Thank you for taking some time out of your busy to day to watch this month’s “YOU MATTER” conversation.

I’ve had the privilege of speaking with some amazing people throughout the year. With this being my final opportunity to showcase a NIRSA leader as a part of this series, I feel it is only right to invite my favorite person to the “YOU MATTER” Series for this capstone conversation: Dr. A’Naja Newsome is an Assistant Professor within the College of Health Sciences at the University of Central Florida.

Dr. Newsome is an active and involved NIRSA member; most recently, she presented twice at the 2025 NIRSA Conference in Orlando. She’s been feature in the NIRSA President’s Notes in 2024 and in 2022.

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Moreover, Dr. Newsome is a competitor, coach, and USA Weightlifting Certified Coaches Instructor for the sport of Olympic Lifting. My favorite part about Dr. Newsome is that I married such an amazing person!

Dr. A’Naja Newsome

This final conversation went a little longer than I had anticipated, but what can I say but it is my last chance to leverage this platform to recognize wonderful people who are having a positive impact on other people daily.

Once again, thank you for taking time out of your day to check out this conversation and any of my previous conversations or blog posts.

See related: NIRSA Championship Series Notes

I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve on the NIRSA Championship Series Executive Board and look forward to seeing all the great things that The Series will do next year and into the future. Stephanie Calhoun, Assistant Director of Recreation Facilities at Georgia Southern University will be an excellent NIRSA Championship Series Executive Board Chair! I appreciate you all and thank you for being a good person because we need more good people in the world, people who can positively influence others to understand that THEY MATTER AND SO DO YOU!

  • For more information, contact NIRSA Director of National Sports Programs, Nicole Jackson.
Assistant Director for Sport Clubs and Risk Management at University of Central Florida | NIRSA Profile

Kristofer Newsome is Assistant Director for Sport Clubs and Risk Management at the University of Central Florida. He is the Chair of the NIRSA Championship Series.