Exclusive Interview: The Hill News Sits with Alivia Sheffield
In the last two years, St. Lawrence University campus life has been continuously disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Student Life and Student Activities and Leadership teams have guided this uneasy transition as students attempt to adapt amid many quick changes, The former Director of Student Leadership and Activities, John Robert O’Connor, was a key member of this team because of his advisory role to several student organizations. Many students were surprised when they returned with high hopes for a campus life approaching normalcy only to find that O’Connor, a widely beloved and familiar staff member, would be leaving for good.
Soon after O’Connor’s announcement of his resignation, the campus started buzzing about a new face in the Student Life department. Assistant Director of Student Leadership and Activities Alivia Sheffield joined the St. Lawrence community just shy of two months ago. When students heard she was taking on some of O’Connor’s old duties, many became curious about her new role here.
This week, Sheffield sat down with the Hill News for an exclusive interview about her introduction to campus, her work experience, and the future she sees for herself and the greater St. Lawrence University Community.
The Hill News (THN): Are you part of both the Student Life and Student Activities and Leadership departments?
Alivia Sheffield (AS): I am the Assistant Director of Student Activities and Leadership, which is our department, but not overseeing the whole student center. Before, John was the director of the Student Center and I don’t really have any title aligned with that.
THN: What inspired you to join the St. Lawrence community?
AS: Honestly, my background is not in higher education. My educational background is in environmental sciences and conservation biology, but my professional experience after college included relating to students and getting them involved in the natural sciences and the outdoors. Of course, as an undergrad I was a very involved student leader and most notably, I worked with the SUNY student assembly and the overall arching student government of all 60 SUNY campuses. When I look back on my life experiences and opportunities that were provided to me that helped me along my journey, the idea of being able to provide those opportunities for other students is really an exciting and rewarding thought. I didn’t know much about the St. Lawrence community until I came here for my interview, and it was very clear right away there was something special within this little globe of St. Lawrence University that I don’t think you see at a lot of other campuses. And it was just instantaneous, the desire to be a part of it.
THN: As you know, JR was beloved by the people here and had a big influence on campus life. Are you able to explain why he made such a sudden change?
AS: I started in December and then we had two weeks off, so I only knew JR for a month and a half. The only reason he gave to us for leaving was that he wanted to be closer to his family. He’s from Maine originally. He wanted to go back to Maine to be closer to his family and to pursue his PHD. I think anybody would support his own professional and personal growth in that way
THN: You’re temporarily taking over some of his duties. Can you outline those out for me?
AS: One of the main things that I’ve taken on is Presence. I’m the “Presence person” for the whole campus and then the other two big ones are ACE and Java. So Springfest, concerts, etc. As you said, I am doing these things temporarily. We have posted the position and it’s until the end of June, so hopefully we can hire someone quickly in order to redistribute some of that workload. For now, Ashlee, Timberly, and I split some of those tasks in addition to our other work.
THN: Were you chosen to take on these tasks because everyone in the department is contributing, or is it specifically related to your role as Assistance director of Student Leadership and Activities?
AS: We are a really small department; it’s just me, Timberly, Ashlee and JR. So when JR left, we took on all his duties because as we all know, he did a ton, especially behind the scenes. It obviously made sense that those programs continue on, and we couldn’t say we’re just not going to do them. So, we just looked at our skill sets and experiences and then divided the work based on what made the most sense
THN: Obviously the department will have to facilitate a transition when they fill JR’s role permanently. Because you have such a small team, what will that look like? Will you have a role in the hiring process?
AS: We haven’t discussed that yet so I can’t really answer beyond that. When I came on, I met with Ashlee and Timberly as part of my interview session. I think that temporarily, we’re really looking to find someone who has the appropriate skills and abilities, but we also want to move quickly with the hiring process. Closer to March or April, they’re planning on doing a full search to fill the position permanently so that we can be a team of four again. But I honestly don’t have many details on the actual transition process or what part we’ll play in that.
THN: As they start approaching that, are there any qualities that you think the university, or your team should be looking for?
AS: I think JR has very big shoes to fill, and I don’t think we can fill them. He brought something very unique to campus. In general, we are always looking for someone who puts students first but also can balance their work and personal life. We don’t want someone who gives everything to the campus and then it affects their mental health. We want somebody who can balance all those different pieces of the position while being passionate about the things we do. I mean, you guys live on this campus 24/7. This is your whole world, so to be able to provide you guys with opportunities outside of the classroom is important. I believe somebody who is passionate about that side of work is really valuable.
THN: Do you feel like the other members of the team also fulfill those qualities; is it a key element to your productivity?
AS: Oh yeah. The passion and dedication to our students that I’ve experienced within the Student Leadership and Activities Department is unbelievable and not something that I’ve seen professionally on other campuses. I’d say it’s a standard that we hold ourselves to.
THN: With a vacancy like this, and JR having done so much, do you think maybe the university sees a chance to expand or specialize any of the roles you have fulfilled?
AS: As far as I know, there’s been no discussion about that. As a four-person team, the division of labor might just be redistributed. We are always looking at people’s skills and abilities in order to redistribute the load to where it makes the most sense, but I don’t think there has been any talk of expanding anything beyond the four person.team.
THN: Now let’s pivot into your role and experiences. So, has taking on this extra workload so early on affected your work as Assistant Student Director of Student Activities and Leadership?
AS: I mean, I truly believe in being vulnerable and open with you guys, I think that’s important.. In general, I’m still learning the community at SLU and what you guys need as students. And of course, JR was a wealth of knowledge. He had so much historic information in his brain, and so we’re all so grateful that he has been willing to have us reach out. I want to be able to provide for the students as best I can, and I’m realizing that there are things I don’t know because there wasn’t enough time for the transition training. You only get two weeks to pass on a lot of information when you leave. So yes, it was a little bit of a disruption of what I’d planned, but our department is very flexible and supportive, Timberly has been here a long time, and Ashlee had been here even longer than JR. So despite him leaving, there’s a lot of different support that’s there to help with the transition. It’s been different than expected but I’m still excited to see what those challenges will be too.
THN: You spoke a little bit about the mentorship you’ve received from Timberly and Ashlee, the people on your team. How have they guided you?
AS: We have weekly meetings as a department, and something we always start off by saying how our week is and what we’re working on/stressed about. So I’ve like being in an environment that’s open to.. well, openness really. To me saying “I’m really stressed about this” or “I’m really excited about this, but I’m not sure how to move forward with it”. It’s just been a lot of communication, and then they provide resources. Like today, I didn’t make the room reservation I needed to make, because they have a rule that if it’s not 5 days in advance, facilities and technology can’t help. I didn’t do it 5 days in advance, but they [Timberly and Ashlee] both jumped in and called contacts that I didn’t know to make sure I got that room reservation. So, they support me even when I don’t do things that I potentially should have. There’s always communication and support when I ask for it.
THN: According to my research, you worked with the St. Lawrence County Public Health Department. Do you think your work there prepared you to work for a university during and hopefully post-pandemic?
AS: I actually started at public health in March of 2020, so I started right as the Pandemic hit. They literally said, “we’re not going to train you for the actual job, we’re going to train you for COVID-19 response”. I think that taught me adaptability and flexibility, and how to roll with the punches. To be able to move freely as things change and shift is an important quality to have when working in higher ed, because things change, students change. I’d definitely say the level of community involvement that was also needed, to be able to connect to people and support them. You know, it’s a really scary time. When we think back to when the pandemic first started, people were terrified. We had no idea how serious this was or what was happening. To be able to talk to people of all different backgrounds and support them in things that were so challenging, it’s a lot like what we do here. It’s our job to support you guys through anything that happens during your college experience. While the public health aspect only really fits in as I approve safety plans— that’s another part of JR’s work that I’ve taken on, because I have that background of COVID safety protocols—the overarching idea is that I did a lot of education in the community about how your environment and the people/places you surround yourself with affect your health. And that’s another factor that’s present here on campus. So, I think there’s a lot of tidbits of my experience, when blended together, make me a good fit for this position.
THN: So, going on that thought, as the world tries to assimilate into our changed world, what do you think will be the most important part of your role going forward?
AS: I think the whole campus culture has shifted a lot, and it’s a great time for us to look at how things used to be and propel ourselves forward. Now that we’re realizing things have changed over the past few years, do we want to continue with these traditions or do we want to start anew? There’s a clean, fresh slate happening with student organizations right now and with the student body as a whole. After the past two years, my role in creating leadership workshops for leadership development, supporting Greek life, and finding ways to be more inclusive, it’s all in a post- pandemic world. There’s a lot of energy right now on campus where people want to get back to normal and see a different future. It’s changed a lot about how people see the world around them, so I think we should use that to our advantage and make sure we’re creating opportunities that propel us in the direction you guys want to go. It’s all about you, it’s all about the students, and I do think things have changed a lot for you guys in the last two years. Your student experience has changed. In general, this position is about finding that niche of where you guys are now, and the fact that I don’t know what it was like two years ago, right? I’m only in this moment and able to support you guys moving forward.
THN: When I asked about your initial commitment, you mentioned that your original plan was disrupted by the additional workload. What were those plans?
AS: I had a whole month to prepare for being Greek advisor and Senior class advisor, bridging to the office of wellness, etc. I had a lot of time to dive into the past and research documents to get comfortable with our policies, whereas I didn’t have the time to dive into what ACE looked like and other things like that. It’s not so much that it looked different, but rather that I was expecting to be more prepared for some of the things that I was doing. I also think it’s just harder for me to go to ACE and say “I don’t know the answer to that question”, where I just spent a month and a half training for things like Panhellenic Council, where if someone asks me a question, I will likely know the answer because I spent time preparing for that. So it looks different because I don’t know as much about the new tasks I’m taking on.
THN: What are some of the questions you’ve been getting that you don’t feel as prepared for, and how have you communicated with JR through that? How are you able to find those answers?
AS: Yeah, budgeting is honestly the biggest one because I only ended up going over budgeting for contracts like two days before JR left. That was my initial crash course, and ACE has had some questions like “how do we move money from one club to another?” and I just didn’t know the answer to that yet. I’ve emailed JR about the contracts, and he emailed me this morning about where to find them, so he has been available. But he just started his job and he’s only really available outside of his working hours. Luckily, Timberly and Ashlee know the resources that I just don’t know are there yet. I’ve been able to message them about P-Cards, and where people get them/use them. They’ve been able to show me in the right direction also.