Presenter Bio - Darian Abernathy

Darian Abernathy currently serves as an Academic Success Coordinator, more commonly referred to as an Academic Advisor, in Exploratory Studies at Colorado State University.

In her role, Darian manages a caseload of about 200 students who are exploring their interests regarding major options to choose from at CSU. Included in Exploratory Studies are students that are seeking majors that have entry requirements. Darian teaches a seminar for Exploratory Studies student that allows them to consider and reflect on their values, strengths, and interests and helps them to uncover how these are related to major opportunities and career interests. Darian has a passion for data analysis and artificial intelligence and supports her team and coworkers in learning better ways to adopt technology into their own practice.

Darian is a recent graduate (May 2023) of the Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE) master’s program at Colorado State University. During that time, Darian served as the Graduate Assistant for Fraternity & Sorority Life, Career Center, and the SAHE program. In addition to these roles, she served as a Teaching Assistant in the program, and continues to work close with Faculty and current students. Outside of advising, she serves as a volunteer in the Women and Gender Advocacy Center at CSU, is the Alumni Chair of CSU’s chapter of Chi Sigma Alpha and serves on the planning committee for Fort Collins’ Juneteenth Celebration.

Darian earned her bachelor’s degree (May 2021) in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) with additional focuses in Education and Latinx Studies.  At UNC, she developed an interest in Student Affairs through her work and scholarship with the Office of Student Life & Leadership, The Carolina Union, Accessibility Resources & Service, The Office of Undergraduate Retention, and McNair Scholars. Her research interests include exploring the impacts of Brown v. Board of Education on the public school system, particularly for Black children and the impacts of Black women in Leadership and how they build community amongst themselves, specifically in Higher Education.