Janelle Applequist, a Ph.D. Candidate of The Pennsylvania State University's College of Communications shares how she uses her personal experience to inform her research and instruction. By describing her personal history with the field of health care, she talks about the ways in which academia can privilege individual voices and stories, but from an even larger scale, how sharing your story can be an applicable skill for any field, experience, or personal relationship. Could opening up and sharing a bit of your personal story with students make them feel more connected?  What are the implications for engagement, retention, learning outcomes?  Are there any?