Ten Minutes with Sean Kelly

Ivy Leaf spent some time catching up with the college's new Director of Student Affairs, Sean Kelly, who arrived at Penn State Altoona in July.

Let me guess … since you were a young boy, you've always known that you wanted to be a student affairs director. (laugh)
I guess I'm like everyone else who ended up in student affairs—I never, ever thought it's where I would be. I always had an interest in education, and in working with students; I just never realized it could be packaged together into a career. So when I first got out of college, I taught second grade. I loved every single day of it. It was a joy to teach those children.

Obviously the next question is, why did you move on to higher education? Let me guess … there was a woman …
Well, I was in a long distance relationship and we were trying to figure out how to be together and where we wanted to go, and a friend called me about a position at a college in residence life. Geographically it worked, so I made the move. It's twenty-four years later and we just celebrated our twenty-third wedding anniversary, so I think this one is in the "good move" column.

What did you think of working in residence life?
Residence life work provides you with a tremendous variety of experiences. It's a great training ground for those who wish to have a career in the student affairs field.

I started as the resident director of an all women's residence hall, so that was very interesting.

I remember one unusual experience. I was walking into the residence hall at about midnight and encountered one of the young women lying on the floor of the lobby with her hand stuck inside a Coke machine. She said she put her money in and the Coke got stuck but …

So she's lying there in a nightgown and it's snowing outside, and every time the front door opened, snow would blow on her. We got her a blanket, but the nearest repair guy was more than an hour away, so we had to wait quite a while. I'll never forget her or that experience.

Another not-so-humorous moment occurred when a young man came into the hall and threatened his girlfriend with a rifle. I was the one who had to go and disarm him.

Is that something you were trained to do?
No, never. But these are the kinds of things you learn on the fly. They sure don't teach you that in graduate school.

Overall, what's it like working with college students?
Students are terrific. Every day is unique. Watching students come to campus for the first time, seeing the kind of potential that exists within them, and the kind of people that they can become is exciting. Our challenge, as student affairs professionals, is to figure out how to provide opportunities to harness all of that energy in a positive way.

What do you find most rewarding about your job?
As a career, you realize you'll never get rich doing this, in the monetary sense. But you get rich in so many other ways. The connections I've made and the interactions I've had are incredibly valuable. I've had a handful of students with whom I've worked that have chosen the student affairs field as a career. You realize that you can have a positive impact on someone's life and that keeps you going.

As a whole, today's college students seem to face a lot of challenges that just didn't exist in the past. What are some of these challenges, and the resultant challenges for the student affairs folks working with them?
College really should be a time of exploration, a time to find out who you are and who you will become. But now, so much is focused on the career or the job at the end of the road. I'm concerned that if students focus only on the end result, they'll miss a lot. They'll miss the people and experiences that are so important in their overall development as a person.

Another big issue for today's student is financial. Many students have to work part or full-time and that has a big impact on their availability to participate in campus life. As student affairs professionals, we have to understand that. I've been on campuses where folks complain about student apathy, but we have to understand that paying a tuition bill for most students may be a whole lot more important to them than being involved in an activity. For many students, it's not just about paying the tuition bill; it's putting food on the table, paying the rent, car insurance, or whatever else it might be to take care of their family. We need to adjust and re-define our ideas of what "being involved" means and look to work with students, faculty, and staff to create new ways to connect within the campus community.

What are your initial impressions of Penn State Altoona?
It has been a wonderful start for me. There's a real positive vibe here on this campus. There's a real sense that the campus is moving in a positive direction. It's great to be a part of this type of atmosphere.