Crystal Davis

Crystal Davis graduated from Francis Marion University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and currently serves as an IT Applications Analyst. For the past eight years, she has dedicated her expertise and passion to supporting students at Williamsburg Technical College. Her main goals are to provide clear onboarding guides, offering friendly, accessible support for campus networks and student portals. While her professional background is in IT, Crystal’s commitment to student success extends far beyond technology. 

Crystal’s commitment to student advocacy was inspired by her mother, a retired teacher. Growing up, she watched her mother devote both her professional and personal time to helping students. Her example taught Crystal the importance of being someone students can depend on, encouraging them through challenges, and making them feel supported. 

Crystal is married to Freddie Davis and is the proud mother of their 21-year-old son, Chance Davis, who also attended Williamsburg Technical College. Her family’s connection to the college makes her commitment to its students especially meaningful. She believes that a listening ear, encouragement, and a helping hand can make a lasting difference. 

Emily Halligan

Emily Halligan, Senior Assistant Director of Academic Advising, Retention & Completion at Towson University, leads advising and transition programming for approximately 3,000 incoming students each year and oversees the recruitment, hiring, and training of over 150 faculty and staff First-Year Experience advisors. With a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Delaware, she began her Towson career in the classroom before first becoming involved in new student success as a faculty advisor. Over more than 25 years at the university, her focus has expanded to include new student orientation, advisor training and development, and data-informed retention efforts. She has presented nationally on faculty-based advising models, including at the NRC's own Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience, and was recently nominated to Towson's President's Inclusive Leadership Institute. Emily is especially committed to collaborative advising models that help students build meaningful connections early in their college journey. 

Sierra Jones

Sierra Jones serves as Director of Student Transition and Support at East Texas A&M University, where she leads a comprehensive ecosystem of first-year programs and collaborates across advising, career preparedness, and financial wellness to meet students wherever they are. She oversees College Life Coaches, Peer Mentors, tutoring services, and academic success programming, and coordinates three first-year courses grounded in both practical college skills and leadership development. She also serves as Campus Coordinator for the Texas Leadership Scholars program. Drawing on degrees in psychology and mental health counseling, Sierra brings a holistic, student-centered lens to her work and a sustained commitment to building the kind of institutional culture where students have someone in their corner before they even know they need one. She is honored to be recognized among those committed to first-year student advocacy. 

Chasity Lucio

Chasity Lucio serves as the Director of Student Success & First-Year Experience at Grace College, where she leads initiatives designed to help students successfully transition to college, build meaningful relationships, and thrive academically and personally. With more than 20 years of experience in higher education, Chasity is passionate about creating student-centered environments where every student feels known, supported, and connected. She leads Grace College’s Student Mentor program which pairs an upperclassman with every first-year student. She also has developed partnerships across campus to strengthen student belonging, engagement, and persistence. Her work is grounded in her Mi’kmaq cultural teachings, relationship-rich education, holistic student support, and commitment to removing barriers to student success. Through her leadership, advocacy, and investment in student leaders, Chasity seeks to ensure that students experience college not simply as a place to earn a degree, but as a formative community where they are empowered to belong and become. 

Jennifer Miller

Dr. Jennifer Miller serves as Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at McKendree University, where she leads initiatives focused on student success, engagement, retention, and the first-year experience. A McKendree alumna who has spent her entire professional career at the University, Miller has served in progressively responsible roles dedicated to supporting students and strengthening their college experience. 

Miller earned her Doctor of Education in Leadership in Higher Education from National University. Her doctoral research examined the academic advising needs of first-year students in the post-COVID era, focusing on how institutions can better support students as they transition to college and navigate their educational and career goals. 

Throughout her career, Miller has remained committed to creating student-centered systems, programs, and relationships that help students feel supported, engaged, connected, and prepared to succeed. 

Shelton Norwood

Shelton Norwood serves as Undergraduate Student Affairs Manager for Virginia Tech’s Myers-Lawson School of Construction, where he leads the undergraduate academic advising team, teaches the Building Construction First-Year Experience course, and manages the BuildLAB, a student-led woodworking studio. Since joining Virginia Tech in 2008, he has dedicated his career to helping students excel academically, reach graduation, and build successful careers. A passionate advocate for first-year students, Norwood helps new Hokies transition to college by fostering belonging, connecting them with campus resources, and building foundations for long-term success. Through advising, mentorship, and student success initiatives, he has contributed to improved student retention, reduced time to degree completion, and increased student engagement. His commitment to student success earned him the 2021 Virginia Tech Provost’s Award for Excellence in Advising. He also contributes to shared governance as a Senator in the Administrative and Professional Faculty Senate, supporting faculty engagement, professional development, and institutional effectiveness. 

Tommy Sanders

Dr. Thomas Sanders, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at East Texas Baptist University, is a passionate advocate for first-year student success. Since 2013, he has led student-centered, data-informed initiatives that have strengthened retention and graduation outcomes, particularly for first-generation and Pell-eligible students. Under his leadership, freshman retention increased from 52% in 2014 to a record 71% in 2023. He also developed ETBU’s Learning and Leading first-year experience course and has taught it for 14 years. 

Beyond his administrative responsibilities, Dr. Sanders mentors at-risk students and student-athletes through a weekly academic accountability group. He has also spearheaded expanded academic support services, student health resources, and a $2 million Title III grant that enhanced student-success facilities and programs. Through visionary leadership, mentoring, and advocacy, he has fostered a campus culture where students are known, supported, and empowered to succeed. 

Cris Sheffel

Cris is a lifelong STEM enthusiast, choosing chemical engineering as her first career and later shifting to a career in math and science education. She has served as a leader in STEM education, including professional development for K-12 teachers, policy advocacy, undergraduate and graduate college teaching, and academic research and publication. Much of her educational career has been built around researching how productive mindsets are formed in STEM learning and understanding how people make sense of new academic experiences, a great backdrop for her current work in supporting first-year students at Missouri University of Science and Technology. 

As Director of Retention and Persistence and co-chair of Missouri S&T’s UCARE team, Cris appreciates how the structure of her role facilitates a holistic approach to supporting student success – relying on collaboration with faculty, well-being and health staff, academic staff, and student groups. 

Scott Stroupe

Scott Stroupe is an Associate Teaching Professor at Penn State Behrend's Black School of Business, teaching law, ethics, and management. Afer retiring from law, Scott transitioned from adjunct to full-time faculty. Drawing on diverse experiences, he redesigned the first-year seminar using evidence-based strategies to support students' transition to college by blending business, professional, and student-success content. 

Scott earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s in science policy from George Washington University. He worked on early efforts to regulate hazardous substances. Scott then earned an M.Div. and advanced degrees in applied ethics and canon law and served in pastoral roles and as an ecclesiastical judge. After earning a J.D. from Pitt, he focused on litigation, and his legal career culminated in fourteen years of service at the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He lives in Fairview, PA, with his wife, Karen; they have two children. 

Alysa Tomasa

Alysa Tomasa is the First-Year Experience Counselor at Windward Community College (WCC), bringing over 15 years of dedicated service to Hawaiʻi students. A proud first-generation college graduate, she began her career teaching at her alma mater, Kailua High School, before serving as a TRIO Upward Bound Director and Early College Counselor in the Windward District of O'ahu island. 

Alysa passionately promotes college affordability through her work with the Odo Scholarship Foundation and the WCC Ho‘olei Tuition Award. In her current role as the FYE Counselor, she collaborates with the campus Outreach Specialist and across campus departments to break down institutional barriers, expand access, create seamless matriculation pathways and establish career-focused freshman cohorts for first-year students. Receiving this honor celebrates Alysa’s lifelong commitment to educational equity, community partnership, and student success.