University Human Resources’ Learning and Organizational Development (L&OD) team celebrated the latest graduates of two of its signature professional development programs on June 18 at the McKimmon Center: the Administrative Professionals Program (APP) and Level Up With LEAD. 

Level Up With LEAD recognized 46 certificates earned — double the number from its first year — while APP marked its third graduating class of 30 administrative professionals. Both programs exist for the same reason: to give NC State employees the chance to step away from the daily grind and build skills they can put to work right away.

“Growth is a deliberate choice. You made it,” said Associate Vice Chancellor for University Human Resources Tim Danielson, who delivered the ceremony’s keynote remarks. You chose to invest in yourselves.”

Level Up With LEAD: Leadership You Can Apply Today

Now in its second year, Level Up With LEAD was designed to give employees a pathway for leadership development, helping them build skills in communication, collaboration, self-awareness and leading teams through instructor-led courses, LEAD events and self-directed e-learning.

“We like to frame the program as an opportunity to refine and build skills,” said Alexa DeFalco, UHR’s program manager for Level Up With LEAD. “Our goal is to help empower employees to feel really confident in the skills they have and to continue to build on the ones they want.”

That confidence is built through practice, not lecture. “Our goal for the program is for it to be application-based,” DeFalco said. “We like to do a lot of hands-on activities, role-play scenarios — things that give the participants an opportunity to practice in the classroom and then think about how they might start to apply those outside of it.”

Graduates say the payoff is both immediate and unexpected. For Mia Horne, lead student accounts specialist at the Cashier’s Office and Student Accounts, who completed all three levels of LEAD, the lasting reward was connection. “By the end of Level 3, many of us had been taking trainings together for months,” Horne said. “It was amazing to look around and realize I, a Cashier’s Office representative, now had friends all over campus.”

The program’s three levels are Core LEAD, LEAD Foundations and LEAD Advance, and each offers an opportunity to earn a digital Credly badge and certificate. This year’s 46 certificates included 27 Core LEAD, 13 LEAD Foundations and six LEAD Advance. Three participants completed all three levels, earning the Certified Level Up With LEAD badge and a complimentary CliftonStrengths coaching session.

The Administrative Professionals Program: Built To Fill the Gap

APP was created to serve employees who often fall between the cracks of traditional training tracks.

“I noticed we had programs for leaders, supervisors and HR professionals. But there was nothing in between,” said UHR’s Carina Lockley, who created and manages the program. 

Administrative professionals, she explained, frequently juggled finance, HR and operations without a development path of their own.

Lockley aimed to change that. “You don’t have to leave your department to go get another job,” she said. “You just need to elevate your work.”

The numbers behind the credential are impressive. To complete the program, this year’s graduates finished eight LinkedIn Learning courses, attended 16 hours of live instruction across eight Zoom sessions and mastered four modules in pursuit of their certification. “You guys are chaos coordinators; you can handle it,” Lockley told the graduates.

The skills land in unexpected places. “I have a knack for composing emails, so I didn’t expect to learn too much from that particular unit; however, the program provided extremely useful strategies for composing difficult or sensitive emails,” said Hannah Carpenter, an executive assistant at the Data Science and AI Academy, who completed the APP.

The PACE Benefit

APP graduates can gain more than new skills. They can also earn the Professional Administrative Certificate of Excellence (PACE), administered by the American Society of Administrative Professionals, along with continuing education units. PACE renews every two years through continuing education rather than a repeat exam, so its value compounds over a career.

Why It Matters: ‘Two Sides of the Same Coin’

In his remarks, Danielson linked both programs as essential to the university’s success.

“To our Administrative Professionals Program graduates, you are the foundation engine of NC State,” he said. “Without your dedication, our campus operations would grind to a halt.” Leadership and administrative excellence, he added, are “two sides of the same coin.”

He urged graduates to treat the milestone as a beginning. “I do not view today’s ceremony as the finish line,” Danielson said. “I encourage you to view it as the launch pad for your next chapter.”

Kevin Rice, director of L&OD, closed the celebration by thanking the graduates and the people at UHR who made it possible. “You signed up, and the most important thing: You showed up,” Rice said.

What’s Next

Administrative Professionals Program

If you think it’s time to elevate your work, register for the next APP class in REPORTER. Go to the UHR website to learn more about APP.

Level Up With LEAD

This program is being refreshed with new offerings to make it even more applicable and exciting for employees. “We’ve got some new and exciting things coming,” DeFalco said. While individual LEAD courses remain available, registration for the certification program is temporarily on hold. Details will be shared in the months ahead on the LEAD website.

Scenes From the Event

View More