Andrea Gray

I think having a great foundation at home is what I attribute my success to. I had two extremely impactful women, and they were more or less my mentors - my mother and my grandmother - and if anything, they kind of guided that path for me. Their guidance and support gave me the foundation I needed to succeed in everything I've pursued.

The best career advice I've ever received is to stay grounded in who you are, regardless of what progression you're in. I know that kind of sounds vague, but it's really about being in a position where it's a passion. When you stay true to yourself and follow your passion, that's when you can make the biggest impact and find where you're supposed to be.

My advice to women entering higher education is to find somewhere where you can make a bigger impact, not for yourself, but for others. With higher education, there's so much need and so many different areas you can work in. When you're doing it and it becomes a passion, you will see it will guide you to where you need to be in the educational field - where you can be most beneficial to a student or make a bigger impact. It goes back to that idea of finding your passion, because that's what will show you where you're supposed to be.

I think the greatest challenge in higher education right now is navigating the waters of change, period, in the educational system. We are a state institution, so we pretty much have to ride with the waters of what's going on with the state. Another major challenge is staying current - what are the new needs for the students now? Students are changing, and they're changing at a fast pace. So we're trying to balance the two: what's the state telling us and what they're changing federally versus what are the true needs of our students. It's about finding that balance between policy requirements and actually serving our students effectively.

The values most important to me are being intentional and being impactful, but in a background way. I don't want the spotlight, but I always want to make sure that everybody's taken care of and I can help provide when I can. If you see anyone who needs help, you find that help and try to guide them the way that others have guided me. It's about returning the favor and paying it forward. What I do, I do it with intention, and it has nothing to do with upgrading myself - I get off on helping, truly helping others. I think that's why I'm in the position that I am. Yes, having education is great, having accolades are great, but I think it's what I do behind the scenes that matters most.