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Printer-Friendly ModeStudent Life welcomes new directors
September 11, 2006 —
New faces can be seen this year in the Student Life Center, as SVSU welcomes new Director Janelle Jacobs and Assistant Director Carly Waligora.
Jacobs started her first day last Tuesday as the new director. The Bay City native had been working for the last five years as assistant director of University Activities at Michigan State University. Jacobs has a Bachelor's degree in broadcast/cinematic arts and a Master's degree in student affairs administration from MSU.
Jacobs says she is eager to enrich the SVSU community by working in the areas of student development and program planning. She wants to spend the year building relationships with everyone here. She also wants to focus on SVSU's priorities and goals for the future.
Jacobs intends to bring her knowledge and prior experience to the SVSU community and make any necessary changes to Student Life.
"Successful organizations allow for and foster change," she says. "Perhaps not immediately, but we will be taking time to evaluate what is working well and where we need to focus our energy to make positive changes."
As director, Jacobs also plans on focusing more attention on volunteerism and community service programs for students. Student involvement is a priority for her, and she wants to make sure students can more easily get involved on campus. She would like to communicate with the campus more and make sure everyone knows of all the opportunities SVSU has to offer.
Waligora will be working alongside both Jacobs and Assistant Director Jennifer Jackson.
Waligora holds a Bachelor's in English literature and language from Lake Superior State University, where she worked on the Programming Board for three years. She will continue to work on her Master's here at SVSU in the communication and multimedia program.
As assistant directors, both Waligora and Jackson are focused on increasing student involvement this year. Jackson would like to see more faces in Student Life programs, and Waligora wants to take it a step further and get students to participate in the entire community.
"We already know SVSU students are great, now we want everyone else to know too," Waligora says. "The year is off to a great start. There's something new to tackle every day, so it keeps us on our toes. It's exciting."
Former Director of Student Life Mike Simon is still with the University. Former Assistant Director Ryan Fewins decided to leave campus and focus more on college volunteerism.