Clarissa Mae Calimbas, assistant director of student involvement at University of the Pacific’s Stockton campus, has been named the recipient of the “Very Involved Participant” award from Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA).

Calimbas has served as the co-coordinator of the Asian Pacific Islander Knowledge Community within NASPA since 2019.

“I started in the NASPA Undergraduate Fellow Program when I was still an undergrad student at San Jose State,” Calimbas said. “At the time, there wasn’t really a structured program, and I was just meeting with other administrators and doing informational interviews.”

As NASPA grew, Calimbas continued to evolve with the organization. She attended her first national conference in Philadelphia while she was in graduate school.

“It was in the middle of a winter storm,” she recalled. “I knew I was in good hands and these were people that would mentor me and want the best for me in my personal and professional life”.

Since joining Pacific, Calimbas has integrated her work with NASPA with her dedication for student involvement initiatives.

“One of my favorite things about NASPA has been the relationships I’ve built with colleagues from different institutions,” Calimbas said. “Pacific is a unique campus in itself, and one of my favorite things is hearing what things other campuses across the country are doing”.

Calimbas is using these connections to further her work both at Pacific and NASPA.

“I hope to continue to be involved with NASPA Asian Pacific Islanders Knowledge Community’s Leadership Team,” she said. “My other goals include working closely with graduate students and the undergraduate fellows, as well as being on the region and national leadership teams one day.”