Across her many achievements and deep involvement at St. Ambrose University, the "whys" that motivated Carly Miller '21 shared a common theme: a passion to advocate for others and to do good.
Carly graduated summa cum laude with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Public Relations & Strategic Communication and in Multimedia Journalism, and with minors in graphic design, electronic production and management.
Arriving at St. Ambrose, Carly felt a sense of duty to be active and involved on campus. Early and dedicated investments by her parents and a myriad of scholarships made it possible to fund her education without loans.
"Through my gratitude of having the opportunity to attend college, and especially to do so without loans, I made it a huge priority to give it my all these four years," she said. "I double majored and triple minored to get the most out of my classroom experience and was deeply involved in everything I did outside of the classroom. I didn't want to regret any part of my college experience, so sitting in my room watching Netflix wasn't appealing to me. I would rather go from class to work to clubs to homework and get the most out of my time."
Carly's perseverance throughout her four years never wavered, especially when it came to advocating for herself and others. Carly is open about her diagnosis of Crohn's Disease, which can present challenges in her daily life.
"I met Ryan Saddler at the Accessibility Resources Center during Welcome Week my first year and it ended up completely changing my college experience," she said. ARC staff provided Carly with the resources to utilize housing, food, and classroom accommodations in accordance to her disability. "I look healthy and abled, but the truth is that I have a disability. The invisibility comes with benefits of avoiding some stigma, but since I appear to be healthy, it can be hard to advocate for myself or take a day off without feeling bad about it," she said.
Working closely with ARC staff, Carly grew confident in advocating for herself in and out of the classroom, and in turn, she began to advocate for others, too. Since 2019, Carly has served as the president of Delta Alpha Pi (DaPi), an honors society for students with disabilities. By hosting events and displays on campus, the members promote disability awareness.
"We wanted to show the community that we are here and our experiences need to be heard. Accommodations can be thought of as privileges or having an easy way out, but they really are just giving equity to students with disabilities. They are giving us a seat at the same table and allow us to thrive to our fullest potential," she said.
"Carly's leadership has provided meaningful and progressive change through her promotion of disability awareness on campus, working to crush the stigmas that surround the word disability," said Alyse Schmidt, assistant director of the ARC and DaPi staff advisor.
Later this month, Carly will introduce the keynote speaker at the 23rd annual Social Justice Conference. The event, hosted by the SAU School of Social Work, will focus on disability justice, including how individuals, groups, and entities can be more intentional by including disabled people of color in every aspect of freedom fighting and liberation.
"I've had the pleasure in watching Carly grow into a fierce advocate for equity and justice," said Ryan Saddler, associate vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. "Not only has Carly used her voice and platform to advocate for individuals with disabilities, she's been an ally for students who identify as Black, Latinx and LGBTQIA+ to name a few. Carly demonstrates what it means to lead with empathy and act with compassion," he added.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected Carly's last semesters at St. Ambrose. Doctors advised her to stay home for the fall 2020 semester and complete all of her classes, extracurriculars, and work-study duties for the Communications and Marketing department, remotely.
"At the time there were no vaccines so it was an overall risk for me to be on campus," she said. "Thankfully my professors were all very understanding. I'm grateful I was able to receive a vaccine very early into this semester and I was able to live off-campus with one of my best friends. It made coming back very accessible."
While serving as the SAU Dance Marathon public relations and marketing director for the past two years, Carly and the DM team overcame countless obstacles when it came to planning safe events and in 2020, making the switch to a virtual Big Event with just a week to prepare.
"It was the most heartbreaking experience I've ever had," Carly said of the last-minute change. "We almost felt guilty, like we could have stopped it somehow. It was a huge disappointment for us, but also for our miracle families, committee members, and dancers."
This spring, as an end to the pandemic was visible on the horizon, DM9's Big Event theme was 'Rise with Resilience, Unite for a Purpose.'
"This year, going the extra mile for DM was more important than ever. Through every battle we faced, we kept the families in focus to motivate us. We also focused on our funding of the accessible playground at the Center for Disabilities and Development," she said.
With safety protocols in place, the event was held in person on April 17 and raised $191,254.09.
Big Event themes vary each year, but the core theme of Dance Marathon is always the "why;" the special reason each student commits to the yearlong event.
Carly's biggest "why" is for her brothers, Sam and Brandon, each of whom passed away from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at the age of 19. Carly was a newborn when Sam died, and three when Brandon passed away.
"Neither one of them ever had experiences that we take for granted every single day, like going to class in college or driving a car or dancing for 13.1 hours," she said. "Everything I have done is in their memory. I try to always do my best because I am so blessed to be healthy and not affected by DMD or any of the diseases or conditions that our miracle kiddos have."
As an executive board member, there were times Carly put in 40-hours a week in addition to class, other extracurriculars and her work-study position. But the experience has paid off in the skills she's gained and miracles she's helped create for the 'kiddos' and their families.
"DM has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, I wouldn't give any of it up," she said. "I'm grateful that as an alumni I can continue to be involved while I find my passion or 'why' after graduation." She knows where that journey will start. After graduation, Carly will launch her career at Palmer College of Chiropractic as the social media communications coordinator.
"I have tried to live each day to its fullest, make memories and have as many experiences as I can." she said. "From spending late nights in the SLC chaotically preparing for a Dance Marathon event, going on drives with friends to Hurts Donuts or Atomic, my work-study job with one of my best friends, it has all been a blessing."
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