2025 Dr. Adam Peck Research Grant Recipients
Congratulations to the 2025 Dr. Adam Peck Research Grant recipients!
Named to honor the legacy of the late Dr. Adam Peck - a true giant in the field of Student Affairs and a longtime NACA volunteer who dedicated much of his career to advancing research and scholarship in the field of campus activities - Dr. Adam Peck Research Grants are designed to advance the field of campus activities by encouraging the development and distribution of knowledge that has potential to improve the experiences of college students through their involvement in campus activities.
Each year, the grants provide one Gold Scholar $2,500, up to 2 Silver Scholars $1,250 each, and up to 3 Bronze Scholars $500 each to conduct research related to campus activites and student involvement. The research grants are funded through the generosity of donors to the NACA Foundation. If you would like to make a contribution, you can learn more here.
Gold Scholar Award
Caribbean Student Associations as High-Impact Practices
Faith D. Northern
Faith D. Northern (she/her) is a doctoral candidate in Sociology of Education at NYU Steinhardt and an Afro-Jamaican, first-generation, low-income (FGLI) scholar. Her work is driven by a commitment to public scholarship, institutional accountability, and community-centered knowledge production, with the goal of ensuring that research not only documents inequality but also contributes to transformative change.
Her dissertation, Antiblackness in the Academy: Afro-Caribbean Students Navigating U.S. Higher Education, uses a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design to examine how students experience, interpret, and resist racialization across campus spaces, policies, and relationships. Grounded in theories of antiblackness, diaspora studies, racial and ethnic identity development, and Community Cultural Wealth, her work advances a conceptual model of diasporic navigation to theorize how Afro-Caribbean students persist and reimagine belonging within racially hostile educational environments.
Faith holds a B.A. in Biochemistry, Educational Studies, and History from Vassar College and an M.Phil. in Sociology of Education from NYU. Her published and forthcoming work spans educational sociology, diaspora studies, and critical pedagogy, with prior research also appearing in the Journal of Teacher Education and Plasmid. In addition to her scholarship, she serves as Communications and Outreach Specialist at the Research Alliance for New York City Schools, where she supports public-facing research translation and stakeholder engagement initiatives across NYC.
Silver Scholar Awards
Screens, Scores, and Student Leaders: Examining the Relationship Between App Use, GPA, and Leadership Engagement
Valerie Ott
Valerie Ott is the Associate Director of the Office of Student Engagement at Western Michigan University, where she supports student leadership, organizational development, and campus-wide programming. She is also a doctoral student in the Organizational Change Leadership program at WMU, where her research focuses on generational engagement, digital behavior, and leadership development. With over a decade of experience working with student leaders and co-curricular programs, Valerie brings a practical and strategic lens to research that explores how students balance academic, personal, and leadership commitments in digital campus environments.
Claire Binford
Claire Binford is a master’s student in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program at Western Michigan University. She serves as the Graduate Assistant for Leadership Development Programs in the Office of Student Engagement, and as president of the Graduate Student Association. Claire’s work centers on supporting leadership development while helping students navigate and make meaning of an increasingly digital world. Through her roles, she brings a student-centered perspective to leadership education, academic expectations, and co-curricular learning experiences.
Alex Kasprzyk
Alex Kasprzyk is a first-year master's student in the higher education student affairs program at Western Michigan University. She currently serves as the programming graduate assistant for the Graduate Student Association. Through her intentional event planning, she helps create community and spaces for graduate students to be. As she pursues a career in student affairs, she hopes to help students find their path and learn about themselves along their journey.
Beyond the Paycheck: Advancing Student Employment Practices to Improve Retention and Engagement
Dr. Becket Duncan
Becket Duncan is a higher education scholar. He has worked in higher education for more than 10 years across student and academic affairs. In his current role, he leads many research initiatives for the Division of Student Life by overseeing the research agenda, coordinating research projects, writing proposals, collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, and presenting findings to stakeholders across campus. He tends to employ neoliberal and ecological theories through mixed methods designs to better understand the co-curricular experience.
When not at work, he enjoys running, hiking, and spending time with his wife and several pets.
Jill Jones
Jill Jones is a higher education leader with a deep commitment to student success, college affordability, and professional development. She has worked in higher education for 25 years and joined the CU Boulder community in 2019. She was previously the assistant dean of student experience in CMDI, where she contributed positively to student success and retention.
As a first-generation college graduate, she brings a personal and passionate perspective to her work, championing equitable access and transformative student experiences. Her work is grounded in a student-centered philosophy, and she continues to advocate for innovative practices that empower students to thrive academically, professionally, and personally.
Alaina Nickerson
Alaina Nickerson heads up the Skills and Experiences team in Career Services, which focuses on work-based learning experiences for students including Student Employment and internships. She provides a broad range of experiences for students to build workplace readiness skills and expand their professional networks. She also dives deep into the skills the modern workplace demands, building programs, resources and opportunities for students to understand, hone and talk about how they uniquely use those skills.
If you catch her outside of work, you’ll probably meet her partner, Ryan, and her 125lb bullmastiff, Mack. She’ll also probably feed you and tell you stories about her travel adventures.
Dylan Joseph Mark
Dylan Joseph Mark works to expand opportunities for professional experiences including the development of internships, projects, entrepreneurship and other career launchers. In his role, Dylan supports students, employers and campus. Dylan has been a staff member of Career Services since 2013 and in that time has led internship initiatives, directed the CU Public Interest Internship Experience program and overseen the employer development team. As a CU Boulder alumnus with a sociology degree, Dylan takes pride in everything Buffs.
Marlys McKinney
Marlys McKinney oversees the Student Employment team in Career Services, which focuses on a comprehensive shared vision for student employment. She works to ensure that every student worker is developing the skills they need to succeed throughout their careers. She is a first-generation college graduate with a passion for equitable access to professional opportunities.
In her free time, Marlys enjoys spending time with her wife and dog, baking, playing board games, reading and watching TV. She is also an avid traveler and has lived abroad in Japan and New Zealand.
Bronze Scholar Awards
Where Students Bloom: Bridging High-Impact Touchpoints with Leadership Development for Long-Term Student Success
Dr. Chloe Kiser
Dr. Chloe Kiser is the Director of the Bloom Scholars Program at Valparaiso University, leading a summer bridge and year-round success model, initially designed to support first-generation and underrepresented students. She oversees program operations, curriculum development, and campus partnerships to support student persistence and engagement.
She teaches across Leadership Development, Graduate Studies, General Studies, and the Valparaiso University Experience, bringing nearly eight years of instructional experience at the K–12, undergraduate, and graduate levels. Before entering higher education, she gained professional experience in the hospitality and wellness industries with The Walt Disney Company and Hilton Head Health, strengthening her background in service, communication, and team development.
Dr. Kiser holds a B.S. in Business Management, an M.S. in Sports Administration, and an Ed.D. in Strategic Educational Leadership, with her research focusing on technology-infused curricula aligned with the ISTE Standards for Education Leaders. She is recognized for her innovative, student-centered course design and for creating learning experiences that foster confidence, resilience, and meaningful engagement.
Dr. Natalie Krivas
Dr. Natalie Krivas is a student success coach, educator, and organizational systems researcher whose work centers on values-based leadership, humane pedagogy, and student belonging. She holds a Ph.D. in Managing Organizational Systems from Saybrook University, where she specialized in humane education and applied systems thinking to K–12 and higher-education contexts.
At Valparaiso University, she works closely with first-generation and underrepresented students through the Bloom Scholars Program, providing intensive 1:1 support, facilitating leadership development, and designing experiential curriculum that strengthens confidence, academic persistence, and community engagement. Her research background includes curriculum innovation, cross-sector collaboration, and community-based learning. She has presented nationally and internationally on pedagogical design and solutionary approaches to education. Dr. Krivas brings a commitment to understanding students’ lived experiences and translating those insights into actionable strategies that promote equity, resilience, and meaningful student success.
Beyond the Shelf: A Case Study Examining the Impact and Opportunities of a Campus Food Pantry
Dr. Stephanie Cuellar
Dr. Stephanie Cuellar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education in the College of Education. Her research interests include psychological resilience among minoritized populations; ethnic-racial identity development; community cultural wealth; and increasing access to postsecondary education for low-income, first-generation college students.
Dr. Cuellar earned her B.S in Psychology and M.A in Clinical and Counseling Psychology from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. She earned her doctorate in Higher Educational Leadership from Texas Christian University (TCU). She holds a graduate certificate in Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies with a concentration in pedagogy as well as a general pedagogy certification. Dr. Cuellar completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at TCU.
Dr. Pablo Montes
Dr. Pablo Montes (any pronouns) is a descendant of the Chichimeca Guamares and P’urhépecha people from the valley of Huatzindeo (Salvatierra, Guanajuato, MX), specifically from a small rancho called La Luz at the foot of the Culiacán mountain. They are an Assistant Professor of Curriculum Studies at Texas Christian University and received their Ph.D. in Cultural Studies in Education from the University of Texas at Austin (with an emphasis on Native American and Indigenous Studies and Mexican American and Latine Studies).
Their main research interests are at the intersection of queer settler colonialism, indigeneity, and Land education. Their current project emphasizes the transformational learning spaces that Two-Spirit, Queer, and Trans Indigenous educators create alongside their Indigenous community, with Land, and other Queer Indigenous people.
Dr. Lori Borchers
Dr. Lori Borchers is an Assistant Professor in the Harris College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Texas Christian University (TCU). She teaches primarily in public health. Her research interests include food insecurity in college students and the pay-what-you-can community café model.
Dr. Borchers earned her B.S. in Nursing from the University of Kansas. She earned her MSN from Georgia State University. She received her doctorate degree in Higher Education Leadership from TCU.
Cultivating Civility Through Experiential Learning
Jennifer Wells, Ph.D.
Jennifer Wells, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Higher Education and Program Coordinator for Teacher Leadership at Kennesaw State University. Her scholarship focuses on CAS standards, assessment, belonging, civil discourse, and how historical thinking informs practice. She is committed to student success, collaborative research, and strengthening institutional culture.
Jennifer W. Purcell, Ed.D.
Jennifer W. Purcell, Ed.D. is a Professor of Public Administration and lead for experiential learning in the School of Government and International Affairs at Kennesaw State University. Purcell’s community-engaged research examines leadership capacity building in organizational and community contexts, emphasizing boundary-spanning, collaboration, and gender.
Karen Boettler, MA
Karen Boettler, MA, serves as Associate Director of Student Leadership Development, overseeing leadership programs, civic engagement initiatives, and peer-support development. She has over 20 years of experience in college student development, including residence life, student conduct, community engagement, and leadership education.
William Hargrove, M.S.
William Hargrove, M.S. (he/him/his) serves as the Director of Student Volunteerism and Service at Kennesaw State University while also pursuing a PhD at the University of Georgia’s McBee Institute of Higher Education. His research interests revolve around the public purposes of higher education through service and civil discourse.
Applications for 2026 Dr. Adam Peck Research Grants will open in the fall.