Dr. Jess Boersma has progressed from a first-generation, Pell-eligible college student and student veteran to serving as Associate Dean for Student Success, Policy and Undergraduate Scholarship at the University North Carolina Wilmington. He earned a BS from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, an MBA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a PhD from Emory University. Dr. Boersma has been the editor of two volumes on literature and society, guest editor for an applied learning journal, and the principal investigator on numerous grants with the AAC&U, CAA, and US government concerning applied learning, regional expertise, culture, and curriculum development. Dr. Boersma’s experience abroad includes work as a humanitarian relief worker, a government liaison throughout Central and South America, a researcher and study abroad program leader. Working as an international observer, he briefed President Jimmy Carter on election conditions in Venezuela. He is the past president of the North Carolina Service-Learning Coalition and the current president of the UNCW chapter of the Association of the United States Army.