Staff devoted to creating home away from homeBy Jennifer Greenstein Altmann Princeton NJ -- There is one point on which all the college masters at Princeton agree: They could not do their jobs without the dedicated people who make up the staff at each college.
"The master relies so much on the staff to make sure the college is welcoming to the students and serves their needs," said Maria DiBattista, master of Rockefeller College, who praises her staff's devotion. In addition to the masters, the staffs at Princeton's five residential colleges include residential college deans, directors of studies, college administrators and secretaries. There also are graduate student assistant masters, faculty fellows and advisers, upperclass-student resident advisers and minority affairs advisers. At Forbes College, "everyone on the staff is so committed to the students," said master Andrea LaPaugh. "They have made this a place where students are supported and challenged, where they can grow intellectually and discover new ways of thinking. If they have a problem, they know they have somewhere to turn." "I don't really earn my money -- they do it for me," master Miguel Centeno said of the staff at Wilson. "They're spectacular. They make all the difference," said Butler master Lee Mitchell. And students feel the same way. "The college staff at Mathey in general has been a great source of encouragement and support during my time there," said Brad Flora, a member of the class of 2004 and a resident adviser at the college. "They really know their jobs and try their best to help students out." Kelly Sortino, a resident adviser at Rockefeller College who now works at Princeton as an admission officer, said, "One of the main reasons I wanted to be a resident adviser was because of the college staff. They were my family away from home. They really care about the students as if they were their own children." Staff members often can be seen in the dining hall sharing a meal with students or just chatting with them about movies, current events or their hometown. "Those informal interactions form the basis of trust from which we build," LaPaugh said. They are also there to help out in ways that go beyond their job definitions -- taking a student to buy a suit for a job interview or offering emotional support when a student faces a calamity. Essential to the management of each college is the administrator, who coordinates care of the physical plant, manages the facilities and works with the student college council to schedule social events and community-service activities. Administrators attend dinners and evening events, putting last-minute arrangements in place and ensuring that things run smoothly. Randy Setlock, administrator at Wilson, even runs a cooking class for students at the college. Forbes administrator Alison Cook loves the fact that her job allows her to spend so much time with students. Jackie Lasaracina, a member of the class of 2006 who is on the college council, said, "Alison Cook is just amazing! She is always so poised and pleasant and wonderful. Anything the college council asks of her, she graciously accommodates." Betty Stein, the administrator at Butler, is known for her creative problem solving. "If a snag comes up, Betty is always there to suggest a solution," said Darryl Peterkin, Butler's director of studies. The first face that students see when they walk into the college office is the college secretary. Those people are the mainstays of the college, dispensing advice, warm smiles and friendly conversation. When she lived at Rockefeller, Sortino looked forward to dropping by the office to see Janée Serio, the college secretary. "I always loved coming to talk to Janée," she said. "She's so much fun. If I was ever having a bad day, I always felt like I could go to the college office and get a smile. It made my day." Feeling at homeAt Wilson, Kristin Van Deursen is the former middle school teacher who greets students and helps maintain their academic files. "She brings her passion for education to the front desk of the office," said Kathleen Crown, Wilson's director of studies. "And she makes students feel at home in the Wilson College office." A primary resource for students is the director of studies, who handles academic advising and discipline, as well as supervising event planning at the college. Forbes' director of studies, Oliver Avens, has been an energetic force in helping to bring activities to the college that explore culture and diversity. He has worked with students to develop the Sustained Dialogue program, a campus group that holds discussions about diversity-related issues. He and assistant master Carolyn Guile established a film society that recently screened "Bowling for Columbine" for 80 students. Avens and Guile supplied popcorn and pillows, and they brought in a lecturer from the politics department to discuss the issues raised in the film. Lisa Herschbach, director of studies at Mathey, has been there for students when they felt overwhelmed and needed academic help or when they were under the weather and needed someone to take them to McCosh. "She is always available," said Pat Byrne, Mathey's administrator. "The students love her." Students turn most often to the college dean when they have academic problems, and deans talk to students about how to get the most out of Princeton, academically and otherwise. The dean spends much of his or her time counseling the freshmen and sophomores in the college. These relationships can be long-lasting; indeed, many juniors and seniors seek out their former college dean for continuing advice. Jonathan Schoenwald, the dean at Rockefeller, volunteered to help Louis Kawood, a member of the class of 2003, when he was struggling with his thesis last year. "I was completely stuck, and he just sat down and helped me overcome the writer's block I had," Kawood said. "It made all the difference in my thesis -- it enabled me to get it done. And I wasn't even in the college anymore." Steven Lestition, dean at Mathey, said the enthusiasm students have for the activities they undertake is infectious. "I really get a charge from the excitement of students, so I try to make it special for them here," he said. Lestition has been an indispensable source of advice to Flora about which classes to take and which academic deadlines he needs to keep in mind. "He's been really helpful in keeping me on the right page as far as my schoolwork goes," Flora said. When students look back at their experience at Princeton, they often think of the college staff as a mainstay. Kawood, who graduated last year, felt so close to the Rockefeller staff that he stopped by to celebrate with them after he handed in his thesis. "I've been in on a regular basis all four years," he said. "People come back years after graduation just to visit the office staff. Once you're a part of the college, you're a member for life." |
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