It was just two summers ago that 2014 Latta High school graduate D.J. Stroud participated in an ACUHO-I (Association of College and University Housing Officers – International) internship at Harvard University.
Since that time, Stroud graduated Cum Laude from Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina with the Honors College medallion and his Bachelor of Science in Sociology. During that time, Stroud also joined three honor societies (Blue Key National Honor Society, Alpha Chi Honor Society, and Alpha Kappa Delta International Honor Society), worked as a Head Resident Assistant for Lander’s Department of Housing and Residence Life, earned the highest grade-point-average in his program’s 2018 graduating class, and successfully organized Lander Spectrum’s First Annual Benefit Show to benefit Greenwood’s local foodbank as well as Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. It was during his time at Lander University that D.J. learned about the field of Higher Education Student Affairs and was quickly drawn in to that career field.
Since graduating from Lander University in May 2018, Stroud was accepted to pursue a Master’s in Education in Higher Education at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. In addition to being a graduate student, Stroud currently serves in a graduate assistantship role as an Assistant Residence Coordinator for UNCW’s Department of Housing and Residence Life. As part of his master’s coursework, Stroud was given the opportunity to apply for a short-term international internship to take place in October 2019 working at Maynooth University, located just outside of Dublin, Ireland. Stroud recently was notified that he has been accepted for this internship and is already eager and preparing for his time abroad to grow both personally and professionally. Stroud says he is most excited about the chance to explore the cultural differences that take place in a higher education environment between the U.S. and a European country. He is eager to bring back a fresh perspective to help continue to mold who he is as a Student Affairs professional.
As a first-generation college student in his family, Stroud has maintained at least two jobs through his higher education journey while maintaining a competitive grade-point-average and being very involved at both campuses he has attended. Stroud is currently fundraising for the trip as roundtrip airfare, program fees, and some meals are the responsibility of the participants. If you are interested in donating, Stroud has set up a GoFundMe that can be found at: https://www.gofund me.com/ international-internship-in-ireland. If you would like to mail a donation, Stroud can be reached at 843-616-7881.
