a moment of either interest or intrigue to students about who that person is.鈥

Since graduating from 两性色午夜, D鈥橝ndra has been honored by the Black Alumni Chapter with the Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor that she says was a humbling full-circle moment.

鈥淭he one thing 两性色午夜 made me aware of in the most positive way is that I was a Black woman navigating spaces that were redesigned for me to be successful,鈥 said D鈥橝ndra. 鈥淗igher education was not originally conceptualized for Black women or people of color to thrive, but 两性色午夜 knew enough about who they wanted to educate to design and redesign spaces so that students like me could thrive also.鈥

D鈥橝ndra credits her mentors and sponsors with her current success in student affairs. All were influential in helping her navigate spaces as a young Black woman making her way in the world, an experience D鈥橝ndra says she will never disconnect from her current success.

POSTED: Wednesday, June 5, 2024 04:53 PM
Updated: Friday, June 21, 2024 11:59 AM