Higher Learning
Vibrant, compassionate, beyond intelligent, and makes you feel an immediate connection?
Sign us up for a chat with Dr. Krista Harrell, who manages to do all of the above and more, both in her personal life and at the University of South Alabama (USA), where she is the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Title IX Coordinator. While some might cower at either of those multi-faceted positions, Krista embraces the challenges of her career. Thriving on her connections to others, she supports and advocates for her students with enthusiasm. And she does it all while being the model of self-reflection and confidence we aspire to be.
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Always listen to your mother, or do so if your mom is like Krista’s. ”She always said everyone has their own problems and you never know what someone is going through,” she tells us. The empathy positively radiating from her springs from more than her mother’s advice, though. Raised in Newport News, Virginia, Krista says, “I had a lot of loss and challenges early in my life, so I became empathetic and compassionate quickly. I definitely felt protective of those close to me and anyone who is an underdog.” In a world often short on these qualities, they make her uniquely predisposed to excel at her job helping students at USA.
Always an avid learner, she did well in school and understands the impact higher education can have on families. “No one in my family had gone to college, so it was important for me to do that. Education is a game-changer. It changes the trajectory for generations and in my 20-plus years in higher education, I have seen it be true over and over,” she claims. She attended Old Dominion University for all three of her degrees, crediting her undergraduate degree in counseling for teaching her the value of active listening and her graduate degrees in higher education with understanding how best to navigate the university structure. Her educational bona fides are impeccable, but Krista also recognizes that her life experiences have contributed to her unwavering support and advocacy for her students.
A professional educator since 2003, Krista has been at USA for almost a decade now, and she was promoted to Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs last year. Asked to elaborate on what her job entails, she replies with a list too long to print here—it might have been simpler to ask what her job doesn’t entail. She’s responsible for student support, engagement, and community building, she supervises numerous departments (we counted 10), and runs a number of university-wide programs encouraging students to find a sense of belonging. As Title IX Coordinator, she says, “Title IX is often referred to in college sports but it’s so much more. It’s about equity in education related to gender. Truly, the spirit is to ensure nothing stops someone from getting their education because of gender or sex discrimination.”
Daily interaction with students gives her insight into their world. “Students certainly face more societal pressures with the advent of social media. They also tend to have fewer deep relationships, even though they may have a number of connections via social media,” she says, further adding, “The past four years, we’ve seen an increase in demand for mental health services, which was only exacerbated by the pandemic. At USA, we work hard to help students find a community and a sense of belonging that helps weave them into the fabric of the university, and our counseling staff are extremely dedicated professionals. Additionally, they’ve developed a number of group counseling sessions to allow more students to utilize services while also finding others who can empathize with their situation.”
At 43, Krista remains grateful for each day. “I came into my own in my thirties after my divorce and developed a physical self-confidence I never had before. I took care of myself. I’m completely financially independent and that is a beautiful thing as you get older,” she claims. But she’s had a harder time more recently. “In the past two years, I’ve had a number of health issues that have transformed me physically and mentally. It has aged the way I look and I’ve had to reconcile it and make peace with it. I think being comfortable in your own skin is a lifelong process.”
Rocking a wide gray streak in her hair with pride, Krista says, “There is immense pressure from every angle for women to push back on the aging process. Now, I am completely supportive of women doing whatever they want to make them feel and look their best. For me, I used to constantly be ‘asked’ and ‘encouraged’ to color my hair. It isn’t something I’ve ever been interested in. Now that my streak is more widespread, some people actually are floored that I don’t want to color it.” Recent health issues revealed she has androgenic alopecia (genetic female hair loss) and she’s lost about 70% of her hair, but here’s where all the work she put in after her divorce shows the results of self-reflection. “So now I am managing significant hair loss and near complete graying. And I will not be pressured to color my hair or wear alternative hair. At the same time, I reserve the right to make my own decision regarding those choices. As women, we need to empower each other to live our lives in our own skin however we want. And for me, I’m 43 with thinning gray hair and I’m a little curvier than before—I should still be able to feel like I am beautiful as I am.” Amen to that!
With experience comes wisdom, and Krista has lots to share with younger women after two decades in her career. “First of all, if any opportunity to travel comes your way, grab it with both hands. Travel changed my entire life—my perspective, my heart, my soul, my education. I didn’t have much growing up, so the first time I traveled outside the country was during my doctoral program, when I went to Hong Kong and China. I was transformed and since then, until my health issues and the pandemic began in 2020, I traveled frequently. Doing so again is my motivation to get better—to again have the freedom and joy that comes with experiencing new places and people.” Other lessons she’s learned over time mirror the same ones so many of us wish we’d understood when we were younger. “I absolutely don’t take things as personally anymore. I’ve also realized that 99% of the time, it’s not about me. Some of my work is tough, helping with people in crisis or trauma, and I’ve learned to breathe and do my best to leave it at the end of the day.”
Krista’s only problem with getting older? “Well, while it is a blessing to be able to age, it’s sometimes startling to look at myself in the mirror and not see the 20-year-old I still feel like.” And her favorite thing? “I love having a large circle of family and friends who have been through life with me. I feel comfortable with who I am at heart, and each day gives me another shot.”
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