Her Story
About Luna
Luna Boydston serves as Senior Program Manager for Forever Buffs Engagement and Outreach at the CU Boulder Alumni Association. She began her professional career in higher education in 2021 after graduating from her alma mater, CU Boulder, in 2020 with a psychology major and business minor focused on developmental psychology. Prior to her current position, Boydston worked as Assistant Director of Campus Recreation at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she supervised a large team of student employees. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in organizational leadership from the University of Denver. In addition to her academic and professional roles, Boydston maintains several certifications, including personal trainer certified, mental health first aid certified, and CPR first aid instructor. She has been actively involved in professional and campus organizations such as NRSA, where she served as the Colorado representative, along with the Young Life Initiative Matter, Black Student Alliance, and the Latin student and faculty and staff cohort.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Luna
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to constantly wanting to challenge myself and knowing that if I'm starting to feel too comfortable, it's time to take that leap forward. Proving to myself and to others who might not come from a privileged upbringing that if you really put in the work, it will pay off. Believing that a positive attitude and being kind to others pays off in the end.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's a hard field to enter into because you have to climb that ladder. Higher ed is unique as they want those individual perspectives, and at the end of the day you're working in a college so it's supposed to be fun, but you also want to be taken seriously. Find that balance of letting your personality come out as well as having a strategic mindset, and just not being afraid to speak up and ask those questions that probably everyone else is thinking but they're just too scared to ask.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now there's a lot of changes with AI coming out, and when we look at college athletics and the NIL, that's all changing. There's a lot of changes that are happening that aren't necessarily in our control, and it's how are we adapting to it and making the student experience better instead of letting it inhibit it. If people use AI as an actual tool and don't just rely on it, that's important.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Empathy is a huge one, along with emotional intelligence. My core values are pretty much empathy, vulnerability, and having a perspective of like until I'm proven wrong, let's assume the best. These help individuals become personable.
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