Just a few weeks after graduation Nick Royal (MS15) made the trek from Evanston to Denver to start his new position as a Residence Director with the University of Denver Housing and Residential Education team.  “The program is grounded in social justice, and I look forward to learning new and innovative ways to incorporate diversity and inclusion into residence life,” Royal said.

During his time at Northwestern, Nick built a solid foundation of higher education experience through assistantships with the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, the McCormick School of Engineering and New Student and Family Programs as a First-Year Experience instructor and as an Assistant Residence Director in the Department of Residential Services.  Finding opportunities to build leadership experience in every role and serve as a mentor are important to Royal: “I think one of the most important aspects of leadership is the empowerment of others.  When I am serving in a leadership position, I utilize and leverage my power, to the best of my ability to give space to those people and voices who are underrepresented.” 

At the 2015 School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) Convocation Royal received the SESP Alumni Leadership Award that goes to one undergraduate and one master’s or doctoral graduate whose vision and hard work have positively impacted the Northwestern community.  With the opportunity to influence a new campus cohort, Royal hopes to continue the conversation on inclusion and advocacy.  Royal shared, “I believe authenticity is one of the most important aspects of leadership [. . . ] It will be great to be able to bounce ideas off my new colleagues and my colleagues from NU.”

In his spare time in Colorado, Nick plans to “explore a new city, meet new people, and climb a mountain or two!”