When Mickayla Crumley arrived at Lander in August 2015, something about being a freshman appealed to her so much that she signed up almost immediately to be a Freshman Orientation leader for the next three years.
Her decision recently paid off in ways she never imagined when she was accepted this past spring into Clemson University's Master of Education in Student Affairs program as a graduate assistant.
Crumley will be assisting first-time freshmen in their transition to Clemson - and she has no time to wait as her assistantship starts June 3.
"The assistantship will last through spring 2021, and I am extremely excited about heading to Clemson," said Crumley, a native of Piedmont who majored in Mass Communications & Theatre. "While an orientation leader at Lander, my favorite part was creating personal relationships with my students - and the assistantship with Clemson offered everything that I enjoyed most about freshman orientation."
Crumley will work primarily with the development, planning, and implementation of Clemson's Early Success Program (ESP). This program serves provisionally accepted first-time freshmen in both academic and social transition to Clemson during their first year.
Her duties will include serving as an academic coach, creating and implementing events and activities for participants, plus training and supervising undergraduate student Summer Program Ambassadors.
"The Master of Education in Student Affairs program at Clemson is highly competitive," said Alison P. Search, student services program coordinator for Clemson's College of Education. "We generally have 110-130 students apply for 30-35 of these graduate assistantships, and students like Mickayla are all accomplished undergraduates."
Crumley's achievement, though recent, was four years in the making at Lander.
Beginning in Lander's office of Orientation, Crumley assisted with multiple projects - such as collecting data and brainstorming new programming ideas - and she soon became as much a fixture as director Shelby Dominick Reed.
"Throughout all four years, Mickayla was a joy to work with," Reed said. "And I am thrilled that with all of her hard work, she is now a recipient of a highly sought-after assistantship at Clemson."
Crumley's achievement also carries two unexpected bonuses: she will receive a full scholarship for the program, and, she now plans to pursue her Masters in Education at Clemson with plans to "work at a university with first-year programming."
"Without the guidance and wisdom that Mrs. Shelby provided me, I would not be interested in a career in Higher Education," Crumley said. "So Lander prepared me well for this next step - and while I have loved being a Bearcat, I cannot wait to be a Tiger!"