Kristi Rickman

I think my success comes from a combination of resilience, curiosity, relationships, and a willingness to figure things out, but those qualities were shaped by some very early experiences.

I grew up on a 250-acre ranch in a very rural part of southeastern Oklahoma, where I learned early that if something needed to be done for the animals or the property, I had to figure it out. We couldn't just call someone to fix something when it broke. My mother taught me, “You can figure anything out if you just use common sense,” and my father taught me to consider what the other person might be experiencing. Those lessons have stayed with me throughout my career.

However, when I was accepted to Oklahoma State University, a city and university I had never visited, my confidence in my abilities quickly began to decline. My mom gave me a paper map of Oklahoma and highlighted the route I would take to Stillwater, and I drove there on my own. I followed the map and made it to Stillwater, but once I arrived, I had no idea how to navigate the university itself. I spent nearly six hours driving around campus trying to find the building where registration was being held. I missed the start time, became overwhelmed by everything that was happening, and eventually found a pay phone and called my brother to come help me.

I didn't understand then that I wasn't incapable of college. I simply didn't know how to navigate the institution.

I eventually left Oklahoma State believing I wasn't “college material.” I returned to my hometown and worked for my uncle at his chiropractic clinic. He believed otherwise and encouraged me for more than a year to try college again. Eventually, I enrolled at Paris Junior College, where I encountered faculty and staff who helped me believe in myself and find my path.

Those experience have shaped almost everything I've done professionally. I've spent my career helping students navigate systems that can sometimes feel overwhelming or confusing. I've also discovered that I'm someone who thrives when the map isn't finished. I enjoy listening, assessing what isn't working, building solutions, bringing people together, and figuring out how to make things better.

So I attribute my success not just to perseverance, but to the people who believed in me, the willingness to keep going when something doesn't work, and the ability to turn difficult experiences into something that can help someone else.

I was once the student who needed someone to help me find my way. Now I have the privilege of helping other people find theirs.

The best career advice I’ve received was very simple: “Stop being so polished. Just be you.”

Early in my career, I spent a lot of energy trying to figure out what a professional leader was supposed to look and sound like. I was very polished, very careful, and very conscious of how I presented myself.

A colleague, Ki Yendell, the former Director of the College of Science and Engineering Advising Office at UHCL, eventually challenged me on that. Ki told me that we were doing hard work as Directors and that I didn’t need to perform leadership for the people around me. She encouraged me to relax, have fun, and simply be myself.

That changed the way I lead. I realized I didn’t need to become a leader by performing what I thought leadership looked like. I needed to trust who I already was.

Since then, I’ve learned that authenticity and professionalism aren’t opposites. I can have high standards, make difficult decisions, and lead complex work while still being compassionate, humorous, approachable, and completely myself.

I didn’t need to become a leader. I needed to stop performing what I thought a leader was supposed to be.

Don’t wait until you feel completely ready to step into leadership.

Some of the most important opportunities in my career came before I felt fully prepared. I learned by asking questions, finding people who knew more than I did, listening carefully, and being willing to figure things out. You don’t have to know everything before you take the next step.

I would also encourage young women not to spend too much energy trying to look like the leader they think they’re supposed to be. Learn your strengths, build relationships, stay curious, and allow your authentic personality to be part of your leadership. You can be professional and have high standards without losing the qualities that make you uniquely you.

And don’t underestimate the importance of advocating for yourself and for others. There were times in my career when other people saw my potential before I did. Eventually, I learned to recognize it myself. When you recognize your own value, you become much better equipped to recognize and advocate for the value in others.

Finally, find people who will tell you the truth, not just people who will tell you what you want to hear. Some of the most meaningful growth in my career came from people who challenged me while still believing in me.

You don't have to become someone else to be a successful leader. You need to discover who you are, trust what you bring to the table, and be willing to keep growing.

One of the greatest opportunities in higher education is making the student experience easier to navigate without lowering expectations.

Students are often navigating complicated institutional systems while simultaneously balancing work, family responsibilities, finances, transportation, technology, and other demands. Sometimes the challenge isn’t that a student lacks ability or motivation; they simply don’t understand how the system works or where to go for help.

That’s something I understand personally because I was once that student. I could follow a map to my university, but I didn’t know how to navigate the institution once I got there.

I think institutions have an opportunity to look at their processes through the student’s eyes and ask, “Where are we creating unnecessary barriers, and how can we make this easier to understand?”

Technology and data also provide tremendous opportunities to identify students who may need support earlier and connect them with resources. But technology should enhance relationships, not replace them. At the heart of student success is still a person who feels seen, supported, and confident that someone will help them find a way forward.

Authenticity, compassion, responsibility, curiosity, and service are the values that guide me most.

Authenticity is important because I believe people can tell when you’re genuinely showing up versus simply performing a role. I’ve learned that I can be professional, have high standards, and lead complex work without losing the qualities that make me who I am.

Compassion reminds me that everyone is carrying something I may not know about. I believe we can maintain high expectations while still treating people with dignity, kindness, and understanding.

Responsibility comes from how I was raised. On our family ranch, animals depended on us every day, and I learned that when something has been entrusted to you, you take care of it. Today, I think about students, employees, programs, and systems in much the same way. If something has been entrusted to me, I want to take good care of it.

Curiosity keeps me learning and questioning whether there might be a better way to do something. It is one of the reasons I enjoy working in environments where the map isn’t finished—I’m naturally curious about what isn’t working, why it isn’t working, and what we might do differently.

And service is at the heart of how I see leadership. My parents modeled service for me throughout my childhood, and it has remained central to how I approach both my work and my relationships. I don’t believe leadership is about what I can accomplish for myself. It’s about what becomes possible for other people because I was willing to show up and do the work.

Ultimately, I want to leave people and the organizations I’m part of better than I found them.