by Lauren Murphy (lcmurphy@gwu.edu)
I have been privileged to have amazing professionals invest in me over the years, from assisting me into university as a first generation student, to landing my first student affairs role and moving through each step in my career. Through their support I have been able to observe good practice, have an outside view into my experiences, receive needed challenge and validation, and gain assistance in navigating unknown territory. More so, they did all this not because they had to, but because they genuinely wanted to. As such, these are things that I have worked to emulate in my own practice, remembering to “pay it forward,” as one of my closer mentors reminds those around them to do.
For myself, paying it forward comes through in a variety of ways, and it was most present in my ACPA conference attendance. What was most striking for this year’s conference was that I have reached a clear point in my career where I am spending greater time investing in others then seeking it out for myself. Where my conference calendar had once been filled with coffee and lunch meetings with mentors, colleagues, and connections through my network, I was now taking more time to meet with mentees and new professionals who sought me out, to talk about everything from job searches to current issues in our field. While this meant a change in how I was spending my time in conference, it was just as beneficial to my time, as each interaction somehow gave me fresh perspective and energy.
