In this installment of Digication Scholars Conversations, C. Edward Watson shares an “aha” moment from early in his teaching career. “It kind of occurred to me that I kind of had my head down, looking at my belly button the whole semester, and I wasn't necessarily thinking about what was happening with the students.” As he shares with host, Jeff Yan, this realization has informed a career dedicated to student learning, from his days as an early adopter of ePortfolio at Virginia Tech, to his current role with American Association of Colleges and Universities. Currently the Associate Vice President for Curricular and Pedagogical Innovation, he is heavily involved with VALUE - a project that defines essential learning outcomes for college graduates and provides institutions with the resources needed to achieve authentic assessment of these outcomes. Edward and Jeff discuss AAC&U’s approach to the major issues currently facing higher education, particularly the “dual pandemics” of COVID19 and racism. Finally, Edward discusses his work with the International Journal of ePortfolio - an open-source, peer-reviewed journal that seeks to highlight and promote best-practices in ePortfolio research and pedagogy.