War Eagle! I am Nic Smith, born and raised in Decatur, AL. I am a Ph.D. student studying Adult Education at Auburn University. Before Auburn, I attended the University of North Alabama (UNA), where I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Culinary, Nutrition, and Hospitality Management and a minor in Interior Design and Space Planning. At UNA, I was involved in many student organizations. As a UNA Lion, numerous awards were afforded to me, such as Homecoming King, University Man, Promising Alumni, Undergraduate Service, and Outstanding Volunteerism. These achievements and honors, along with my desire to learn, fueled my courtesy for higher education.
Shortly after graduation, I arrived at Auburn University during the Summer of 2019, where I began my studies for my master’s degree in the Administration of Higher Education program. During those two years of pursuing my degree, I worked for First Year Experience as a graduate assistant for Camp War Eagle (CWE) and Successfully Orienting Students (SOS). Right away, I found my love for helping undergraduate students develop professionally as I was teaching stanzas of the Auburn Creed and customer service principles to counselors and orientation leaders. Now, I serve as a graduate teaching assistant and career coach in the Office of Professional and Career Development, where I aid students in creating and fine-tuning their professional documents but can also be found observing a plethora of the BUSI courses offered by the Harbert College of Business for assessment purposes.
What I enjoy most about working in the career services field is, of course getting to work with our HCOB students, but also the opportunity to see real-time changes and professionalism being instilled into our students for their future endeavors. When I am not busy with schoolwork, you can find me cheering for the Auburn Tigers at any sporting event as an Auburn University Cheerleader! A military family has been the focus of my upbringing, my mother (Felicia) retired Air Force, older sister (Nikkia) active-duty Air Force, and little sister (Gabrielle), a soon-to-be college attendee.