Ryan ChartrandFew students living on campus actually meet their CSDs, but the housing staff members actually have a huge impact on living experiences of Cal Poly residents.
This year there are even more newly hired CSDs than usual.
The Coordinators of Student Development (CSD) are full-time professionals skilled in leadership, program development, advising and resource referral.
Living in the halls, they train and direct Resident/Community Advisors in their duties, oversee the hall desk operators, advise students on Hall Council functions and administer judicial affairs and administrative procedures.
The job is time-consuming and requires a master’s degree in areas such as higher education.
The returning CSDs this year are Emily Harris of Cerro Vista Apartments, Michele Le of Yosemite Hall and Kelly Cole of Sierra Madre Hall.
Six of last year’s CSDs did not return to the position at Cal Poly this year because they wished to try other avenues of the field and found new employment opportunities.
That means Cal Poly Housing had to hire six new ones.
“We annually hire a certain percentage and are very used to hiring on a regular basis,” said Suzanne Fritz, associate director of Residential Life and Education.
“We haven’t hired that percentage for a number of years. We usually hire three to five (annually), but it depends on the year.”
Juliette Duke and Tina Muller serve as Learning Community Coordinators who directly supervise the Coordinators of Student Development. Tina Muller took the position of Malik Ismail, who also did not return this year.
Duke was responsible for coordinating the hiring process. “She did an outstanding job,” said Fritz.
Hiring CSDs means attending national conferences put on by professional student affairs associations like the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and the American College Personnel Association (ACPA).
Cal Poly Housing is also willing to hold interviews over the phone.
The organization screens 60 to 70 candidates and selects the top choices for interviews on campus.
“Not to say we haven’t done this in the past, but we hired an outstanding group of people this year,” Fritz said.
New CSD Dominic Alletto of Trinity Hall is grateful for the opportunity to work at Cal Poly.
“The returning CSDs and the rest of Housing has done an amazing job at welcoming us,” said Alletto. “They were so involved; it was a lot of work.
“We new CSDs feel very supported and appreciative of them.”
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Ashley Wendler
Fremont Hall – Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences
Hometown: Kansas City, Kan.
Education: Master’s degree in higher education administration from University of Kansas
Why Cal Poly: “I wanted to work with high-achieving students and with a developed Living Learning program.”
Favorite part of the job: “I’m allowed a great amount of variety in what I do. Also, I work with a good variety of students.”
Jeff Hill
Muir Hall – Science and Mathematics
Hometown: Seattle, Wash.
Education: Master’s degree in education – student affairs from Azusa Pacific (Azusa, Calif.)
Why Cal Poly: “I had a really good recruiting trip. It seemed like everyone in the department had a good head on their shoulders. Also, I heard of its reputation from colleagues who worked in similar programs as I do.”
Favorite part of the job: “So far I’ve loved getting to know the RA staff as a whole . I know all of them by name.”
Brian Green
Santa Lucia and North Mountain Halls (Diablo/Lassen/Palomar/Shasta/Whitney) – Engineering
Hometown: DuBois, Penn.
Education: Master’s degree in higher education administration from Kent State University (Kent, Ohio)
Why Cal Poly: “They have a very developed (residential life) program and Living Learning community. The students are holistic and California is really nice.”
Favorite part of the job: “I like the caliber of students I work with and in so many capacities. There are lots of positive interactions. There are so many students that my Hall Council has 32 members!”
Arthur Atkinson
Sequoia Hall – Architecture and Environment Design
Hometown: Oklahoma City, Okla.
Education: Master’s degree in high education – student affairs Azusa Pacific University
Why Cal Poly: “I had to get out of the rat race known as L.A. It’s not healthy. I wanted to go somewhere I could get around solely on bike and where I could breathe air. Cal Poly’s reputation preceded itself as one of the best. I feel lucky to be here.”
FYI: “I’m passionate about global issues, especially those concerning justice and peace. So many college students don’t know what’s happening in the world; celebrities are overly discussed. Cal Poly encourages education about important issues and here I can have a position to influence students. I’m so excited about the opportunity.”
Amber Waters
Tenaya Hall – Business
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Education: Master’s degree in higher education – student affairs
Why Cal Poly: “When I was interviewed at the large ACPA conference, I had a couple interviews with Cal Poly and I liked their housing and Living Learning programs. Then I came to San Luis Obispo and fell in love with the community.”
FYI: “I was a contestant on ‘The Weakest Link’ when I was 19. I made it to the last round. It was the syndicated version with the man, not the woman, so I was lucky I never had to hear, ‘You are the weakest link.’ It was also great because I got a free trip to California.”
Dominic Alletto
Trinity Hall – Liberal Arts
Hometown: Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Education: Master’s degree in education – student affairs from Azusa Pacific
Why Cal Poly: “The job description sounded well-rounded and it seemed like a great opportunity. When I actually came on campus and saw the people I’d work with, I really enjoyed them. It’s important because you’re working on a team for this job.”
FYI: “I’m very passionate about social justice. I welcome any clubs and students that want to discuss pertinent issues to talk to me.”