Lawrence presents at ACPA conference

05/09/2014 6:08 PM

By Jennifer Cundiff ’16

Emily Lawrence, a human development counseling graduate student, recently presented at the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Conference. Lawrence shared research on professional development pursuits by people working in student affairs.

Research was used to further an understanding of student affairs best practices.

Lawrence thought the experience of attending and presenting at the conference was significant because of the opportunity for professional growth.

“It is the first professional career-related conference I have attended as a poster presenter,” she said. “This was valuable because I had the opportunities to give back to the professional community, expand my professional network and increase my knowledge base.”

Lawrence wants to work with faculty, staff, and students in developing effective practices that will increase community belonging in graduate school programs.

“Community belonging is significant because the phenomenon may have the potential to influence many factors, including grade point average, retention rates and alumni financial donations,” Lawrence said.