Finding Your People: Professional Organization Involvement as a New Professional

By Ethan Williams

It is hard to believe that this is my second-to-last Interns Insider blog post as my internship with the Gardner Institute comes to an end. This semester has been full of learning, networking, and professional growth at the Gardner Institute, a sneak peek of what is to come in my final entry. Before I sign off though, I wanted to share my advice for new professionals gaining their footing in higher education and the realm of professional organizations.

Finding Your Place

In the world of higher education professional organizations, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to decide which to get involved in first. There are countless organizations for job type and functional areas, from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) to the Association for Graduate Enrollment Management (NAGAP). For your first professional organization membership, I recommend one that broadly encompasses your field. For me in the field of student affairs, that was the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). I found it beneficial to join a broad organization first. This allows a new professional to gain insights into all aspects of the field, because you never know what functional area your next role might be in. NASPA is a massive organization, but there are a wide variety of “Knowledge Communities” (or “KCs”) that you can join to find your people. I was fortunate to be connected to the Administrators in Graduate and Professional Student Services (AGAPSS) KC early in my career. As someone who passionately serves this student population, it was valuable to connect with peers from different institutions who also work with graduate and professional students to see how others are approaching current issues, learn ways to enhance our student support, and gain career advice. When I began working in new student orientation, I also joined the National Orientation Directors Association (NODA) to build connections with others in my same functional area.

Getting Involved

If you have the bandwidth, my advice is to jump in headfirst once you find a professional organization that is a good fit for you. Volunteering is a great way to gain insight into the inner workings of the organization, learn how you can leverage your membership in your daily work, and add some extra-curricular leadership experience to your resume or CV. I was involved with AGAPSS in NASPA for about two months when I volunteered to become the Communications Lead for the KC. That role allowed me to build working relationships with the others on the KC leadership team and shape initiatives to best engage the members of our KC. After two years of learning and growing in that position, I just took on the role of Co-Chair for the KC last month. In NODA, I also served for a year on the advisory committee for the Council of Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), where I advocated for the membership of NODA to adopt and utilize the CAS in their work. Many people that I have talked to are hesitant to volunteer for leadership roles because of the time commitment. In my experience, the organizations that I have been involved in realize that you are a volunteer, so they have been very supportive and understanding of availability and bandwidth. At the end of the day, the organizations are grateful to have your help and want you to succeed in your role!

In Conclusion

Find an organization that makes sense for you, and get involved! Building nationwide relationships with folks who do the same work as you is invaluable for new professionals, both for learning how to best support your student population and for personal professional growth. It never hurts to have something extra on your resume, and you never know where the connections that you build might take you in the future!

Ethan Williams is the Spring 2026 Graduate Intern at the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Higher Education. He is a student in the Doctor of Education (EdD) in Higher Education program at University of North Texas, and he serves as the Assistant Director of Student Life in the Center for Student Life at UNT Health Fort Worth.