Their nominator said:
McKinley Paratore is a graduate student in the Higher Education, Student Affairs Program and her assistantship is with the Student Activities Center. McKinley is committed to the success of the Student Activities Center and to holding the staff accountable for commitments to racial justice and equity. I am impressed with her ability, her thoughtfulness, and her responsibility to put theory into practice by directly sharing classroom skills, theories, and discussions with her colleagues at the SAC, and fostering skills to directly apply them to her assistantship. McKinley has accomplished so much this year by being the primary coordinator for the Iowa State Leadership Experience, pivoting programs into successful online formats, and guiding student organizations through near constant COVID-19 changes. McKinley is responsive and engaged with her work at the SAC. She steps into roles and conversations when asked or when necessary. She provides extensive research, theory, and practice on how to make improvements to SAC events, policies, and procedures with regards to racial and social justice and gender equity. I want to acknowledge how difficult these conversations are to approach as a graduate student and acknowledge how impressed I am with McKinley for taking them on. How she encourages critical self-reflection, staff development, and how she goes above and beyond as a graduate student staff member. The SAC is extremely lucky to have McKinley as a student staff member because she CAREs.
