Christine Prado

“You only are free when you realize you belong no place – you belong every place – no place at all.” Maya Angelou

I am a southerner without a southern accent. I have been around higher education all my life, but I am not an educator. I’m an art graduate from an A&M college. I’ve been around Clemson University since I can remember. Oh sure, I tried to leave. I attended the University of Georgia for two years and ended up back at Clemson to earn my BA. I moved to Charlotte for a while but ended up back at Clemson as a staff member, where I’ve been for 24 years. I’ve been a faculty brat, a sports fan, a concession stand worker, an undergraduate, an alumna, a townie, a student wife, a staff member, a graduate student (this art grad is working on an MBA) and the parent of an undergraduate (College of Charleston, go Cougars!) You could say I’m a little immersed in higher ed.

In the end, I’ve loved my career in higher ed. While I’ve had my fair share of the politics, I always end up inspired by the students that I meet who have had Clemson change their lives for the better. And, I’m grateful that I’ve been inspired by the group of colleagues I’ve met through UCDA. This organization has pushed me to try things that I didn’t know I could do and taken me to places I probably wouldn’t get to on my own. It’s also given me a great deal of support and encouragement as I’ve steered my way through my career, and most importantly, it’s given me a network of friends and colleagues. If I belong no place and every place, I always feel like I belong in UCDA.

I’m thrilled to be back on the Board. I first served in 2009 and took a break while my dad was ill, and my daughter was a teenager. I look forward to contributing to this organization again and helping elevate the role of design on college and university campuses.

If you see me at an event, come say hey! Maybe we’ll go find a yarn store to visit or arrange a nice run before the programming starts, or even just have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and talk about how we can better contribute to making our institutions stronger.