SPAHE

Fall 2014

UNCG
SPAHE
Newsletter
Fall 2014
GIVING ALL SPAHE STUDENTS, CURRENT AND FORMER, A WAY TO CONNECT TO UNCG

Meet the newest SPAHE Cohort

Rachel Adams
Hometown/Undergrad Institution: Jackson, TN native, Graduate of The University of Memphis
GA in the Higher Education program
Rachaele Andrews
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
Undergrad Institution: Elon University
Elon University Campus Center Operations as the Moseley Center Graduate Fellow
Cara Arena
Hometown: Rochester, NY
Residential Coordinator at Salem College
Katie Beals
Hometown/Undergrad Institution: Chester, VA, attended Longwood University,
GA: First Year Experience at Greensboro College
Emily Blake
Hometown: Gastonia, NC
GA: Wake Forest University in the Office of Service and Social Action
Courtney Brehm
Hometown: New Orleans, LA
GA: UNCG Dean of Students Office
Michael Croal
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
GA: Office of the Dean of Students, Student Conduct, Wake Forest University

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FALL 2014

Cody Flowers
Undergrad Institution: Wingate University
Residence Life Fellow at Elon University
Danielle Holloway
Hometown: Raleigh NC
GA for Exploratory Majors in the Students First Office
Jayvon Johnson
Undergrad Institution: North Carolina A&T State University
GA: Hall Director at Greensboro College
Ashley Jones
Hometown: Richton Park, IL
Undergrad Institution: Western Michigan University
GA/Job: Resident Director at Bennett College
Tyshea Lewis
Hometown: Bolivia, NC
Works part-time with the UNCG Guarantee Scholarship program
Eric Marshburn
Full-time UNCG employee, works with the Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary Program called Beyond
Academics, supporting university students with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Page Marshall
Hometown/Undergrad Institution: Wilmington, NC, UNC-Wilmington
GA: HERP Project Assistant
Rachel Mathews
Hometown/Undergrad Institution: Richmond, Virginia, Mount Saint Mary's University
GA for SASS (Spartan Academic Support Services) at UNCG
Austin McKim
Hometown/Undergrad Institution: Richmond, VA-Graduated from Christopher Newport University in 2013
GA in Parent and Family New Student and Spartan Family Programs
Amanda McKnight
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Graduate Assistant in the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement at Guilford College
Lindsay Metz
Hometown: Seven Springs, NC
GA/Job: Academic Skills Specialist for the Learning Assistance Center
Tifaney Millwood
Hometown: New Bern, NC
Graduate Assistant for Student Activities and Advisor for Greensboro College's Student Organization Leadership
Committee
Melissa Ostrander
Undergrad Institution: University of Central Florida
GA: Your First Year with New Student & Spartan Family Programs
Evan Owen
Hometown: Staunton, VA
GA: Make A Difference House (MADH) Living Learning Community at UNCG working with both the Office of Leadership
and Service Learning and Housing and Residence Life

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FALL 2014

Amanda Phillips
Hometown: Greensboro, NC
GA/Job: Students First Office: Academic Recovery Specialist coordinating the Academic Contract for Excellence
Program
Tyler Rathbone
Hometown: Thomasville, North Carolina
GA: UNCG Housing and Residence Life ACRL for the Quad
Kierra Robinson
Henderson.NC
Residence Hall Director at Greensboro College
Dora Rosser
Hometown: Sanford, NC
Graduate Assistant for Leader Development OLSL
Intern for the Global Outreach Program
Stacey Rusterholz
Born in Silver Spring, MD but live in Burlington, NC
Student Life Fellow for Leadership at Elon Unviersity
Bryan Shea
Residence Hall Director at Greensboro College
Shakinah Simeona-Lee
Undergrad Institution: Elon University
GA: ACRL, Housing and Residence Life at UNCG
Kassidy Sparks
Undergrad Institution: UNCW
GA: Wake Forest University in Event Planning, Facilities Management, and Campus Activities
LeAnn Strickland
Assistant Director of Parent and Family Services, University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Olivia Vernon
Hometown: Asheville, NC
GA: Office of Campus Activities and Programs at UNCG: Weekend Life
Aimee Wardle
Hometown/Undergrad Institution: Woodbridge, CT, Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA
GA: UNCG Fraternity and Sorority Life office

SPAHE Orientation was a great start

to the semester!

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FALL 2014

New Faculty Member Spotlight

s[Article

Author]

Symphony Oxendine, Cherokee/Mississippi Choctaw is a Visiting

Lecturer in Higher Education. Her interest and excitement to teach
comes from a desire to provide future higher education professionals
with the knowledge base to provide developmental opportunities
and communicate in ways that are inclusive of the backgrounds,
demographics, and life experiences of the diverse students with
whom they will work. Symphony has worked in Student Affairs since
2005 at multiple institutions including UNC Pembroke, Guilford
College and UNC Greensboro and completed her internship at
Wake Forest University. She is a member of ACPACollege Student
Educators International, American Indigenous Research Association,
and the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors.
Symphony has collaborated with colleagues to publish articles
about the emergence of Historically Native American Fraternities and
Sororities. She also co-authored a chapter with her colleagues about
Historically Native American Fraternities and Sororities in Beyond the
Asterisk: Understanding Native Students in Higher Education. In
addition, in 2013 she co-authored a chapter on suicide prevention
among LGBT college students for New Directions in Student
Services. She is currently working on a study of Native Americans in
the Student Affairs profession.
Her research interests include critical awareness of the social and
institutional issues that affect the educational performance and
institutional support of American Indians and other underrepresented
groups, graduate preparation programs, cultural identity
development, student involvement and its impact on retention,
leadership development, policy, and political processes within postsecondary education institutions. Her concentration on these research
areas will help shape the direction and development of higher
education professionals by assisting in the understanding of various
institutional, psychosocial, and political processes as a means to
support development for underrepresented students.
She is currently a doctoral candidate working on her dissertation
in Educational Studies with a concentration in Higher Education at the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she also received
her Masters of Education in Higher Education Administration. She
received her B.A. from Oklahoma State University in Applied
Sociology. Symphony is also currently the Grand President for Alpha
Pi Omega Sorority, Inc., the countrys first and oldest Native
American Greek letter organization, and has served on the national
executive board for nine years. She has been recognized by ACPA College Student Educators International in 2013 as the Doctoral
Student of The Year, inducted into the Oklahoma State University
Fraternity and Sorority Hall of Fame, and a Woman To Watch
award recipient in 2011 by the American Indian Women of Proud
Nations.

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Alumni Updates
Gabe Barrientez ('13) has a new position as Community Director at North Carolina Central
University.
Hilah Teague Cook ('11) has a new position as a Freshman Success Coach at High Point
University. This year she and husband Jeff welcomed their new son Caleb.
Congratulations to Hallie Kloots Crawford ('14) on her August 2014 wedding.
Derek Oxendine ('09) also has a new job -- Director of the Academic Support Center at the
[Article Author]
University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
Leslie Rogers ('10) is now Associate Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd College in California.
Welcome back to UNCG to Jameson Sellers ('12)! She is a new Coordinator for Residence
Life.

May 2014 Graduate Updates

Sami Francis, Academic Advisor, University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee
Berengere Gallion, Coordinator for Fraternity and Sorority Life, Virginia Commonwealth
University
Dana Hamdan, Assistant Director for Student Engagement, Career Center, Oberlin College
Emily Houston, Freshman Success Coach, High Point University
Alaine Munn Jacobs, Staff Assistant, Global Education Office, Duke University
Hallie Kloots Crawford, Campus Activities and Student Organizations, Texas State University
Brooke Taylor, Athletic Academic Counselor, Wake Forest University
Meredith Vaughn, Residence Coordinator, UNC-Wilmington
Aaron Wainman, Residence Director, Southern New Hampshire University
Joanna Zietara, Residence Life Coordinator, University of South Carolina

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FALL 2014

SPAHE Orientation
would not be
complete without a
craft project!

Alumni Spotlights
Brooke Barber, Class of 2013
I am entering my second year as Director of
Orientation, Leadership and Service for Idaho State
University. In this role, I oversee new student and
family programs, including New Student Orientation,
Week of Welcome, and Family Weekend. I also
oversee leadership and service programs, which has
included oversight of the opening of Benny's Pantry,
ISU's first campus food pantry. In the coming year, we
are chartering a circle of the ODK Leadership Honor
Society and will also be launching a Service Corps for
students who are interested in community service
initiatives. Upon arrival in Idaho, I was fortunate to be
able to join Region I of NODA (National Association for
Orientation, Transition and Retention in Higher
Education) as Idaho Coordinator and Social Media
Manager. Life in Idaho is a new and wonderful
adventure, and the position has been a tremendous
professional growth opportunity.

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FALL 2014

Keira Wilson, Class of 2010

I live in Philadelphia with my dog Sadie. (Same dog I

had at UNCG!) I support our local Community Action
program in Philly. We have a number of city partners
and are expanding. I've been working with Princeton
for a little over a year and half. I work with many of
our immersion programs; Breakout our alternative
breaks program, Community Action our freshman
service week, and the new International Service Trip.
This year one of my students submitted me for
BreakAway staff person of the year.

Jerry Staples, Class of 2013

Since completing the SPAHE program, I have gone on to work at Southern Methodist
University as a Residential Community Director. My first year of professional work has been a
whirlwind of excitement and a lot of hard work. As we have just transformed our residential
model into a Residential Commons System. I have had the grand opportunity to create and
develop a community essentially from the ground up with a great group of student leaders
and a faculty member who lives in residence in my community. We were charged with
developing a curriculum for our residential commons full with great programs, philosophies,
traditions and much more. I have also had the opportunity to continue to explore my passions
surround diversity education and inclusive programing.
On top of my full time work as a hall director, I also serve collaterally within the Office of
Multicultural Student Affairs as a Coordinator for Diversity Education. In that role I have
prepared a Multicultural Competency Training for Staff that will be rolled out this fall. In
order to retain some semblance of balance, I'm also preparing for my first half marathon this
coming December. I am also excited to have submitted my first proposal to a national
conference. Fingers crossed hopefully you can see me present in New Orleans for NASPA
2015.
In the last year, I have grown so much as a professional and personally. Even more than I can
ever expected. To this day I am so grateful for the support and guidance I received during
my time at UNCG. I would not be the professional I am today, if it were not for some great
seasoned professionals guiding me along the way.

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FALL 2014

HESA News

HESA welcomed the newest SPAHE cohort at the

Mentor/Mentee Reveal

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FALL 2014

Recent Faculty Publications

New Edited Volume from Dr. C. P. Gause with Foreword from Dr. Lemuel Watson
Black Masculinity in America: Can I Get a Witness?
Calhoun, D. W., & Taub, D. J. (2014). Exploring the gender identity roles of entry-level men
in student affairs. College Student Affairs Journal, 32.
Calhoun, D. W., & Taub, D. J. (2014). Mentor relationships for entry-level men in student
affairs. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 51, 183-194.

Do you have anything to share?

Send any updates and suggestions to Rachel Adams,
rcadams2@uncg.edu.

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