Directorate Board Friday: Matthew Denham

Matthew Denham, Graduate Student Liaison

Current Title and Institution: Associate Director of Campus Life for Student Engagement at Montserrat College of Art

What do you do as the Associate Director of Campus Life for Student Engagement?
I am responsible for orientation, student programming and leadership development.

What do you love about working at your current institution?
I am new to the institution but I already love how friendly and welcoming all the staff, faculty and students have been.

How did you get involved in the New England College Personnel Association (NECPA)?
While in graduate school I didn’t know a whole lot about ACPA so I attended a social hosted by NECPA to help me get a better understanding of what the ACPA conference was and who was going from our region.  After that I stuck with the NECPA group and attended their geo-socials while in ACPA as well as their drive in conference.

When you aren’t working or focusing on your NECPA role, how do you spend your free time?
In my free time I am either at the movie theater or out trying to find something fun to do with my girlfriend.  I also do like to run but that is typically before I go to work, not as much during my “free time”.

Who inspired you to get involved in Higher Education?
The individuals who really got me inspired to go into higher education were my first advisers and supervisors while at Anna Maria College, Sarah Brethauer Johnson and Brian Quinlan.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your career (so far)?
The most valuable lesson I have learned so far is to make sure I respect my work-life balance.  While I feel I am still very early into my career I believe I need to find the appropriate balance for myself being a new professional.

What is on your Higher Ed bucket list?
I can’t say I have much yet on my higher ed bucket list being so fresh into things besides getting the mentorship program going for NECPA (for now of course!)

Why should professionals in New England get involved in NECPA?
I believe professionals should get involved with NECPA because it is a growing chapter of ACPA and I think it really has the potential to offer a variety of resources to the whole New England area where we can all benefit from the experience of each other.

Directorate Board Friday: Ben Lamb

Ben Lamb, President

Current Title and Institution: Assistant Director for Student Organizations and Involvement at Williams College

What do you do as the Assistant Director?
I oversee our recognized student organizations, our programming board, our student run business ventures, leadership programming, and am a collaborator on a number of larger projects such as our first year experience, sophomore year experience, our alternative spring break programming and a smattering of other pieces and parts.

What do you love about working at your current institution?
I love the diversity of my role, in that I wear a million different hats and at any given point a new challenge or opportunity may arise to be tackled or appreciated.

How did you get involved in the New England College Personnel Association (NECPA)?
I started off my involvement my first year in Grad School as a member of the Massachusetts College Personnel Association. I helped setup their conference in the wee hours of the morning and got hooked immediately. It became a professional “home” for me where I could hone my networking skills for larger conventions and always could find friendly faces to collaborate or commiserate with. Before I knew it I was running for a member at large, co-chairing our drive-in conference and then eventually running for President. At the time of running for President was also when we as an organization decided to broaden our reach and become inclusive of all of New England, so one could say, I was there for the birth of our organization.

When you aren’t working or focusing on your NECPA role, how do you spend your free time?
Free time is a funny phrase to me. When I’m not focusing on NECPA or working at Williams, I am the City Council President of the City of North Adams, a homeowner/husband/dog-parent, a PhD student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, until recently was the owner of a cafe, and am an expecting parent. I’m also a gardener, traveler, and spicy food afficionado. The key to life and adventure is a full tank of gas, and discovering the 25th hour of the day.

Who inspired you to get involved in Higher Education?
I had a few mentors along the way, but my advisor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Celia Norcross, probably played the biggest role in my eventual decision to leave my life of luxury as a Chemist/Biologist and leap back into the higher education community. That said, I’ve been mentored and inspired by dozens of people since making that decision and through to this very day.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your career (so far)?
Innovation doesn’t always mean forgetting the past. Much that is new, has been. It’s just a matter of doing your research, developing your context, being willing to fail, and giving it a go.

What is on your Higher Ed bucket list?
Get published. Get my PhD. Teach for credit bearing courses. And heck, why not…be a college president someday.

Why should professionals in New England get involved in NECPA?
We all know that the large conventions and organizations are sort of that shiny object that people want to be connected to and with, they are the places where you’ll meet the most faces. At times, however, those organizations can feel cliquey and somewhat insurmountable in terms of finding your way to showcase yourself. NECPA on the other hand, is a home. It’s a space where whether you are a long term member or a brand new introduction, you are embraced with open arms. You can get as heavily involved as you want, and nobody is going to stop you. You can connect with leaders in the field, but they feel like long-time friends. You can leave, come back, and leave again, but we will always be there ready to greet you as a colleague and peer. NECPA will develop your body, heart and mind through meaningful connectivity, unique opportunities, and inclusive compassion.

Directorate Board Friday: Kelly Levine

Kelly Levine, Maine State Coordinator

Current Title and Institution: Resident Director and Student Activities Coordinator at Southern Maine Community College

What do you do as the Resident Director and Student Activities Coordinator?
I do a little bit of everything in my role at SMCC. I am the RD for Surfsite Hall at SMCC. Surfsite is an all-male hall with around 135 residents. As part of my role as an RD, I directly supervise 3 RAs and indirectly supervise another 7, oversee the Residence Life Front Desk (open 24/7), serve on-call for the South Portland campus every other week, oversee student conduct in my building, and more. As a Student Activities Coordinator, I put on weekly programming for the SMCC community, and I advise the Student Activities Committee, which plans large scale programming on our campus.

What do you love about working at your current institution?
The residential population on my campus is very small. Only around 450 students live on the South Portland campus. I love working in a community that is this small because I truly am able to get to know the students that live here. Many of our students are high risk, high need students, so having the opportunity to develop relationships with them is incredibly important. I wouldn’t be able to help my students in quite the same way if I did not have the ability to get to know them as well as I do. I absolutely love the students that I get to work with.

How did you get involved in the New England College Personnel Association (NECPA)?
I am very new to NECPA. I relocated to Maine in August 2016 after completing a graduate program in Ohio. After relocating, I was looking for ways to network in the region, so I attended the Entry Level Professionals Workshop in late September. While at the workshop, I talked to John Mayo about professional development opportunities in Maine, and he mentioned that NECPA was looking for a Maine State Rep. I joined the board a few weeks later.

When you aren’t working or focusing on your NECPA role, how do you spend your free time?
I adopted a dog a few months ago. Her name is Zully, and she is a two year old Alaskan Husky mix. I spent a lot of time playing with her and walking her near campus.

Who inspired you to get involved in Higher Education?
It’s less who and more what. As an undergraduate student, I was extremely involved in NACURH, and my senior year of undergrad, I coordinated the programming for NEACURH conferences. Giving younger students the chance to present at conferences and seeing how excited they were with what they accomplished inspired me to pursue a career working with students. I entered the Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel M.Ed. program at Kent State directly after I graduated.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your career (so far)?
I think the most valuable lesson that I have learned so far in my career is to be open to new opportunities. So many of the experiences that I’ve had have happened because I was willing to try new things and deviate from the path that I had planned for myself.

What is on your Higher Ed bucket list?
I don’t know that this is something that I’ve really thought about. I just started my first full-time job, and I’m really eager to continue learning and figuring out things here. My next steps will be long-term planning!

Why should professionals in New England get involved in NECPA?
I would love to see more professionals, especially those in Maine, join NECPA. As more professionals that join us, we will be able to provide more networking opportunities and have a greater collection of ideas and resources. Each member has the ability to better our organization!

Directorate Board Friday: Angela Wu

Angela Wu, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator

Current Title and Institution: Assistant Director of the Davis Center at Williams College

What do you do as the Assistant Director of the Davis Center?

Student development around issues of identity as well as leadership, lots of programming and trainings, as well as building up cultural competencies of other offices on this campus

What do you love about working at your current institution?

I love watching students grow in their stages of development. Even in one year, I can see how far they’ve come, and knowing I have been a part of that is incredibly fulfilling.

How did you get involved in the New England College Personnel Association (NECPA)?

*points fingers at Ben Lamb (current NECPA President)*

When you aren’t working or focusing on your NECPA role, how do you spend your free time?

I’m a huge soccer fan and follow Arsenal in the English Premier League. I also read a lot of fanfiction…

Who inspired you to get involved in Higher Education?

My mentor in my undergraduate years, Tanya Williams, who was the Coordinator for Multicultural Affairs at the time. I remember a conversation with her where she said that I did so much in terms of student leadership and student activism, and that I could be paid to do what I was doing. I remember thinking… what… get paid? What an incredible and unlikely notion. I look back on that conversation and laugh now.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your career (so far)?

It’s important to meet people where they’re at, but there’s also always room for people to grow.

What is on your Higher Ed bucket list?

One day far in the future, I’d like to be Chief Diversity Officer.

Why should professionals in New England get involved in NECPA?

Because it’s a group of really great people who are all about helping professionals reach their goals.