Sydney Robinson ’19 attended the 2024 NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education Region IV-East Conference in Cleveland late last month to present on the accomplishments of the Advocates for Inclusive Mentoring program at the College of Saint Benedict.
But Robinson, the program’s advisor as well as the assistant director of the CSB and SJU Multicultural Center, also received an honor of her own when she was named the winner of this year’s Minnesota Outstanding New Professional Award.
Robinson – who in 2023 was appointed to a two-year term as NASPA’s Minnesota State Coordinator in Region IV-E – was informed of the honor several weeks ago and received the award on Oct. 28 as part of the conference.
According to the organization’s website, the award is presented each year to an individual with no more than four years of experience “who is recognized by their peers or supervisor for superior service to their institution.”
“I was very surprised,” said Robinson, who is also pursuing her doctorate in education at St. Cloud State University. “As the Equity and Inclusion Chair on the conference committee’s regional board, I participated in meetings where updates, including awards and their associated states, were shared. With another young committee member from Minnesota, I assumed he was the recipient and overlooked my own eligibility as a new professional.”
“I’m grateful to be honored in this way. The recognition felt like a meaningful validation of the hard work and dedication I’ve put into both my studies and my involvement in our community. I’m very appreciative to have the positive impact of my contributions recognized by my advisors. I received two nominations. One from (CSB and SJU Director of Multicultural Student Services) Malik (Stewart) and the other from my graduate advisor at SCSU. So that really meant a lot.”
Stewart said the honor is much deserved.
“Sydney is integral to the Multicultural Center, and if you see an event or service from our office, Sydney probably played a role,” he said. “She’s done a great job developing leaders on our student-employee team the past three-and-a-half years and I don’t know where we’d be without her.
“Because she’s been such a consistent presence, I think it’s easy to forget that she is still a relatively new professional, which speaks to the quality of her as an individual and employee.”
One of the award’s criteria specifies that the winner must demonstrate an “indication of significant promise for future leadership roles in the student affairs profession.”
That’s exactly the path Robinson is currently on and describes the trajectory she hopes to follow in the future.
“No matter where I end up down the line, I want to be an advocate for multicultural students,” she said. “Lately, I’ve been very inspired to become a college president or even serve as the Secretary of Education.
“But I really love the work I’m doing now. One part of the Bennie Creed calls for mentoring those who come behind us and I’ve gotten to do that on a daily basis. We talk a lot about the Bennie Johnnie Network, and I have the chance to see it in action. I’m able to work with programs I participated in as a student, and not just reinvigorate them, but add memories for others.”