When I was a student, it was obvious that I found more joy in serving and planning than I did in studying. My mom repeatedly said, “You should do what Dick Walker does; it is the perfect fit for you.” The wisdom of mothers is profound, and she has been one of my biggest encouragers as I serve in this position. Q: What other names has Campus Experience gone by? What other changes have you seen? A: This area has changed names and organization structure over the years to best meet the needs of the University as it grew. It was originally Campus Activities and then Student Life Programs. In 2016, Student Life Programs merged with Event Services to become Campus Experience. One major change Campus Experience has seen is in innovative technology. I want Campus Experience to be a place that encourages and demands innovation but also allows and expects mistakes. Our new Creative Solutions group has developed software and technical solutions for our team. They have developed the Smart Events at CU platform to track event attendance and provide our team with data that helps us understand the student body. Students use the app to check in to events, which helps us determine how many students are engaging with us and which ones aren’t. It can help keep a student from slipping through the cracks. The Academic Division will also use this data to determine how event attendance and involvement affect student retention. Q: What are the roles within Campus Experience? A: The Campus Experience office is unique in that it serves many different needs on campus from the following groups: § Information Group – Serves as the face and voice of Cedarville University. We manage and operate the Campus Experience office (20 students). § Rinnova Coffee – An authentic coffee house with gross annual sales of $380,000 (30 students). § Campus Activity Board (CAB) – Develops and builds campus culture through events like ALT Nights and Campus Christmas (21 students). § Student Government Association (SGA) – Serves as the voice of the student body. They also are the voice of the administration to the students and develop and strengthen campus morale (10 paid students, 300 volunteers). § Class Council – Fulfills SGA’s purpose by fostering distinct class identity (16 students). § Operations Group – Makes events and programs possible by helping with set-up and tear-down. (20 students). § Creative Solutions Group – Supports the mission of Campus Experience by driving innovation across the organization, developing and maintaining solutions, and encouraging creative thinking (12 students). Q: What is the driving passion or philosophy of Campus Experience at Cedarville? A: Campus Experience’s mission is to support the mission and vision of Cedarville University. We provide services, environments, and opportunities for all Cedarville University guests (students, faculty, staff, and outside guests) to have a positive and influential campus experience. Our common purpose is, “We create opportunities for others to create moments.” Therefore, we view people as our guests. This includes the internal population of students, faculty, and staff, as well as the external population of our summer guests, parents, and the community. We embrace each day with a Bravo Zulu mindset. Bravo Zulu is a U.S. Navy term that means ‘well done.’ Having a Bravo Zulu or “BZ” mindset means we have a culture that provides extraordinary effort and strives for excellence. Q: What are your favorite memories? A: There are so many, but three events stand out year after year: Getting Started Weekend, Campus Christmas, and Elliv. Getting Started is when we welcome new students and their families to campus in August. I love to watch as 400500 student-volunteers show up at 7 a.m. — lining the streets, waving pool noodles, holding signs, shouting encouragement — to welcome freshmen to campus. I get on a golf cart and just drive around watching their smiling faces. It’s fun to see parents amazed to not have to lift a finger to get their car unpacked. We want to welcome students with energy and acclimate them so they feel like they’re home. We want to overwhelm families with who Cedarville is. For Campus Christmas, we prepare for two weeks, staging decorations and getting ready. Then, in one night, we have about 90 students working together to transform campus. This year we hung 3,000 snowballs from the Stevens Student Center ceiling in about three hours. I love seeing the students working together, Christmas music blaring. We have four lifts Cedarville Magazine | 19
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