It is my honor to introduce you to this week’s wonderful Campus Celebrity. As the advisor for IUP’s Her Campus chapter, Dr. Michele Papakie, also serves as the new chairwoman of the Journalism Department.
A former alumna of IUP, Dr. Papakie, also is an active lieutenant colonel for the National Guard and has been for the past twenty two years. Although these two positions would be more than most could handle, Dr. Papakie is very active within her community and volunteers through numerous women’s help programs. She is truly a celebrity at IUP, and I hope you all have the chance to meet her!
It was very intriguing to be able to sit down with a former IUP student and really get a feel for what IUP was like at the end of the 1980’s to the early 1990’s compared to now. The three main differences that Michele and I discussed were the very different campus setting, programs, and the IUP community.
“A lot of changes have happened in this community; restaurants, gas stations and also changes within the Journalism department. We are offering cutting edge courses and teaching students what they need to succeed.”
Michele is very excited and challenged as the new chairwoman for the Journalism department. She has a variety of responsibilities, and presents her leadership to the department as she does as a lieutenant colonel, but in a very different way.
One of the many reasons why this week’s Campus Celeb is SO great is because she knows how to keep things balanced; Michele has always had a full plate. Throughout her life, she constantly was trying to prove something as a woman and she has done just that. As a single parent, Michele completed all of her degrees, remained active in the military, and had a full time job.
So, desperate to know how she pulls it ALL off, I asked Michelle for advice for us collegiettes on how to keep it all goin’ on. The number one tip Dr. Papakie recommends is to manage your time wisely and prioritize, while not compartmentalizing everything.
“Sharing all the parts of my life with everyone in my life was very important,” said Michele. “Sometimes it’s not the best to compartmentalize everything, because if you do then you are shutting off other parts of your life, or people.”
I was very grateful to have the opportunity to sit down with Michelle, as she is one of our BEST Campus Celebs thus far, and she offered so many great ideas for Her Campus writers, and all Her Campus readers. I hope to share them with you soon, collegiettes!