WVU Tech's Candice Stadler receives WVASPA distinguished service award
WVU Tech is pleased to share that Candice Stadler, director of WVU Tech’s office of Career Services and Cooperative Education, was awarded the Stella Cooksey Distinguished Service Award by the West Virginia Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
The award is given annually to a student affairs professional from WVASPA each year. Recipients are selected for their service to a West Virginia higher education institution, commitment to WVASPA and “contributions to the field of student personnel through teaching, administration, or research.”
Stadler served as a board member of the organization for four years and was a member of the conference steering committee. She served as WVASPA’s president in 2013 and as its historian the following year.
She said the work has been a rewarding experience because she believes in the organization and its mission.
“In this region, we don’t have a lot of resources to go to national conferences or to engage in that kind of professional development. WVASPA fills that void,” she said.
“It provides networking. We do an annual conference. It’s about getting these professionals connected to one another and to resources to help them in their careers.”
Stadler received the award during WVASPA’s fall conference earlier this month. She said she was surprised to have been selected for the honor.
“All of this is a team effort. Education is a team effort. Student affairs is a team effort. There is no one person that does it all,” she said. “I consider student affairs my life’s work, so this is very special to me. This is a tremendous honor from a tremendous organization. I’m very thankful and humbled by it.”
Immediate Past President of WVASPA, Dr. Sarah Beasley, said Stadler played an instrumental role in reviving the group, which had faced a few years of uncertainty.
“The WVASPA organization had once been a vibrant community of student affairs professionals but experienced several years of stagnation. As president, Candice inspired a small group of institutional representatives to revive WVASPA. Thanks to these individuals’ dedication and, in particular, Candice’s energetic, take-charge leadership, WVASPA has once again become a thriving organization,” she said.
Though Stadler has rotated off the group’s board to allow others the opportunity to serve, she said she plans to continue working with WVASPA and that she’s excited about the organization’s days ahead.
“I think WVASPA has a really bright outlook. It’s a very vibrant organization and it’s growing. I think there are a lot of good things in the organization’s future,” she said.
At WVU Tech, Stadler has overseen the successful expansion of the university’s career services and cooperative learning offerings. She has also been instrumental in organizing service learning volunteer opportunities for students and forging new partnerships with community organizations.