![\"Environmental](\"https:\/\/clemson.world\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Profile-Serita-Acker.jpg\")
<\/a>Environmental portrait of Serita Acker in the Fluor Daniel Building. Also a group photo with her WISE mentors.<\/p><\/div> Mentoring others, especially those who may not realize their potential, has been a lifelong passion for Serita Acker. Those who know her weren\u2019t surprised that she received the 2015 Calder D. Ehrmann Outstanding Individual Award at the 11th Annual Upstate Diversity Leadership\u00a0Awards dinner. The dinner is hosted by the Richard W. Riley Institute\u00ae of Government, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[173,499,994,1096,2415,2730,2850],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-14139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumniprofiles","tag-alumni-profiles-summer-fall-2015","tag-calder-d-ehrmann-award","tag-diversity","tag-engineering","tag-riley-institute","tag-stem","tag-summer-fall-2015"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/08\/Profile-Serita-Acker.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14139"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clemson.world\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=14139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMentoring others, especially those who may not realize their potential, has been a lifelong passion for Serita Acker. Those who know her weren\u2019t surprised that she received the 2015 Calder D. Ehrmann Outstanding Individual Award at the 11th Annual Upstate Diversity Leadership\u00a0Awards dinner. The dinner is hosted by the Richard W. Riley Institute\u00ae<\/sup> of Government, Politics and Public Leadership at Furman University and the Greenville Chamber, with support from other Upstate chambers. The event recognizes those who have shown leadership in promoting diversity in the Upstate. Acker was nominated by colleagues but was completely surprised by the honor.
\n\u201cIt was such a great honor to receive it. Calder recently passed, and this award is in his honor and the work he has done. It was very exciting for me. It was such a complete surprise,\u201d said Acker.
\nAcker is in her 16th year as director of Clemson\u2019s Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program, which provides support and resources for women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Additionally, Acker oversees WISE-sponsored camps and programs to introduce elementary, middle school and high school girls to careers in STEM.
\nAcker\u2019s outreach in the community is not limited to helping young women. She has worked with the University\u2019s Staff Development Program that trains staff members for professional and personal growth. She has also served as a board member for the Rape Crisis Center to develop initiatives that assist survivors.
\nIn addition, Acker was named one of 10 U.S. individuals selected as a mentor for the 2014-2016 MentorLinks cohort, a program of the American Association of Community Colleges and National Science Foundation that advances technological education. She travels to Texas State Technical College to assist the school in programs that encourage and support Latina women in automotive technology. Acker was also honored by Women of Color magazine with the 2014 College-Level Promotion of Education award. Acker said her Clemson studies were the perfect preparation.
\n\u201cMy Clemson degree in human resource development has done exactly what it was supposed to do. The degree is about training people and helping them develop. My Clemson experience as a student has helped me as a staff member. I love that my journey has been \u2018in these hills\u2019 and preparing students for great careers.\u201d
\nRecently Acker received certification as a Global Career Development Facilitator, where she\u2019ll focus on educating people about STEM career opportunities.
\n\u201cI like to be that person who bridges the gap between the community and the University,\u201d Acker said. \u201cI want to educate people, encourage people and help them fulfill their dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"