Reflections on Navigating NASPA as a Doctoral Student

NASPA occupies a complicated space for research oriented doctoral students. As a doctoral student who desires to become a faculty member, I always feel both a sense of peace and a sense of tension at NASPA. At times I feel like I don’t belong- I mean I am not a practitioner and thus who am I to speak into these areas? I often wonder if I am the most qualified to present my research to individuals who are actually making a difference every day. On the other hand, I yearn to be at conferences where my research feels like it could actually make a difference. NASPA has always felt like a place where what I present feels like it can actually make a difference. I do not present just to other researchers, but I present to individuals who are doing the hard work of student affairs.

This year at NASPA, I received the Womxn’s Issues Professional Development Access Grant. During the conference I felt the complexity that this conference brings in a way that compelled me to reflect deeply on this experience. My time at NASPA 2026 in Kansas City was highlighted by two distinct but interconnected purposes: presenting original research and, somewhat unexpectedly, making a scholarly connection that is becoming a meaningful new mentoring relationship. Together, these experiences offered me a richer understanding of where my space in NASPA as a research based doctoral student.

The centerpiece of my NASPA participation was presenting Dollars & Sense-Making, a simulation-based educational tool my research team and I developed to bridge the persistent gap between theoretical frameworks and practitioner understanding of economically marginalized students’ campus experiences. The game invites student affairs administrators to experientially engage with the financial decision-making landscape faced by low-income students navigating affluent institutional environments.

What distinguished the presentation session for me was not just presenting the research that I worked hard on, but the quality of engagement that followed with the student affairs professionals that were in the audience. Despite our presentation being on the last day at the last time slot, we had a great turnout for our presentation. Student affairs administrators in the room brought their own institutional knowledge from their own universities to generating dialogue that reflected the tension between critical structural critique and everyday practice. It was really impactful to see administrators wrestle with some of the concepts that I have been wrestling with for months, along with hearing their suggestions, along with their critiques. This session went so well, that my team and I are considering developing the game further, so that administrators can adapt the game to their own needs at their own campuses within their own specific departmental contexts and needs.

Equally significant was an encounter with a scholar that unfolded when I attended her session. I had the opportunity to engage substantively with a professor whose theoretical commitments closely align with the framework I am developing for my dissertation. Our conversation at NASPA led us to set up zoom meetings where we have been meeting to discuss my dissertations and the potential of working together in the future on a few papers. I often struggle with conference going, specifically the somewhat transactional feel and nature of some of connections I make. However, this connection I made will have a long-term impact on my doctoral journey.

The Womxn’s Issues Professional Development Access Grant was one of the main reasons I was able to attend the NASPA conference, and for that I am very thankful. As a graduate student, sometimes it feels like I am buying lines on my resume. Sometimes it begs the question- is $800 worth saying I presented at X Y or Z conference? How do I reconcile the fact that this cost often comes out of my pocket while working part time on a PhD. Stipend? The financial cost of conferencing– and in some way buying future employment– is something that weighs on both my pockets and my soul.

 

Thus, I am very thankful to receive the Womxn’s Issues Professional Development Access Grant, as I am not sure that I would have been able to attend NASPA, present my research, or make the scholarly connection that I did. NASPA is a space where all are welcome, and I am glad that there is a space for me as research based doctoral student– as the complex NASPA experience is one that I could not get anywhere else.

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Sarah Harris is a 3rd year PhD. student at Baylor University in the Higher Education Studies and Leadership program.