If you were at the involvement fair this past Tuesday, you witnessed a sea of student leaders spread out between two buildings and two levels of our campus center. According to the Gustavus website, there are more than 100 student organizations on campus—wow! Most of us are involved in at least one of these organizations and, let’s be honest, probably way more than that (the “over-involved Gustie” stereotype is far too accurate). As students, we put a lot of time and effort into our extracurricular activities, so sometimes it’s easy to forget the people working hard behind the scenes. In the theme of recognition, Her Campus GAC would like to introduce you our new Assistant Director of Student Activities, Julianne Watterson, the woman who makes Gustavus student leadership at Gustavus possible.
Q: Tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from, and what brought you to a career in student life?
A: I am originally from a little town in the northwest corner of Indiana. I went to Indiana University, where I was a major in Journalism and also in Spanish. I knew I loved writing and communication and everything that fell under the journalism umbrella, and it’s still something I enjoy. I was also in a sorority while I was there, and I actually ended up being the Chapter President of Alpha Gamma Delta. It was there that I came to know how much I valued working with student leaders—people who were excited about bringing change to their community and moving it in positive directions. When I graduated, I wasn’t really sure what to do with that; I didn’t know much about student affairs or that it was something you could even pursue. I ended up working at a Humane Society as a Volunteer Coordinator for two years. Working with people who were so passionate about making positive change in their community helped me realize that I wanted to work in student affairs. I then went to grad school at Marquette University in Milwaukee to get my masters. I knew that I wanted to work with Greek Life because I believe in it a lot and it helped me figure out the rest.
Q: How did you hear about the job at Gustavus?
A: I was searching pretty aggressively last winter and my director at Marquette knew Andrea [Junso] really well and he sent me the position. That’s what student affairs professionals will do; they’ll send out a position to everyone they know and say, ‘Hey, if you know anyone who would be interested in this position, please encourage them to apply.’ And that’s what my boss did; he passed the position description over to me and I looked at it and I really loved it. I had a phone interview with the search committee and then I came to campus in mid-April, spent the whole day here, and was really impressed with the students I talked to. It was nice to see so many students who were engaged in working to improve their campus life. I loved the office too; it’s important to connect with the people you work with.
Q: Are there any things that you’re particularly excited about for this year?
A: Absolutely. I’m really excited to start the upcoming bid process with the Greek community because it’s unlike one I’ve ever been a part of. I’m also really excited for the Panhellenic process (the national Greek bidding process), which happens a week before the local bidding process. My other project is to try and revamp the Gus Mascot; I want to find a strong team of students to help make Gus a more prominent figure on campus.
Q: What are some challenges you foresee?
A: I think it will be challenging being the person that is in charge of a bunch of different things on campus. I’m the Student Org person, the Greek person, the Mascot person, and the Family Weekend person, which makes sense since this is small school. I’m really excited about all of the variety and that’s what I wanted, but it’s certainly challenging to manage all of those things and make sure I’m giving equal attention to all of them. It’s a balancing act and it will take a little time, but it’s something I’m really excited about.
Q: If you could go back in time and join some of the organizations that you saw at the involvement fair last week, what would you join?
A: I walked around a lot, and there were so many organizations that caught my eye. I saw some orgs that were linked to just enjoying books (I think one was called the Page Turners), which I would’ve loved to be a part of because, if I could go back in time, I would’ve been an English major. I also would’ve loved to be a part of Panhellenic because I never got to experience that while I was in college, and now I work with Panhellenic. Honestly, Her Campus is something I would’ve liked, too. I’m not just saying that because you’re in front of me; I think I would’ve really enjoyed it a lot because it’s more of a specific outlet for writing. Oh, and Pound Pals, too; they do a lot of work with the local humane society and volunteering, which I think is really neat.