Hello. You are listening to Who's That Star? On LCC Connect at Lansing Community College. Who's that Star? is a behind the scenes show where I sit down and talk with employees at Lansing Community College. This is an inside look at LCC where you will hear from employees and learn about their passions, their projects, what inspires them both at work and in their personal life. I'm your host, Julianna Blain, but I also go by my nickname, Juji. This show is for you to get to know the great people behind the scenes at LCC. Okay, Are you ready? Ready to go behind the scenes with me? Come on, let's go find out who's that Star. Our star today is someone who works with students and is highly passionate about higher education. In fact, I was just trying to convince her earlier to start a higher education TikTok account to share all of her knowledge with the world. She makes creative solutions with students who are running into roadblocks and. And cares about others and is very people and connection oriented. I can't wait for you to hear more about her. All right, are you ready to meet her? Let's hit that drum roll for an introduction. And, our star is Chelsea Brandon. Yay. Chelsea, thank you so much for being on the show today.

Thank you for having me. I'm super excited.

I'm so glad to have you here. I know I met you during the prior learning task force here at LCC and I was so happy to meet you right away. I felt like you were a super authentic person, and I noticed how passionate you were not only about the prior learning, but also higher education in general. So I'm excited for our audience to hear more about it. So off we go. We're gonna start with a who's that Star? Speed round A Fun fact. Are you ready for this?

Yes, I think so.

All right, so let's go ahead. Can you tell me what is a subject that you just geek out about, like, you love to learn?

Actually? Higher education and politics.

Okay.

Higher education, politics.

There's a lot of those. There's a lot of those. So what. What kind of. What kind of brought you to the higher education? Like, what really. What really makes you want to learn about that or passionate about that?

So I actually just graduated with my master's in. Thank you. In higher education administration from Siena Heights last August. So I'm still kind of like in that mode of learning. And it's just. And it's obviously the job that I'm working in, so the two connect. And it's just. I find it interesting. The history, the politics, the student services, student development. It's all very fascinating. I love learning about it.

It's a big topic too. There's a lot there. All right, who do you admire most in the world?

My mom.

Shout out to mom. Hi, mom. What's your mom's name?

Jennifer.

Hi, Jennifer. Tell us a little about your mom.

Yeah, she is a single mom of four. She raised us all. Her and I were actually going to school at the same time. So she is a nurse.

Wow.

Yeah, she was getting her nursing degree when I was getting my bachelor's, so I admire everything, especially the past couple years that she's gone through with COVID So she is my hero.

Oh, I love that.

Oh, mom.

I have a soft spot also. My mom was a single mom raising kids and everything, and there's just a real strong admiration for strong women like that.

And it. Yes. She's my icon. She is like, the strongest woman I know.

Oh, I love that. Yay for moms. All right, do you live by any piece of advice or motto.

Right now? I'm definitely trying to believe in myself and overcome self doubt. There's actually a quote by Maya Angelou.

Ooh, I love her.

That I think about a lot, and it's success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.

Wow.

To me, that means finding your passion, being fulfilled, having a purpose, integrity, and compassion when you do it.

Yeah, no, that is really beautiful. Really just showing up as yourself and enjoying it. I. You know, I hear a lot of definitions of success, but that might be my new favorite one, so thank you for sharing that. All right, would you say go green or go blue?

Go green. Yay.

Go green.

Go white.

What makes you laugh the most?

I am a sucker for a good dad joke.

Okay.

The cornier, the better.

Okay, well, Chelsea, I just so happen to specialize in corny dad jokes, so let's give it a go. I've got a joke for you. All right. What did the dad buffalo say to his kid when he left for college?

I'm stumped. I don't know.

Bye, son.

Oh, my.

They're probably gonna kick me off this show for that joke, but I love it. I love it. Cornier. The. All right, moving on with a speed round of fun facts. What is the most daring thing you've ever done?

Skydiving.

Oh, my goodness.

And I can. I. I did it, and I'm done. Like, I. You can only feel like you're falling to your death and enjoy it to a certain limit. So I did it. I'm done. I'm never doing it again.

Close that chapter.

Yep.

I admire you for doing that. That is. That's terrifying, too.

It was very terrifying.

What was the most scary part?

Getting out of the plane. Because I was not attached to anybody. They gave me a class. They hooked you to a tether and then they said, jump out of the plane. The tether will pull your shoe. And I just had faith that it would actually pull my shoe. So I had to step out onto the ledge of the plane and then just let go.

That would be a come to Jesus moment very much.

It was unlike anything I've ever experienced in my life. Wow.

That is very brave.

Thank you very.

I'm sitting here just kind of in shock because I'm imagining what you just said. Standing out on a plane alone. Like, I don't even want to think.

About one foot, one leg. Get the other foot, the other leg and get. Just.

Yep.

Oh, my gosh.

And the eternal fall. Yep. Okay.

For like five seconds, but yeah.

Okay. Wow. That's impressive. Good for you. You are daring. All right, moving on with our speed round. What's your favorite way to unwind?

I love just chilling with some good music and cooking a guilty pleasure dish or something.

Oh, yum. What's your favorite? Go to.

I love Mexican food. I love cooking Mexican food. The flavors just so good.

Like nachos.

Yes. Tacos and stews. Yes. But, yeah, when it's nicer out, I love to go for a walk. Just get outside, clear my head. Obviously, in the middle of winter, that's a little hard.

A little challenging. It's quite. You might end up with frozen toes, frozen nose. But thank you. Well, beautiful. Sounds like nature cooking. I like all those things. What's the first thing you do when getting home from work?

I love on my cat.

What? Tell me about your cat.

I have a hairless cat who has jumped up in meetings here and there. So some of you may have seen him, but he is a hairless cat. Sir Alfred.

Sir Alfred.

He's just my little naked cat. So cute. He's got the wrinkles and everything.

I've never seen one in real life. I've only seen them in pictures.

I will show you a picture of Sir Alfred.

Sir Alfred. Maybe we can post a picture. We'll see what happens. Maybe you all will get to see Sir Alfred, too, in the show notes. All right, moving forward. I just want to know who inspires you.

Definitely our students. And I say this, like, inside and outside of work. Yeah. They Seriously go through so much with their life situations and various hurdles just from things from like transportation to campus to childcare, trying to take care of their mental health. They overcome so much. Honestly, they're, you know, they're part of the reason why I went back and pursued or furthered my education.

Really?

Yeah. I, I, you know, I get a lot of students that feel like it's too late for them to start over.

Yeah.

Or to start new. And I tell them, you know, our students are so diverse. You're not going to be the oldest, you're not going to be the youngest. Some are going to have kids, some are veterans, some have PhDs, and they're wanting to start over with a different career.

Wow.

You are not alone. Yeah. You belong here and you can do whatever you want in your life.

So I just got all pepped up from that.

Yeah, they definitely inspire me every day.

Yeah.

Every day.

What's just. Do you have a little snapshot or inspiring story of maybe a student interaction that you had?

You know, I. That's hard because every. Every day, every day you're talking to a student and it's something different.

We can hold that thought. Move on. Let's talk more about your job.

Okay.

Let's talk about your work here at LCC. Can you tell me what your job is and what your roles are here?

Yeah. So I started at LCC in 2017 as the transcript processing specialist.

Transcript specialist. Processing specialist.

Processing specialist. It's a lengthy title. It's an important title. It is. And I mainly processed incoming transcripts, incoming military training and experience, standardized exams, ap, clep, and prior learning.

Yay. Prior learning.

Yeah. Which was, you know, life experience, prior licensures and certifications, all sorts of stuff.

Could you speak just a tad to prior learning for our listeners who might not know anything about that?

Yeah. So prior learning is an avenue for students to get. I'm sorry, Receive credits for their life experience.

Wow.

Or for their prior certifications.

That's a big deal.

Yeah, we give them credits and it goes towards their program.

Oh, my gosh.

Yeah.

So. So students working in healthcare, in the auto industry, they can come here, apply, you know, kind of list their experience and then you. Yeah, we work with them.

Yeah, we work with the academic areas, and they kind of look over these applications or their licenses or their certifications, you know, and we work with them to see. See what it's equivalent to. What. What can we give the student credits for? So they're not starting at ground zero. They don't feel like they have to start over.

Especially when you've lived. Maybe I was a non traditional student, but when you've, when you're a non traditional student, maybe you're a little bit older. Like, you know, you kind of mentioned maybe I'm too old to come to school type of thing. How cool that people can apply for credit for their lived life experience, volunteer work, all those things.

Wow. I love it.

I love it. Come to LCC.

Yes.

Apply for prior learning credits. All right, so tell me a little more. So you were a transcript processing specialist.

Oh, yeah. And recently, like nine months ago, I got a little promotion and I am now the assistant registrar in the registrar's office. Wow. Which I love. It's a totally different, it's just different. So the transcripts were kind of everyday type thing and this is more project based. So I get to work on very cool projects that help our students.

What's some of your favorite projects? Right now, maybe.

So right now we are working on creating videos, little, little tutorial videos on how to register, how to wait list, how to order transcripts. So we're actively working on that and I'm really excited about it. It's going to be a huge help to students.

I would agree. Because anytime that I have a question, say for registration for a company, I look for those videos. I'll be like, how do I do this? And when I see a little helpful video pop up, I'm like, yes, there's the answer to all my questions. So incredible. Students can go click those videos and know when they run into snags with registration.

Yep. Like we have a whole list of videos. We have a whole list of them that we're creating.

Oh, that's incredible.

Yeah, we're really excited about it.

That's a fun project.

Yeah.

So what else do you get to do in your role?

Oh my goodness. So elevated student issues. So anything that's kind of coming up through our office or through, you know, student issues that are coming out of the star zone. So I get to work with sort of those elevated complex issues and Gotcha. I, you know, a lot of times they're upset, but I really enjoy working with them and finding a creative solution so that they're not, they're not hitting a roadblock, they're not getting discouraged and they're not leaving.

Yeah.

So I really enjoy that part of my job as well.

That sounds like a really key component where you're kind of just standing in the gap. And you know, personally, you know, when I've struggled to register in Various different things in my life. You know, there is that frustration that comes up when you're like, this is a big deal. How do I register? I'm running into problems. I need to talk to somebody. It sounds like you're the person that is like, hold my hand. We're gonna move forward. We'll get through this.

We have a whole team. I mean, our CRS are amazing, and they're in the star zone, and they.

Crs, do you mind?

Yeah. Yeah. So they. We have a team and they. They do everything. I mean, we have students that walk in. We have students that call on the phone, and they are the front workers, like, for our institution.

Wow.

So shout out to them.

And. And that's the customer. What does that CRS stand for? Customer Representative Specialist. I think we'll have to fact check that.

Okay.

Check the note. Check the show notes.

Yes.

But they are the team that really helps students. That kind of first line is what you're saying?

Yeah, they're. They're a very important component to our registrar's office. Absolutely. Wow.

Yes. Helping students. That's. It's. It's amazing. Can you tell me a little about how you got started at LCC?

Yeah, I was actually in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma.

And I almost didn't make my interview. I was moving. I was moving to Michigan anyways, but I had to bump up and drive back, get here within a week because they weren't doing online interviews at the time.

Oh, my goodness.

So I knew I wanted to be close to family, and LCC was just perfect distance. So I packed up my car and drove up here as fast as I could.

You made it for that interview?

I made it for that interview. Darn it.

And here you are.

And here I am. So I do not regret it. So.

Oh, that's awesome.

Yeah.

All right. Can you tell me, what do you like the most about working here at LCC?

Everything. So I love working with students, but I also love working with my colleagues. They. They are fantastic. I. I feel like a lot of them have the same passion that I do. I love the opportunities here. Our ODI office puts. Puts on so many. So many things, so many workshops and everything.

And just. ODI is office of diversity and inclusion for anyone who doesn't know. Okay, continue.

Yeah. And I've been able to do things outside of my job description, so I've helped facilitate Safe Zone trainings with Laura Orta. Shout out to Laura.

Tell me a little bit about Safe Z trainings. Yeah.

So Safe Zone trainings are the purpose of Safe Zone Trainings. Is to be. Bring awareness about the LGBTQ+ community. So we go over terminology, we go over certain practices and recognizing microaggressions and things like that.

So I remember I actually, I've worked here for about two years, and I attended one of those Safe Zone trainings, and it just really helped me so much because it answered a lot of the questions I had. And. And sometimes, you know, this. It sounds horrible, but there's. Sometimes you don't even realize you're doing microaggressions. So that education piece is so important, and it's a safe place to come and ask questions and learn. And amazing that you did a training for one. Wow.

Yeah. Yeah, it was. I love it. And I think we have a few more coming up in the spring, so I'm really looking forward to that. Yeah. Yeah.

And that's. That's a great way to help both students and employees here at LCC.

Students, staff, we have everybody. Everybody joins those. So it's. It's a really good thing.

Yeah. Yay for resources. Let's talk about what motivates you about your job.

Oh, goodness. Same thing.

Yeah, no, go for it.

You know, I really. I really like working with our student. I feel like a little bit of a broken record.

You know what if your broken record is that you care about students, I'm gonna play that broken record all day.

Yeah. I care about our students. I care about, you know, them pursuing their dream. And I don't want us to be a hurdle. I don't want the small things to be a hurdle. You know, like registering for courses, trying to figure out their tuition bill, trying to update their program. Like, those all require, you know, forms and signing into your account. I. What motivates me is being there for our students during that process.

Yeah.

So they're not discouraged, and they continue to stay here and feel like they belong here.

Yeah. And I think a huge component to that is when I know, just personally in my life, when I felt supported and felt like there was kind, caring people in place, that it enabled me and empowered me to try harder, to not give up, to know that, you know, people kind of had my back in a way or that I could reach out and ask questions, and there were people there to help me. So what you're talking about is so important, and I love that you're motivated by that, by the students.

Absolutely.

Help them, let their dreams come true. Like you said, it's an important job.

That's what we're here for. That is our role. What's the role to help students achieve their dreams, to change their lives. Yes, yes, yes.

That is a little speechless over here. Maybe a little. Maybe a little tear. I'm feeling very motivated, but it's just something that I really want people to understand. Like. Like just talking to you, the assistant registrar. You care so much about students, and you'll stop at nothing to help resolve their issues, to come up with creative solutions, to. I mean, even making the videos as a project. Like, let's help students succeed.

Yes. Yes.

Let's go. Let's do it.

Roundup.

Roundup. All right, moving forward, what is a career highlight that you're most proud of?

I. We talked about kind of professional development opportunities here at LCC. I have been honored to be a part of macro, which is Michigan association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers.

Wow. Macro title.

But it's macro. So in macro, we have committees, and we just. We advocate for Michigan colleges and institutions. It's made up of representatives from all over the state.

Wow.

So I serve on the legislative issues committee. Wow. And I have. Because of that, I've been able to present at our annual conferences.

My goodness.

On legislative issues for higher education. It's kind of like a mock debate type thing. So it gets a little feisty. It's very fun.

That sounds really cool. Cool.

Yeah. So we get to debate that every year in front of hundreds of people.

What kind of issues do you talk about?

So this past year, we debated loan forgiveness.

Hot topic.

Yes. And free community college.

Another hot topic.

Yes. And it got feisty, but it got people talking. And people have wonderful ideas. They have experience, and people were talking about it throughout the conference. So I love stirring up that conversation and that debate.

So, yeah, I would even push a little bit to say that when you do have, you know, some of those more difficult or, you know, sparky, fiery conversation, we could call it passionate conversations.

Yes.

When you have those conversations, like you said, it gets people talking about it, and people start to think about it and talk about it in their conversations with other people, which to me is like grassroots, how. How change starts, like, at the grassroots. So I think that's really a big deal, what you're doing. Even, you know, if it's a mock debate type of thing, like you said, it makes people talk.

Absolutely. We love doing it. We love doing it.

So, yeah, I think it'd be cool to watch.

I think it was recorded last year. You wanted to watch it. Don't watch it.

Incredible. Incredible. Yeah. That is beautiful. I'm just kind of stuck on that. And so you like to present at conferences. You are involved with macro. What else just really energizes you about your career,.

You know, I guess kind of going back to macro. That's not the only thing we get to be involved in. So I've been able to present about military training, accepting credits for military training coursework.

The prior learning credit.

Again, that was my very first conference presentation. And I was so nervous. I was so nervous. I was like sweating buckets. But no, it was something sounds very normal, super passionate about. And then there was another conference, actually that I got to present with somebody from gvsu.

GVSU is Grand Valley State University.

Yes. Sorry, I use acronyms.

No, no, please, please.

About the importance of having preferred name policies at institutions. So I get to dabble in everything that I'm passionate about with macro and here at LCC. And I appreciate that, that I have the ability to do that.

Yeah. And on a high level.

Yes. Yeah. Statewide. I mean, it's great. I have all these connections with these schools and we, we work on important things.

Yeah. Life changing things.

Yes.

Like you talking about the military credits, like for your first conference that you presented. A lot of people might not know that their military experience.

It can transfer. It can transfer as credit and totally transfer as credit. And we definitely want to try and get the word out. And not just like general credit. Like you can get direct credits.

What is direct credit?

So a course equivalency. So you're not just getting just general credits, you know, but a direct course equivalency that could work for your program.

Wow.

Yeah.

That's powerful.

Yeah.

So you're working at a high level with several issues that you're passionate about, ranging from prior learning credits to the preferred name policy. Could you talk a little about the preferred name policy?

Yeah, that was definitely. I feel like an institutional effort. Like it took everybody to kind of get the word out. And what's beautiful about it is that it's simple now. It's a form. All students have to do is submit a form. It did take a lot of backend, like setting up our student information system and like getting trainings out there. But yeah, it's very nice that we have this in place for our students.

Yeah. Could you just say what the preferred name form is or does for those who might not know?

Yeah. So a preferred name can. Or names that students would like to be recognized with. So it could be because of a lot of reasons. It could be because that's just their nickname and that's what they want to go by. It could be, you know, domestic violence. Because changing your legal name is. It requires money. It requires you going to court. It requires a lot of things just to change your legal name. So having a preferred name in place. Preferred name policy in place is important. Other reasons, like transgender students who want to be recognized by their. By their chosen name.

That's powerful.

Yeah.

I've got goosebumps over here. No, that's really cool. And I had never thought about it from that perspective. You just raised of the, like, protection. Protection of students, like, if there was domestic abuse and they needed to go by a different name.

Wow. Yeah. There's lots of reasons and big stuff. Yes. Yeah.

Yeah. I can tell why you're passionate about it.

Yeah. It's super important. And I believe our students deserve all the protection in the world. They deserve all the recognition in the world.

Yeah.

And something as simple as just calling them by their name. Yeah, we can do that.

We can do that.

We should be doing it.

We should be doing it. You are right. So I want to ask you a question about what would you tell. What kind of advice, Career advice, anything. Would you tell your younger self? So maybe young Chelsea, who doesn't know that future, present day Chelsea would be in this position, speaking at conferences and everything. What would you look back and tell yourself?

Stop doubting yourself. I'd probably yell that at my younger self if I could. You know, I had so many doubts for so many reason that that came from people around me, from within. You know, whether it was going for a job, obtaining a degree to getting rid of negative relationships, moving across the country.

Yeah.

Or just applying for a job. Just. Just go for it.

Just do it.

Make mistakes, take adventures, try scary things, but also trust your gut and stand up for yourself.

Those last two.

Yes. Do things for yourself, not because of anyone else.

That's beautiful.

Yeah.

That is really. That's great advice. I mean, I'm gonna take some of that and live by it today. But really just the not doubting yourself. I think that's so key because we could talk about, like, the imposter syndrome, where we might. We might think, oh, we're here in this position. Say you've got a great work position and you're doing really well, but you know who you are, and you're like, you know what? I'm just. Little old me. Like, this is. This is my title. Am I really fit to do this? But you are. You got there. You are. You're doing it. And it just really helps to know that Other people go through that too. Like the doubting of yourself and to just keep pushing forward. Yeah, I really like that.

Thank you. I gotta remind myself every day. Exactly.

Write it down, write it on the mirror, write it everywhere. And then one fun little question. Would you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?

Oh, I'm a Gemini. So am I. Both. I think I'm both. I don't know, I have moments where I'm. I don't know. I'll stay in the house for three days wearing the same leggings, I don't know, watching Netflix. And then I love going out to like festivals or like community events or, you know, doing a 5K or hitting a trail. Like I do like being social. I love seeing my friends, my family.

So sounds like a nice balance, honestly.

Yeah. Like, just confused.

Well, no, I think it's more that you get energy from different places. And sometimes, you know, when you've exhausted a lot of energy socially, you can also receive energy from that. But you also need to kind of have self care, recover. Very self reflective. So to me, I think it's very valuable to be both. I mean, everybody's different. But I really like your answer.

Thanks.

All right, well, we've learned a lot about you, Chelsea. I really honestly just admire your passion for students and how you care about people and how you've taken your work to very high levels, to going to conferences and. I almost said preaching. I'm sorry. Speaking, speaking. And just getting the word out that, you know, even with the prior learning credit, that it's so important that people can come and use their experience, you know, their experience matters. Your life experience matters. Come to LCC and apply. Apply for the, the PLC Prior learning credit. I'm getting stuck on the acronyms here.

A lot of acronyms.

A lot of acronyms at LCC. It's so nice when people explain them.

I love it.

All right, but honestly, your, your passion, I just really, I noticed that about you when I met you and you're a great co worker to work with. I feel like you're approachable. You always, you know a lot about higher education. So I'm always like, excuse me, Chelsea, I have got a question for you. And you always, you know, take the time to answer to help me. And I know that you're doing that for students as well. And that honestly those little things like taking the care and understanding how big it is for students to have help, it is the big things, you know, being kind, taking the time when you have those elevated student conversations when someone's frustrated to, you know, take a deep breath. I understand. I hear you. Let's move forward and solve this. I think I know how we can solve this. Like, you probably provide so much relief to people.

Oh, I try.

Yeah. I know when I call and I. And I talk to somebody who can help me, it just. I have a true sense of relief kind of wash over me in a piece. So keep on keeping on. Chelsea, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for having me.

Absolutely. I really appreciate it. All right. Thank you so much for listening to who's that Star? The behind the scenes show where I sit down and talk to the employees at Lansing Community College. You can listen to this show and others on demand at LCCconnect.org they're all pretty great, but this one's pretty good, too. We spent some time today with Chelsea Brandon, who is an inspirational, motivating person who really cares about our students and ensuring their success in a really tangible way. We've gotten to know one of the great people behind the scenes at LCC. Again, I'm your host, Julianna Blain. Please call me Juji. I want to thank you so much for listening. Tune in next time and together we can discover who's that Star.