Northcentral University

While professional development and continuing education have been a priority in my adult life, family and early mentors instilled the importance of education upon me from a young age. I was constantly reminded that even when all seems lost, knowledge remains. No one can take away the things you learn. Due in part to these early values, it had long been my goal to enhance my future career opportunities by pursuing a PhD. I had always been interested in holistic health: incorporating mind, body, and spirit. With a background in both counseling and exercise, health psychology seemed like a perfect fit. I knew that I ultimately wanted my line of research to focus on transgender health, with a dissertation topic centered around eating disorders in the transgender community. When researching potential schools, it quickly became apparent that I would need to find a program that did not merely tolerate diversity in their student body's research interests, but instead championed ideas that highlighted marginalized communities of all sorts. I was pleasantly surprised when I happened upon NCU in my search for a health psychology doctoral program. Before making my initial admissions inquiry call, I explored the University website. I noticed that diversity, equity, and inclusion were guiding principles for all aspects of faculty, staff, and administration. I saw my own identities reflected within the NCU diversity wheel, which highlighted differences in identity dimensions, internal dimensions, community dimensions, social life dimensions, and institutional dimensions. From my initial contact with an enrollment advisor to my first interaction with faculty, I knew that NCU would provide a safe and affirming environment to expand my knowledge and conduct research in my area of interest. I am reminded of the University's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion with every class as assignments encourage exploring how a particular topic may impact marginalized communities differently. I recently presented a webinar during Pride Month on behalf of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences Diversity Committee, proving to me that NCU not only supports diversity of ideas but provides students with professional development opportunities to present those ideas to a broader audience. As I settle into my new role as student editor, I encourage you to reach out to me via email or through the Commons with your ideas about the directions you would like this bulletin to take. It can be challenging to find connections in a global, online community, but I would like to ensure that the voice of the NCUPA Bulletin is reflective of the range of voices represented at NCU. I look forward to learning and growing with each of you during my time here. We are indeed stronger together! References Northcentral University (n.d.). Diversity Wheel. https://www.ncu.edu/about-ncu/diversity/diversity-wheel#gref 5 NCUPA Fall Bulletin

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