Kristal Hines-Pressley

"Civility means caring and contributing to the community around you, whether it’s in small ways such as upholding community standards or in large ways such as taking leadership and guiding the community.” With that perspective, Kristal Hines-Pressley models and mentors her community in respectful collective living."

Now a senior, Kristal has spent her college career serving her community on campus. For the past two years, she has worked as a student leader in Residential Well-being. She quickly proved herself as a strong leader on her team with a gift for conflict mediation. Within her first year on the team, her district’s professional staff leaned into her expertise, using her as an example for her peer student leaders to learn from.

"She has a gift when it comes to creating a safe space for students to express themselves, be heard, and maneuver their way through conflict by creating compromise,” said her nominator. As a senior student leader within Residential Well-being, Kristal is a mentor to student leaders in her district. She also serves half of campus in an on-call capacity when she is on duty. She has responded to countless calls from student leaders asking for assistance with conflict resolution, always showing up with grace and respect for all parties involved.

Last fall, Kristal provided a conflict resolution presentation for the more than 250 student leaders across all five residential districts. She taught the group about ground rules for successful mediation, authenticity within conflict, and provided them with ideas for guiding a friendly resolution. Thanks to Kristal’s guidance, both student leaders and Residential Well-being staff said that they felt more prepared to handle conflict in the future.

Kristal’s passion is helping people. She is known for exceeding expectations as a leader and volunteering her time and insight to help her mentees feel confident.

Kristal serves as the President for Black Students in STEM, President and Choreographer of the Exodus Dance Club at Virginia Tech, and has previously served as the Vice President and Secretary of NAACP at Virginia Tech.

“Treating others how you want to be treated is a great way to show respect,” said Kristal. “An additional layer is promoting honesty and understanding.”

For her compassion, grace, and generosity as a student leader, it is my pleasure to present the Aspire! Award for PRACTICE CIVILITY to Kristal Hines-Pressley.