To start off, we’d love to learn a little about you.
Where are you from? How did you get involved in Student life?
I’m originally from Maine, so I actually grew up in a town smaller than Canton. I went to college in Boston. I thought I was going to be a pharmacist. I was studying pharmacy, but found out that the stuff I did as a student leader was more interesting. I changed by major and I’ve been working in a variety of positions since then.
I’m also a cellist-I played in high school. Last year I played in Shrek the Musical. I’m also a runner and I’m hoping to run the Chicago marathon for my 30th birthday.
Why do you like what you do? /What’s the best part of this job?
What I love about Student Activities, which is so different from my friends in other industries, is that no two days are the same for me. I get to work with a lot of really dynamic events. For example, for orientation, we got to drive golf carts around campus. I love the opportunities to interact with different people. No two days are really the same, and it’s always exciting to get up and do something different each day.
St Lawrence students are incredibly engaged. My favorite experience so far was the student activities fair. There was just so much energy, which is exciting as a professional to help people think about events for student organization.
I also think that I get to see the big picture- that what you do as a student leader helps you evolve into the person you’ll be in your career. I’ve worked in higher education long enough to see how the skills you develop go on to help you later.
How did you end up here at St. Lawrence? What was your first impression of SLU?
I was working at Wells, which is only 500 students. And I was looking for an institution that was right fit for me. So I was not aggressively job searching, I was happy at Wells, but I was looking for the right fit. SLU was an opportunity to work at a place with more students. It’s a nice size, which attracted me to look at this opportunity.
The more that I learned from reading about it and in the interview, the energy just felt right. Very beautiful campus and it has a nice combination of history and staying on the cutting edge. Of course, I came for my interview in June and campus seemed a little eerily calm. It was really nice in August to see campus come alive again.
Do you have any specific goals for your time here at St. Lawrence?
So it’s still really early- I want to learn a lot from students who are doing roles here and take everyone’s experience into consideration. I want to make it easy to students to figure out what’s going on. We are looking for ways to streamline what’s going on campus. Ways we can make it easier for clubs to get their information out. We’re working with Ace and Thelmo to figure out how SLU students find out what’s going on and how they want to find out what’s going on.
How would you describe yourself?
Zest in a vest. It is also my twitter name. It accidentally became my signature in 2007 when I bought my first vest. I also think I’m an energetic person and open to new ideas and I think that once you meet me that makes sense.
Do you have a favorite place on campus? Why?
I ride my bike to work. I come up Romoda drive and I drive down the walkway to the Student Center. When I come between 8:00-8:30 it’s cool because it’s kind of like the pulse of campus. I also like that stretch between the Student Center to the chapel. And the Brewer bookstore. I’m a huge coffee addict, so the Caribou coffee is really good there.
Have you tried a pub cookie yet? Thoughts?
I’ve heard a lot about Pub cookies, but I have not tried one yet. Also, I have not tried a fat bag. I have heard a lot about them though.
What is the one thing you would tell St. Lawrence students to do before they graduate?
To join one student organization and contribute as an active member in that organizations whether at meetings or guiding goals for organization. At small campus with so many organizations you should join and have impact.
Anything else you’d like to tell SLU?
My door is always open, so I want to learn as much as I can about SLU and different perspectives on student experience. I would encourage anyone to stop by and say hello and talk about what’s happening at SLU.