Meet Olivia! Olivia is a two-time Ball State graduate and currently serves as an Associate Director for Student Life. Olivia credits the influences of her undergraduate experiences, both curricular and extracurricular, for leading her to pursue her Master’s degree in Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education. Chirp Chirp!
What led you to your graduate program at BSU?
I did my undergraduate degree here at Ball State University. I studied English Literature, Leadership Studies, and Communications Studies. And during that time, as an undergraduate student, I had many impactful interactions with current faculty and staff, especially alumni of the Student Affairs Administration and Higher Education Program. Abby Hayworth, in particular, was someone I worked very closely with. During my time in housing, I also had several interactions with current grads. So a lot of those people who invested in me tied back to that program, and it really spoke to me when it came time for my graduate search. So I looked for student affairs programs, and I really narrowed it down to the SAAHE program here at Ball State and the SAAHE program at Illinois State. Ball State’s SAAHE program gave me an internship with the Disability Services Office, and I thought that was a really unique opportunity. Compared to the other institutions I was interested in, Disability Services here is housed within Student Affairs. And I felt that having it in a student affairs space gave a unique lens on how we do student interactions. And so ultimately, that’s what led me to decide to come here.
What was your proudest memory as a BSU grad student?
I would say getting to work so closely with Dr. Courtney Jarrett and, at the time, the assistant director Jordan Grammas for Disability Awareness Month in March. We got to do things like bring wheelchair basketball back to campus. We got to bring in guest speakers, and it was just a time where I got to practice a lot of different skills. For example, I was advising student organizations on event planning and marketing. And so once March was over, it was so impactful to look back and just say, wow, we really did this because there were moments where I wasn’t so sure we’d get there.
How have you been able to use your graduate degree(s) from BSU?
So my current role is that I serve as an associate director in the Office of Student Life here at Ball State. And in this role, I have gotten to advise graduate students from the program that I graduated from. I’ve been able to do things such as event planning and management, advising student organizations, marketing, and communications for our office. I continue to build upon the skills that I was taught in the SAAHE program, continuing to put theory into practice and learn how to lead college students. So I would say every single day. Every day.
(Editor’s Note: Olivia has also been incredibly instrumental in the successful Late Nite Carnival events!)
What advice or wisdom do you have to share with current BSU grad students?
I would say definitely take advantage of opportunities, especially if you’re not so sure about it. Sit with it and let yourself kind of weigh your options because you never know what sort of doors that would open. So when I was job searching, I was really focused on continuing my work with disability services and accessibility. It’s a passion of mine. And I really honed in on that experience during my graduate program. But when this position in Student Life opened as an assistant director, working with leadership programs and first-year experience, I took the risk and applied, even though I wasn’t sure if I would fully enjoy parts of this work. Being able to say yes to that opportunity and yes to so many things afterward has really helped me to grow as a professional.
