Phone: (630) 730-4381

KRISTEN L. SURLA Email: klsurla@gmail.com

PRONOUNS: SHE/HER/HERS Address: 26 E Pearson St. Chicago IL 60611

EDUCATION
Michigan State University
PhD in Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education May 2022 (Expected)

Loyola University Chicago

M.Ed. in Higher Education Student Affairs May 2018
GPA: 4.0

Loyola University Chicago

B.A. in Sociology & B.A. in English May 2013
Minor in Women & Gender Studies

PROFESSIONAL STUDENT AFFAIRS EXPERIENCE

| Assistant Resident Director |
Department of R esid ence Life, Loyola U niversity Chicago July 2016- Present
• Manage a graduate, transfer, upper-class, and international student resident community in downtown
Chicago of 400 students
• Serve in the departmental 24/7 on-call duty and emergency response system responding to conduct,
medical, facilities, Title IX, and mental health concerns
• Conduct judicial hearings and assigned sanctions informed by community restorative justice practices
• Facilitate departmental professional development trainings on social justice, community building, and higher
ed policy for professional staff and graduate assistants
• Supervise and train 7 resident assistants in programming, conflict management, and professional development
•
| Assistant Director & Asian/Pacific Islander Diaspora Community Coordinator |
M ulticultural Resource Center, Oberlin College & Conservatory July 2013--July 2016
• Provide academic, professional, and personal guidance to students who identify as historically disenfranchised
racial and ethnic groups, queer, trans, bisexual, lesbian, gay, international, undocumented, disabled, first
generation and low-income students
• Coordinated and advised two Midwest Asian American Student Conference committees featuring over 20
scholars, community organizers, and artists on Asian American activism
• Hire, supervise, and train 6 student associates on student success, retention, social justice education, wellness
and inter/intra community organizing
• Organized and facilitated annual APID student leadership retreat with focus on communication, leadership
styles, goal setting, capacity building, and mentorship
• Managed yearly and ad-hoc Asian & Pacific Islander budget of $20,000 for programming and co-sponsorships
• Provided written progress reports on student wellness, program assessments/evaluations, budget reports, &
collaborations.
• Facilitated social justice education on Trans Inclusion, Identity and Oppression for staff and faculty
• Serve on committee for Oberlin Shansi to distribute fellowship and grant opportunities for research abroad
 Phone: (630) 730-4381
KRISTEN L. SURLA Email: klsurla@gmail.com
PRONOUNS: SHE/HER/HERS Address: 26 E Pearson St. Chicago IL 60611

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

| Graduate Research Assistant |

Loyola University Chicago, School of Education
P olitical Id entity D ev elopm ent of F irst Year S tud ents of Color July 2016- Present
Supervised by Dr. Demetri Morgan
• Coordinate Spring 2018 pilot study timeline for interviews, data analysis, and proposal writing Led monthly
events on scholarship, leadership, and social justice for 15 first generation students
• Created annotated bibliography on political identity development of first year students

| Graduate Research Assistant |

Loyola University Chicago, School of Education
Asian Am eri cans, R acial Id eology and Affirm ative Actio n Aug 2016 - May 2017
Supervised by Dr. OiYan Poon
• Cod ed 6 transcripts using D ed oose softw are
• Wrot e & com piled resear ch m em os on racial & political id eologies on affirm ative action
• P resented & d iscussed research pap er find ings at 2 national conferenc es

| Summer Graduate Research Assistant |

University of Pennsylvania, Center for Minority Serving Institutions May 2017-July 2017
Supervised by Dr. Marybeth Gasman
• Wrote literature review on mentorship and pathways for college and university presidents
• Coordinated Twitter Chat on summer bridge programs at MSIs
• Compiled research and resources for Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ students at AANAPISIs
• Created plan to boost social media and online outreach for Center initiatives

| Undergraduate Research Fellow |

Loyola University Chicago, Center for Urban Research & Learning Oct 2012-May 2013
Supervised by Dr. Phillip Nyden
• Served as research assistant to the “Immigrant Student National Position Paper Project” on
undocumented students at Jesuit Colleges & Universities
• Participated in civic engagement & public scholarship efforts to support national DREAM Act
• Transcribed and coded 12 qualitative interviews using NVivo Software

| Research Mentoring Program Fellow |

Loyola University Chicago, Research Opportunities Program May 2012- Aug 2012
Supervised by Dr. Diana Guelespe
• Assisted research on the experiences of mixed-immigrant status families in Chicago
• Transcribed and coded interviews using ExpressScribe and NVivo software
• Compiled and cross-tabulated demographic date using Microsoft Excel
 Phone: (630) 730-4381
KRISTEN L. SURLA Email: klsurla@gmail.com
PRONOUNS: SHE/HER/HERS Address: 26 E Pearson St. Chicago IL 60611

| Publications |
• Surla, K. & Poon, O. (2013). Visualizing Social Influences on Filipino American and Southeast Asian
American College Choice. Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement, 10(2): 1-26, 2015.
Retrieved from Loyola eCommons, School of Education: Faculty Publications and Other Works,
http://dx.doi.org/10.7771/2153-8999.1132

| Conference Presentations |
• Poon, O., Segoshi, M., Nguyen, C., Surla, K., & Tang, L. (2017). Multidimensional Racial Ideologies: Asian
Americans & Affirmative Action. Presentation at the Association for the Study of Higher Education Conference,
Houston, TX.
• Poon, O. & Surla, K. (2017). Why Can’t We Become Like The Jews: Chinese Americans and Investments in Whiteness.
Presentation at Association of Asian American Studies Conference, Portland, OR.
• Surla, K., Tang., L., & Nguyen, C. (2017). Learners and Leaders: Asian American Women in Leadership. Presentation
at American College Personnel Association, Columbus, OH.
• Surla, K. & Poon, O. (2013). A Community Thing: The College Choice of Filipin@ & Southeast Asian High School
Students. Roundtable presented at Association for the Study of Higher Education Conference, St. Louis, MO.
• Surla, K. (2012) Youth Campus Organizing Panel: White House Asian American & Pacific Islander Youth
Summit, Washington D. C.
• Surla, K. & Limthongviratn, S. (2012). Seeing the Personal as Political, Asian American Identity and Campus Organizing
for Solidarity. Asian Americans Advancing Justice Conference, Chicago, IL.

ACTIVITIES & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

| Associate Editor | Aug 2016-Present

Journal of Critical Scholarship in Higher Education Student Affairs
• Led a committee of 3 graduate students to create opportunities for online and in-person professional
development workshops
• Served as a reviewer for manuscripts submitted to the Journal for publication
• Acted as liaison and first point of communication between authors and the Journal
• Represented & promoted publication opportunities at academic and professional conferences

| Co-Facilitator | Aug 2016-Present

Graduate Student People of Color Affinity Space
• Created and led programs on research methods 101, exploring Chicago, and wellness in graduate school
• Connected first year and second year students through mentoring relationships and professional development
opportunities

| Impact Fellow Intern | May 2012-Aug 2012

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago
• Conducted needs assessment of resources and support for Asian American students in the “Big 5” colleges
and universities in Chicago
• Compiled articles and texts to create an Asian American “reader” for high school civic engagement program
• Promoted “Get Out The Vote” voter registration and voter engagement initiatives
 Phone: (630) 730-4381
KRISTEN L. SURLA Email: klsurla@gmail.com
PRONOUNS: SHE/HER/HERS Address: 26 E Pearson St. Chicago IL 60611

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT AFFAIRS LEADERSHIP

|Peer Mentor | Aug 2010 -M ay 2013

S tud ents Togeth er Are R ea ching S uccess (S T AR S ) P rogram
Office of Student Diversity & Multicultural Affairs, Loyola University Chicago
•Advised 15 students of color and first-generation college students through mentoring relationships about
academic, social, and personal concerns during their first year at Loyola
•Led monthly events on scholarship, leadership, and social justice for first generation students
•Created university-wide initiatives including a campus wide visibility campaign

| Multicultural Living Learning Community Resident Assistant | Aug 2011 -M ay 2012

Department of Residence Life, Loyola U niversity Chicago
• Advised first year residents in their academic and co-curricular experience, community development, and
personal growth in the residence halls.
• Collaborated with campus partners on educational, social, and professional development initiatives
• Developed programs to supplement course multicultural learning community course curriculum

HONORS & AWARDS

| Graduate Assistant of the Year Nominee | May 2016

Loyola University Chicago, Division of Student Development

| Honors in Sociology Award | May 2013

Loyola University Chicago, Department of Sociology

| President’s Medallion | Nov 2012

Loyola University Chicago, College of Arts & Sciences

| Board of Advisors Award | March 2013

Midwest Asian American Student Union, Best Social Justice Program

| Mentor of the Year | May 2011

Loyola University Chicago, Excellence Awards

| 2011 Grant Recipient | May 2011

Virginia A. Wagner Soroptimist Educational Grant