“CIVSA is more than a professional organization — it is a community of people who are willing to share their experiences, offer support, and celebrate each other’s successes.”
What inspired you to join CIVSA?
I was inspired to join CIVSA because I wanted to connect with other professionals who understand the important role that events and campus visitation play in shaping a student’s experience. I have always believed that a student’s first interaction with a university can make a lasting impression, and I wanted to learn from others who are passionate about creating meaningful experiences for prospective students and their supporters.
How has CIVSA supported you in your professional growth?
CIVSA has given me the opportunity to grow professionally, build relationships, share ideas, and learn best practices from colleagues across the country. What started as a desire to connect with others in my field has grown into a community that has challenged and encouraged me to become a better leader.
What opportunities, relationships, or experiences have had the greatest impact?
Serving in leadership, particularly as a Region V Director, was incredibly meaningful. It pushed me outside of my comfort zone and gave me opportunities to connect with colleagues, facilitate conversations, share ideas, and contribute to the growth of our region. I have learned that leadership is not just about having the answers; it is about creating opportunities for others and being willing to learn from the people around you.
Why would you encourage others to become involved?
I would encourage anyone in our profession to become involved with CIVSA because of the incredible opportunity to grow, connect, and learn from others who truly understand the work we do. CIVSA is more than a professional organization — it is a community of people who are willing to share their experiences, offer support, and celebrate each other’s successes.
Casey Hamlin
Senior Assistant Director for Visitor Services
University of South Carolina
“CIVSA immediately felt like it leveled the playing field for me. It’s where I found my people and started building my professional identity in this field.”
What inspired you to join CIVSA?
When I was brand new to the visitor services field, I felt like everyone but myself already had a playbook and I was still learning the basic rules. CIVSA immediately felt like it leveled the playing field for me. Connecting with peers through conferences, regional events, the Discourse, and connections groups felt like a way to stop feeling like an outsider and start building a professional identity in this field.
How has CIVSA supported you in your professional growth?
CIVSA has given me a real sense of community outside of my institution. Between conferences, regional events, and the Discourse, I’ve had the chance to learn from people doing this work all over the country and bring those ideas back to my own institution. It’s pushed me to grow professionally in ways I don’t think I would have on my own.
What opportunities, relationships, or experiences have had the greatest impact?
My first presentation at Annual Conference grew me in ways I never could have imagined. What stuck with me most wasn’t the presenting itself; it was what happened after. Attendees reached out with their own approaches to the ideas I laid out, and those conversations turned into some of the most fascinating exchanges I’ve had in this field, many of which I’ve brought back and applied at my own institution.
Why would you encourage others to become involved?
If you’re newer to this field, CIVSA is where you find your people. Once you’re in, the opportunities to get involved and grow professionally are honestly too many to count, whether that’s presenting for the first time, joining a connections group, or just showing up to a regional event and meeting people who get it. You don’t have to wait until you feel like an expert to belong here.
Morgan Clonts
Enrollment Communications Specialist
University of Central Missouri
“CIVSA has helped me build relationships, expand my perspective, and, perhaps most importantly, build confidence in the professional I am becoming.”
What inspired you to join CIVSA?
I joined CIVSA hoping to meet a few people who understood the unique, and sometimes complex, world of campus visits and enrollment. What I didn’t expect was to find a community. I’ve found people who pick each other up, open doors for one another, offer honest advice, celebrate each other’s wins, and make space for mentorship and friendship.
How has CIVSA supported you in your professional growth?
CIVSA has helped me see possibilities for my career and myself that I had not seen on my own. Every time I’ve brought a question to this community, I’ve been met with openness and a genuine willingness to share. That generosity has helped me grow more confident in my own ideas and reminded me that I have experiences worth sharing, too. This year, I had the opportunity to present to CIVSA, which was a meaningful milestone for me professionally.
What opportunities, relationships, or experiences have had the greatest impact?
The Annual Conference has had the greatest impact on me. As a young professional, walking into a room full of people with years of experience can be intimidating. But CIVSA has a way of making you feel like more than a number or an attendee. You are welcomed into conversations, encouraged to ask questions, invited to share your ideas, and given opportunities to try something new. Because of CIVSA, I’ve gone from taking notes in the back of the room to presenting my own ideas and realizing that I have something valuable to bring to the conversation.
Why would you encourage others to become involved?
We say it to students all the time… get involved! You really get out of CIVSA so much more than professional development. You find people who will answer your questions, share their resources, challenge your thinking, celebrate your successes, and sometimes open a door you didn’t even know was there. For me, CIVSA has been a place to grow, but just as importantly, it has become a place where I feel like I belong.
Brandon Gross
Assistant Director of Events
The Johns Hopkins University
“The more I have invested in this community, the more it has given back to me.”
What inspired you to join CIVSA?
I first joined CIVSA shortly after graduating from college. I was stepping into a role supervising student staff, and a colleague encouraged me to join because she felt the organization could be a valuable resource as I navigated being a new professional and first-time student staff supervisor. What started as an opportunity to learn from others doing similar work quickly became a professional community that has played a significant role in my career.
How has CIVSA supported you in your professional growth?
CIVSA has played an important role in helping me grow both professionally and personally. Through the Association, I have had opportunities to present, facilitate conversations, serve in leadership roles, and learn from colleagues across the country. Those experiences have helped me become more confident in my own ideas and more intentional about how I approach campus visitation and event planning.
What opportunities, relationships, or experiences have had the greatest impact?
The relationships have had the greatest impact on me. CIVSA has introduced me to colleagues who have become mentors, collaborators, sounding boards, and friends. Serving on committees, presenting at conferences, facilitating programming, and continuing my involvement on the Board have given me opportunities to work alongside people I might never have met otherwise. Receiving the Rising Star Award in 2026 was also incredibly meaningful.
Why would you encourage others to become involved?
CIVSA becomes so much more valuable when you move beyond simply attending a conference and begin participating in the community. There are opportunities at every career stage to ask questions, share ideas, serve on committees, present, find mentors, and build relationships. You do not have to be an expert or have years of experience before you get involved. Some of my most meaningful CIVSA experiences have come from raising my hand, trying something new, and learning alongside others.
