When Megan Miller talks about her life, one word keeps coming up: community. From her four dogs and a cat to her students at Arapahoe Community College, to the friends she made in every college class she took, Miller has built her life’s work around connection. 

In college she built a strong community for herself at Colorado State University by joining clubs, participating in activities, a multicultural sorority and going to sporting events. “Making the most of my experience is what I liked best about college and the people that were along with me in the journey,” said Miller. 

In her journey, Miller tried out different majors to find the best one. This exploration led her to Human Development and Family Studies. In it she found another connection to community and how community impacts “how you grow up and who you become.”

Miller was a concurrent enrollment student at ACC in 2018 and decided to become an academic advisor after college. She had positive experiences at ACC. 

“I wanted give back to the community that once served me,” Miller said. She intentionally chose this work to advise a student population that includes non-traditional students and first-generation students to work against some of the barriers that prevent these students from success.  

Other people in Colorado also see Miller’s value and commitment to the ACC community. According to ACC’s LinkedIn posting last May, she was selected to receive a 2025 Outstanding Colorado Community College Education award by CU Boulder. This award is presented annually to educators across the state who have demonstrated a commitment to helping students achieve their higher education goals. Nominated by peers and colleagues, the award recognized her commitment to student success at ACC and her work with transfer students and the Denver Scholarship Foundation students to find community. 

In her role as academic advisor, Miller guides students to the right major and classes. She also helps them get into programs and transfer to other colleges. Miller shares her love of building strong communities by encouraging students to attend campus events and meet people through joining a club or organization on campus. She advises students to make at least one friend in each one of their classes, like she did.