Celebrating the Wins:

What Our Community is Proud of This Year

As the academic year wraps up, we asked members of The Space Station, Ad Astra’s virtual customer community, to reflect on their proudest accomplishments. The results were heartening, inspiring, and a reminder of the incredible work happening across campuses nationwide.

From innovative tech implementations to heartfelt student stories, here’s what our community had to say.

🌟 Highlights from the Field

• “Meeting deadlines and staying within budget while keeping students at the forefront of all we do.”
  Mike Grove, North Orange County CCD

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• “The hard work and dedication our faculty have shown to ensure students have the support they need to succeed.”
  Lori Duncan, State College of Florida

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• “Coming up with procedures to make our jobs more effective and easy to handle."
  Brayton Lipperd, University of Indianapolis 
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• “The dedication and perseverance of the students—it's what keeps us all going.”
  Cheryl Osberg, Valencia College
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• “We overcame a lot of obstacles this academic year. I am proud of the personal growth and experiences that I shared with my colleagues."
  Thalia Sumerset, Southern Union State Community College
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• “As Commencement falls under my purview, I am so thankful for the team that came together to honor our students as they transition into their new opportunities!"
  Amber Steele, Regent University
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• “After 40 years at this job-- 40 years of scheduling, event planning, and coordinating over 50 commencements for the College-- I will be retiring this summer."
  Rita Gustafson, Augustana College

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A Community of Innovators and Student Champions

These reflections show how our partners are leaning into change, leading with heart, and delivering meaningful progress for students. Whether it’s improving access through smarter scheduling, breaking down silos, or simply taking a well-earned summer vacation (we see you, William Biggs at Marshall University!), our community is celebrating well-deserved wins.

To our partners—thank you for all you do. We’re proud to support your mission and look forward to seeing what you’ll accomplish next.

Stay tuned to The Space Station for more community spotlights, insights, and opportunities to celebrate your work.