A quote often attributed to Michelangelo reads, “In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it” (Shaikh and Leonard-Amodeo, 2005, p. 75). There can be a temptation to see the act of chiseling a journal article out of one’s dissertation in similar terms. One cannot help but wonder if Michelangelo’s advisors ever presented him a piece of stone and said, “Yeah, you could get two or three angels out of this one.” However, “chop it down and submit something” is advice doctoral students often receive when thinking about publishing their dissertations. Such advice can lead to the modern-day equivalent of this approach – cutting and pasting a 20,000-40,000 word dissertation into 5,000-7,000 word journal article. This process, of course, often leads to expected results: a disjointed and wordy article that is both difficult to follow and overly complicated.

had unexpectedly passed away in a tragic accident on campus. Adam and I served together on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Campus Activities Scholarship and Practice. The announcement of Adam's passing immediately transported me back eight years to a time when I served as Senior Student Affairs Officer at The University of Tampa-when the campus lost a beloved staff member quickly and unexpectedly. I was charged with leading my team through that tragedy while also supporting our students, all while personally grieving myself. That experience was one of the most challenging and meaningful experiences I have navigated as a Senior Student Affairs Officer because the work and the emotions spanned across my professional and personal life.Many student affairs professionals have experienced grief spanning across our personal and professional lives. Adam's passing prompted the authors of this article to share stories of similar staff losses to provide insight into navigating similar tragedies. As student affairs professionals, we often serve on the "front lines" when bad things happen. These roles are mentally exhausting to take on, even when you are not in relationship with those impacted. So, when you are in relationship with the loss, the complexity at the intersection of managing our grief while helping others process their own can seem overwhelming. This article will explore two different cases of staff deaths, from the perspective of the Senior Student Officer, at two unique institutions, and how the student affairs staff managed their own grief processes while leading and supporting their teams. A theoretical framework of secondary traumatic stress, grief, and healing will be woven throughout the article, with special attention focused on the healing process and reflections for practice. All involved in this article respected Dr. Adam Peck as the consummate scholar/practitioner. We believe he would enjoy knowing that his passing was the inspiration for this article aimed at providing tools for other student affairs staff members navigating loss, love, and forward movement.