SAO works to build community

By Margarita Romanova '04

Algier

Anne-Marie Algier has served in the Student Activities Office (SAO) for more than 10 years as assistant director, associate director, and now as director of Wilson Commons and Student Activities. In a recent interview, Algier discussed the role SAO plays in developing and coordinating campus activities.

What types of programs and activities do you oversee as SAO director?

We handle registration for all student organizations and clubs. There are about 150 groups on campus, and our office advises about 100 of them. The SAO also oversees the Wilson Commons building, including the Common Market and the recreation room. In addition, our office is responsible for several programs such as Leadership Development, which holds leadership conferences with local companies such as Paychex, and is extensively involved in the planning of activities like Yellowjacket Day, Boar's Head Dinner, and parents' programs during Meliora Weekend.

What's involved in coordinating events with student groups?

Working with students is not a typical 9-5 job; we often work late at night and sometimes during weekends. Such schedules require our staff to be flexible, dynamic, and very energetic.

The busiest time for us is the middle of August. While student groups are in the early stages of preparing for the new academic year, we are in full swing programming and planning for the upcoming semester to make sure students will have many opportunities to participate in activities during those first few weeks and months of the semester.

What are the most challenging and most rewarding aspects of the job?

Personally, I really enjoy working with students and seeing their incredible talent and intelligence in action. They are an amazingly bright and talented group of people. It always impresses me how much enthusiasm they possess to develop new ideas and transform them into reality. It's their vigor that challenges us and keeps us energized.

We understand that students are students, and academics should be their first priority. When they are overwhelmed juggling school work, extracurricular activities, and jobs, we really try to offer support and motivation. Perhaps the greatest challenge for us at that time is to offer assistance without completely taking over the planning for SA events.

Recently, the SAO introduced new activities such as Wilson Commons Wednesdays, Fashionably Late, and Rochester Every Day (RED) merchant discounts. How does the SAO collaborate with student groups to develop and implement these ideas?

The synergy between the amazingly talented students and dynamic staff often helps us develop new ideas. We take our time during the summer to brainstorm, look at survey data, consider recent changes, and just think things through. We are very attentive to students' opinions and to the interesting issues the student government raises.

Also, becoming a part of the College has helped us collaborate with other departments on campus. We now meet with different offices, including the College Dean's staff, the Career Center, Athletics and Recreation, and many others to develop ideas and share suggestions. Jody Asbury, dean of students, with her community-building vision, has been tremendously helpful and successful at coordinating and bringing people with similar interests together. And, of course, the students are a tremendous resource. When Jody brought College staff and students together over the summer and encouraged us to be creative and brainstorm without worrying about cost or other barriers, the Fashionably Late and RED programs were born.

Is encouraging communitywide participation a goal for SAO when planning activities?

Absolutely. One of the major strengths of this University is that it is a small research university with a highly residential campus. We believe it's important to take advantage of that aspect and create programs that foster interaction between faculty, staff, and students. After all, learning often occurs when you connect people outside of the classroom in an informal setting.

A major goal of the University is to give students choice and allow them to be entrepreneurs vis-à-vis their education. As a part of the College and the academic mission of the University, SAO understands it is our responsibility to develop programs that reinforce that mission. We view ourselves as community builders and work toward successfully matching the overarching goals of the College through developing programs that foster informal learning among all members of the University community.

Are there any new programs you're working to develop?

Currently, we are in the process of evaluating what we've accomplished so far to make sure that we are on the right track and that our programs and initiatives have been successful. As a part of that evaluation, we hope to identify the needs that have been served as well as those that haven't so we can explore new program possibilities.

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