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Web Exclusives:On the Campus... August
23, 2001: When I was searching
for a summer campus job, I decided to accept a position as office
assistant in the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students. The
name sounded important, and its West College location confirmed
its place as a integral part of the university infrastructure. Having
decided that I would do office work in any university office, I
was excited to be working in the office that handles issues that
I, as an undergraduate student and leader of a student organization,
deal with every day. I imagined an office
environment imbued with prestige and importance. Deans, after all,
are among those important enough to join official processions during
special university events. Having never interacted with the Princeton's
deans before, I expected that because of their position there would
be a distance between their lives and their students'. But my experiences
working in "ODUS" (as we who work there call it) have proved my
uninformed perceptions baseless. My welcome into the office
was the warmest I have received at any job. Each person asked about
my life on campus, my interests, my activities. It seemed they were
thrilled to have me for the summer and were genuinely eager to get
to know me. I quickly became friends
with everyone in the office. In joining the staff for lunches, chatting
before and after work, and taking a group trip to the shore (the
highlight of the summer), I soon realized that the deans in this
office are everyday people, just like students. While they are university
employees responsible for thousands of undergraduates, they are
also mothers who can't wait to watch a son's baseball game, animal
lovers, movie buffs, Yankees fans, and cooks. In a word, they're
human. And they bring humanity
to their work, recognizing and understanding the nature of busy
college students; they work together to create a unified office
for the students. Working with them, I've learned a great deal about
the nuts and bolts of keeping a university running. But, more importantly,
my job with the ODUS office (unlike previous jobs in which I worked
without much employee interaction) helped me realize the degree
to which healthy staff relations make my time at work more enjoyable
and the office as a whole more productive. Working in an office
with such caring and dynamic people has taught me valuable lessons
about personal conduct that will stay with me in the years to come. And, although I am merely
a student worker ¤ an assistant to the assistants to the
deans ¤ I have never felt diminished by my title. This is
because, like all students, I have been treated with respect, as
a responsible young adult with worthwhile ideas and concerns. This
is the foundation for the success of this office; students know
they will be taken seriously. The deans and their assistants never
hesitate to defend and uphold the students when dealing with individuals
outside the university; they take pride in their students. I have been impressed
with the way they combine their understanding and respect with a
seriousness and professionalism necessary to keep students on track.
Tom Dunne, assistant dean of undergraduate students, cherishes his
friendships with many of the student officers, but also pushes them
to understand the financial logistics of their organizations. Many
in the office feel that Kathleen Deignan, dean of undergraduate
students, with her keen ability to distill a problem and find the
clearest way to address it, would have been a fantastic attorney.
Interacting with her, students learn how to deal with their issues
fairly and effectively. Even if they come in for disciplinary reasons,
they often leave her office smiling and thanking her. On the whole, I've been
amazed at the degree to which the people in this office put the
students first and embrace their roles as deans. Their conduct wholly
reflects that this office is, in fact, the office of "undergraduate
students." It's reassuring to know that people who are at once fun
and understanding and disciplined and dedicated are the ones making
decisions that affect my life as a Princeton student. Granted, I've had the opportunity to work here during the summer months, when the student traffic, and the work that accompanies it, slows considerably and the atmosphere relaxes. I was invited to work in the office during the upcoming school year. In fact, I was warned that if I turned down the offer the deans might just find a sudden unforeseen need to take actions that would get me into the office. Wondering what the office is like during the busy school months, I said yes. It's my guess that as the number of students in the office increases, the people who work here will become more excited and animated because students are the point of the whole operation. As my coworker, Shelley Jannos said: "you think working here in the summer is fun? Just wait until fall. The fun has barely begun."
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