Category: Here’s The Story

In this episode, a retired housing director reflects on a career spent shaping residential communities—and the people who led them. She speaks candidly about encouraging resident assistants to stay in the field, even as the role has grown more complex, more visible, and more demanding than when she first started. Rather than offering nostalgia, she offers perspective. She acknowledges the challenges today’s professionals face while affirming that the work still matters—and that the field still needs people willing to lead with empathy and steadiness.

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This episode features a vice president for student affairs who came of age under legal segregation and invites us into a reflective journey shaped by classrooms divided by law, doors opened—or closed—by race, and a quiet resilience that learned how to endure, adapt, and lead. She carries those early lessons forward into the present moment, where the vocabulary has shifted and the statutes look different, but the terrain is still familiar. The names have changed. The debates sound new. Yet the enduring questions remain: who belongs?

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From Monday through Friday, 9–5, we see the forward-facing journey of leaders—the wins, the awards, the praise. What we don’t often talk about is the journey beneath the surface: the real life, the day-to-day internal dialogue, and the quiet battles no one applauds. This is a conversation about resilience without romanticizing it—about strength alongside exhaustion, and the gap between how leadership looks and how it actually feels. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re the only one holding it together while carrying so much, this episode is for you. 

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In this episode of Here’s the Story, “Unraveling to Become,” Neil E. Golemo and JT Snipes sit down with Frank Shushok Jr.—mentor, professor, and living example of what’s possible in student affairs. Frank shares how mentors, dyslexia, and one bold conversation with a Baylor Regent helped him reimagine his future, ultimately leading him from nearly not graduating high school to the presidency of Roanoke College.

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When a residence hall went off the rails during the pandemic, Craig Allen didn’t send emails or wag his finger—he showed up with pizza, t-shirts, and presence. Hear how those small acts sparked a culture shift and reminded his team of the real power of connection.

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A student affairs professional navigating the challenges of living and working with long COVID is learning to reimagine both leadership and life. Balancing the demands of a high-energy, people-centered field with the unpredictability of chronic illness requires new rhythms of care, patience, and adaptability. This journey is less about returning to “normal” and more about creating a sustainable way forward—leading with vulnerability, modeling resilience, and redefining success through balance, boundaries, and community.

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No matter where he goes, the constant question is raised, "How did you get that job?". Finding the perfect higher education adjacent role is a unique and intentional journey. Learn as Paul Brown shares his journey on how he found joy at Roompact.

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