Ron started a new job as the Assistant Director of Residence Life and Student Conduct at Northwestern in May — in the midst of a pandemic and just before protests against racial violence began across the U.S. Both of these events directly impact Ron’s work both now and in the fall. Despite all the turmoil, he remains collected and more motivated than ever to create an inclusive environment for Northwestern’s students. 

Ron and Lougan worked together at Belmont, but Lougan was not able to join this interview so Jenna caught up with him to talk about his history as a campus organizer and whether it’s possible to address public health and racial justice at the same time. We also discuss Ron’s work as a tour guide and organizer for Black travelers and where he wants to go once travel resumes.

Ron holds a master’s in college student affairs from the University of West Georgia and is currently pursuing an Ed.D. in student affairs leadership at the University of Georgia.

Link to cool stuff

• Ron on LinkedIn

Shanna Carmack is the director of residence life for Carson-Newman University in east Tennessee. In this week’s episode, we talk to Shanna about getting acclimated as a new director in her first year at a university and how much a mentor can make a difference to an up-and-coming administrator. Shanna also lends us some insight on what it’s like to raise a child—in a residence hall!

On this week’s episode, we talk sit down with John Delony, the Associate Provost and Dean of Students at Belmont University. John talks about how his own mental health challenges proved to be an important turning point in his life. Those events inspired him to take counseling classes at Texas Tech and join a crisis team to help grieving families. All of these experiences have profoundly shaped his approach to working with students. 

Jerry Cherry is the coordinator for student leadership at Appalachian State University. This week, Jerry tells us about what it’s like to mentor and manage students and how he’s stepped in while other positions are being filled at the university. In his spare time (spoiler: he doesn’t have much) he advises NRHH (National Residence Hall Honorary) and he and Jackie geek out over OTMs. Everyone reveals their feelings on candy corn, and Jackie learns about ESports.

Links to cool stuff

• Jerry on Twitter
• Jerry on LinkedIn
• E-Sports Earnings

Talk about a higher ed superhero, Thea Zunick serves as the director of student life at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. On top of that, she is an adjunct professor University of the Sciences and Montclair State University while volunteering for AFA, NASPA, and greek organizations. She talks about the platforms that online classes can use to create engagement. The group talks about how meetings can be unproductive at times. 

Links to cool stuff: 

• Thea on Twitter
• Thea on LinkedIn

Kevin Hahn is the associate director of residence life at SUNY-Fredonia in western New York State where he oversees RD and RA development and recruitment. We talk with Kevin about his plans for the upcoming year as classes wrap up for the summer. Kevin Hahn is well known for his handwriting, where he has a font of it, you can download it in the show note links. We also discuss how to bring higher education residence life into the fad of interior design/renovation shows.

Links to cool stuff:

• Kevin on LinkedIn
• Kevin on Twitter
• Kevin’s magic handwriting font

Peyton Lipscomb is the retention initiatives coordinator at University of West Florida. Her undergraduate advisor in economics suggested her pursue a career a higher education since she loved serving the campus of Mississippi State. She oversees an initiative called Anchor Down for freshmen. Their events are focused around a theme and it issues stickers to professors and students with questions to ignite conversation.

Links to cool stuff: 

• Peyton on Twitter
• Rap and Wrestling Connection Podcast

Dee Goines is Director of Residence Life, Housing and Conference Services at The University of North Texas at Dallas. During the show, Dee introduces Lougan and Jackie to the Student Affairs Kliq, a Facebook group for fans of WWE in Student Affairs. UNT Dallas has recently completed it’s first residence hall, so Residence Life is a relatively new department. As such, Resident Assistants are a new concept to the institution. Dee talks about his process for hiring new RAs and about the structure of his new department.

Links to cool stuff: 

• Dee on Twitter
• Dee on LinkedIn
• Student Affairs Kliq

Danzel Jones is a Massachusetts transplant at West Virginia State University where he works as a graduate hall director while obtaining his master’s degree in media studies. As much as it’s hard to believe, he is a former introvert who believes in helping others overcome their shyness. We talk about his experiences adjusting from undergraduate life to graduate life, his work at West Virginia State and his goal of entering the film industry.

Links to cool stuff: 

• Danzel on Twitter
• Danzel on LinkedIn
• Danzel’s YouTube Channel