Rhonda Tracy

I attribute my success to being a lifelong learner and always raising my hand for opportunities. When I became director of the Instructional Technology Center 25 or 30 years ago, I had to learn everything about technology on my own. I learned how to understand CD-ROMs, make my own, all of that, on my own. I didn't have a degree in technology, but I raised my hand and said that sounds interesting to me, I want to learn that. And I learned it, I became good at it, and wrote papers about it. I was able to make connections, like comparing interactive technology to whole language experience. It was an entirely new direction for me, not one that I had trained for or had been educated into. I educated myself. That's an example of what you need to do: you keep learning and you raise your hand. I also learned early on to find my voice, especially when I was directing the Instructional Technology Center in a male-dominated field. If I didn't have my voice, it would get overlooked, so I really learned to be an assertive woman at that period of time. And I never compromised who I was. I always went into meetings with my lipstick and earrings on. I didn't care. I am female and I look like what my daughters would call a girly girl. So what? That's me. I let my authenticity shine through because that's what people like, they don't want someone who's trying to be someone else.

The best advice someone gave me was when I was a little earlier on in my career and feeling frustrated because I like to go into a situation and get it done. A president, a great leader at the time, took me aside and said, 'Rhonda, not everyone is like you.' At that point, I thought, you know, I can't expect everyone to have the same urgency, or passion, or knowledge, or desire. Those are things that are unique to that individual. So my role was to try to figure out how, with that person, to inspire that person, to encourage, to work with them as best as I could to get to that point that we needed to move forward and get it done. I always reflect back on that. When you have a goal in mind, you get headed towards that goal, you sometimes forget that other people aren't in the same place. That was a great learning moment for me, and it helped me understand how to put myself in another person's shoes.

What I would say is make sure you take advantage of learning everything that you can. Be a sponge! Soak it up. And by that, I mean learning outside of your field as well, and that includes learning about people. Study people, watch people, be observant. That's what I found out as a leader. Many times you want to go in guns a-blazing, I'm in charge, but people want to know that you're not a female trying to exhibit characteristics that aren't you. Be yourself, if that's who you are. Don't compromise your personality to be a leader. Let it shine through. Cultivate it, find confidence in it, and let that shine through, because that's what people like, is authenticity. Learn as much as you can, soak it in, observe other people. Right now in this world of AI, I don't care what your field is, you'd better know AI and figure it out. Be knowledgeable about world affairs. You need to be, as a woman leader in higher ed, knowledgeable on a variety of topics. Broaden your horizons and soak up as much as you can. Be a well-rounded, educated person, not just a trained person. That will help you find your voice. The second thing is never shy away from an opportunity. What bothers me is that I find some people don't want to be put out. They say that's not my role, I don't want to do that. But if you're going to be a leader or want to be a leader someday, sometimes you have to do that. Put yourself out there. Say I'll do it. Raise your hand. Many times people don't want to raise their hand, but if you want to be the leader, you need to do that when an opportunity arises.

I think right now, at this point in time, there is a credibility issue with higher ed, and I think that as higher ed professionals, regardless of where you are on that timeline or with your position, that's something we need to be mindful of. We need to reinforce the value of learning and how that learning is connected to jobs. Fortunately for me right now, overseeing the internships at Lake Sumter State College, I get to do that every day, but I think that's something that we have to find our footing on in higher ed. How do we recruit students and show them, regardless of what the major is, how does that connect to the real world of work? I know the humanities are struggling, but I always tell people the humanities, that's where you get your critical thinking and soft skills for work. That's where you learn how to critically think, how you learn to problem solve. Math is problem solving, English is communication, your critical thinking you get from history and social sciences. There's a role for that, but the greatest challenge in higher ed right now is reinforcing the value and finding the connection, the real-world connection to work. It's not just for the trades anymore, it's for everybody. Unless you're independently wealthy, hopefully your higher ed career will end in a job. As for opportunities, I see that everybody knows about the baby boomers coming through, and I think the shrinking pipeline is an opportunity because there are open doors now for coming into higher ed. There are a lot of retirements, there's turnover, there are people who are opting out of higher ed simply because of the landscape right now. That opens doors for filling the positions of people who are leaving the field. Let me throw something else out there: there are opportunities for people like me who have had a long career and still feel vital and want to contribute to higher ed. I think quite often sometimes those people are dismissed, and that saddens me, because they should not be. We have to continue to profit off of people like me who've had a long career and experiences, and not forget about that. Past is prologue. That knowledge anchors the future, and I like to see that link continue.

Family has always been most important to me. I have four girls and two boys, so it's a big family, and that was always important to me. I'm proud that all of our kids are through college, they went to great schools and have careers, so that importance for me was personally satisfying. I've always lived my life and made decisions with family first as my internal guide, saying family first, everything else will fall into place. And it worked for me. As recently as last Friday, I was talking to one of my colleagues at Lake Sumter who has been offered a leadership role as a program director. Her daughter was just diagnosed with cancer, and she called me saying she didn't think she could take the job and was reaching out for advice. I said the ultimate call is of course your own, but I've lived my life and made decisions always putting family first. That's a maxim that I've always lived by, and it has paid great dividends for me. Beyond family, authenticity is critical to me. I don't compromise who I am. I am female and I want people to know that's me. I let my authenticity shine through because that's what people like, they don't want someone who's trying to be someone else. Compassion and mentoring are also important. One of my proudest accomplishments was mentoring young women into doctorates and leadership roles. I mentored four different women who got their doctorates under my counsel and advisement and are now in leadership roles, and I look back on that with great pride.