Student Housing Matters

Brian served as the IT Coordinator at COCM for 10 years. In 2018, he left COCM to join the BL Harbert Team as an IT Manager for the US Group. In today’s episode, Tara Wilkinson catches up with Brian to ask him about all that he learned from working with COCM and how it is impacting his new position.

Brian joined Capstone Development Group over a decade ago in a different role than where he ended up – as IT Coordinator. Soon after he started to work at Capstone, Brian noticed areas where some help might be needed, so he jumped in to help. Slowly, picking up more and more projects in IT, Brian was later asked to be the IT Coordinator for COCM in 2012. In this role, he managed a wide range of responsibilities. There was a home office structure, but then each individual site managed by COCM also needed IT support. Every site having an independent IT set-up, depending on the owner or campus, required Brian to build strong relationships with people to ensure everything stayed up and running. Brian also was able to join the Marketing team in the home office to work on website building, podcasting and other audio/video projects – allowing him to get creative within the company as well.

It is very clear through this interview with Brian that a “can-do” attitude leads to an immense amount of learning opportunities and growth. Brian credits the relational side of the roles that he has filled to the joy and rewards of his time working with COCM. The ability to work with the people who are on the “front lines” of student housing at the site level, has shaped his core values to always recognize all of the people it takes to make student housing successful.

Brian’s decision to leave COCM was a very difficult one. Having worked with such great people, he truly still misses the community of Student Housing Professionals. His decision to move, albeit tough, has allowed him to stretch himself by stepping into a new field. Brian explains why he needed this shift and encourages others at COCM that it doesn’t mean leaving the company to find ways to stretch yourself – he suggests to his former colleagues to engage in opportunities that are outside of your defined roles, and see what you learn. You never know where it will take you – whether to another site, a new role within COCM, or even toward a career shift that may take you elsewhere. The big takeaway? Always push yourself, and you will continue to have an exciting life journey.

Topics Covered

The value of stepping into roles that are outside your job description

Serving others through relationships – and how that impacts your work success

Learning the skill of working with all different types of people – and finding joy in the process

 

Connect with Brian

Brian on LinkedIn

 

Connect with Leigh Anne

Student Housing Matters

Student Housing Matters on Facebook

Student Housing Matters on Twitter

Capstone On-Campus Management

Leigh Anne on LinkedIn


Every year COCM hosts an Annual Meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. In January, site directors from over fly in from over 40 different sites for a week of learning, listening, sharing, and building community amongst fellow student housing professionals.

Being a Director of Housing at any university comes with a variety of roles, responsibilities, and challenges. During one session at the 2019 Annual Meeting we sat down with four directors to discuss all of these things. Our panelists are from very different sites with different students – and with that we get some great insight from their unique perspectives. 

Learn about all that goes into running on-campus housing and the creative ways these individuals have approached their everyday work to create an environment for student success.

 

The Panel Participants:

  • Rafael Cordwell, Director of University Affiliated Housing at Millennium Hall, Paca & Tubman Houses at Towson University
  • April Yost, Director of Housing at Glen Oaks Community College
  • Scott Schatzer, Director of Operations at First Year Residence Halls at Marshall University
  • Alexis Ireland, Director housing Operations at Claremont Graduate University

 

Topics Covered

  • What it means to be a “Student Housing Professional”
  • The many roles involved in serving students through student housing
  • Diversity of different universities and how needs may look different than others
  • The importance of communication and adapting to the needs of the campus
  • Challenges that come with new housing on a campus
  • How collaboration is key and being unified as a team on campus allows people to thrive
  • Identifying the basic needs of students
  • Understanding the partnerships that affect you as a site director and your students
  • Perspectives on students today compared to when they were students
  • Parent involvement in their student’s college experience
  • How technology plays into the student experience and accountability for staff
  • How working for a third-party manager has impacted the panel participants’ careers
  • The variety of experiences given to a student housing professional through COCM
  • Opportunities to grow within student housing with a holistic approach
  • How working for a private company in student housing has opened doors for learning
  • Understanding the “why” behind everything done on campus and at the site

 

Connect with the Panelists

Rafael Cordwell on LinkedIn

Rafael at Millennium Hall

April at Glen Oaks

Scott Schatzer at Marshall University

Alexis at Claremont

 

Connect with Leigh Anne and COCM 

Student Housing Matters

Student Housing Matters on Facebook

Student Housing Matters on Twitter

Capstone On-Campus Management

Leigh Anne on LinkedIn


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