Who's the next Jennie?

The search for the next director of
student activities narrows to five

By Katie Colleran, Staff Writer

A search committee is in the process of finding a new director of student activities. Jennie Cernosia is retiring after 29 years in the position.

After reviewing resumes and conducting phone interviews, the committee narrowed a pool of 55 candidates down to five, said Mike Samara, dean of student affairs.

“The committee had a list of common questions to ask each candidate,” he said. “They were taking a look at each person’s experience, desire for the job, and current position.”

The members of the search committee of M.O.V.E. Heidi St. Peter, Director for Alumni and Parent Relations Patrick Gallivan, Vice President of Human Resources Michael New, psychology professor Dave Landers, political science professor Patricia Siplon, sophomore Lora Kelley, sophomore Stephen O’Neil and junior Jill Dalfonso.

The new director will be chosen by the second week of May, Samara said.

Skip to a candidate: Dustin - Brunelle-Joiner - Kelly - Lee - Liptak

Robert Dustin

As an outdoor activity and music enthusiast at the University of

Washington, Dustin said Vermont is a perfect fit for him.

“Coming back to work in Vermont is like coming home in two ways,” he said. “Geographically because I have family here and metaphorically because I would again be working at a smaller, liberal arts institution.”

He was exposed to the liberal arts as an undergraduate at LeMoyne College. Dustin’s past jobs included admissions work at Johnson Sate College.

“There is a huge difference between state and private schools,” he said. “There’s a fine drawn line at state schools between church and state. You’re not really supposed to do much with it.”

If he gets the position, Dustin said he looks forward to being able to connect the academic, spiritual, and emotional parts of a student’s life.

“I value the Catholic higher education and understand it,” he said. “I understand the mission of the school and I’m here to actually care about the students.”

One of the best things about his job as student activities adviser is watching the students develop as people, he said. He hopes that he would be able to do the same here, he said.

“I would go out and get in touch with people, put a face to the events I’m helping with,” Dustin said.

Karlea Brunelle-Joiner

St. Michael’s has always been a part of Brunelle-Joiner’s life. She and her brother used to come collect bottles and cans on P-Day and then cash them in for money, she said. Joiner is also a Class of 1992.

“What’s attractive about St. Mike’s is that the family feeling is still very much a part of it,” Brunelle-Joiner said. “I grew a lot here and would love to come back.”

Brunelle-Joiner is currently a stay-at-home mother to three children, but in the past she has worked at a number of different schools, most recently Assumption College.

“My focus has always been on first-year student transition, but I’ve also worked collaboratively with Residence Life and I’ve been on the side of academic administration” she said. “Because I’ve had variable amounts of experience in different areas, I can bring a lot of different models for ideas with me.”

One of Brunelle-Joiner’s students once wrote a recommendation describing her as open and that the student felt comfortable telling her anything, said Brunelle-Joiner. She said she hopes the students at St. Michael’s would notice that and accept her.

“I love the idea of having a place where students can be energetic and talk about ideas,” Brunelle-Joiner said. “Preparing students for purposeful thinking of what they do and why they do it is part of the director’s role. I think I could do that.”

Grace Kelly

For 19 years, Kelly has been working at St. Michael’s as the director of new student programs and activities and as an assistant dean.

There’s no one reason why she loves working with college students, she said.

“It’s an incredible thing, being a part of someone’s life when they are making so many leaps and bounds in their development,” Kelly said. “I like to think that I can help with that process.”

Working with students has brought many more positives than it has negatives, she said. Kelly graduated from McGill University with a Master’s in Educational Administration.

“I was educated for working with students,” she said. “I have learned so much from them, the student staff, the grad student staff, the assistant directors.”

Kelly said she thinks she would be good for the position because she could bring a fresh perspective, but she would already know important details about the job.

“I’ve been able to work really closely with Jen,” she said. “I have a keen idea of the inner workings of the office, of keeping things running.”

The hard part of the whole selection process has not been all of the interviews, but knowing that Cernosia is moving on, Kelly said. She said she hopes the students who love Cernosia would receive her well.

“I hope people see me as someone they can come talk to about plans for initiatives,” she said. “I want to provide opportunities for students to know that the office will still be open and available to them.”

Brian Lee

As an undergraduate at the University of Vermont, Lee was a reserved student until his R.A. persuaded him to become involved with student government. His participation in that and other student activities led to a realization about the direction his

life could go in, he said.

“I thought ‘Hey, I could get paid for this’,” he said. “I thought it (student activities) would be a field I’d like to check out.”

Lee found a position at St. Michael’s as assistant director of Residence Life. He is glad to work here because he loves everything about the college including faculty, staff and students, he said.

“Even if I don’t get the job, I’m not looking to leave,” Lee said. “I just think it’s a great position to take advantage of personally and professionally it has a lot of potential.”

He is well aware of Cernosia’s popularity and would never try to replace her, but he wants to bring his own ideas to the job, Lee said.

“I’m not going to walk in and say ‘OK, this is changing and that,’ but I’m not just going to do the same thing every year,” he said. “Students may say ‘Well, Jennie did it this way’ and I’m not saying it has to be done differently, but I’m not Jennie.”

Melissa Liptak

Liptak has a strategy for making students feel comfortable in her office—toys.

“I have lots of puzzles and a Lite-Brite,” she said. “I use them to make the office environment less formal. Then when students have meetings with me, they feel more relaxed.”

If Liptak comes to St. Michael’s, her toys will be coming with her because they are great for building relationships, she said.

“I know Jennie has great relationships with students and I would want to build them too,” Liptak said. “I think students will find that I’m very personable.”

Liptak describes herself as passionate, creative and energetic and knows that will contribute to how she does her job, she said.

“I am going to be willing to go out and get to know people,” she said. “This school is small and residential. You can be closer to students and have a bigger impact. Also, Burlington is such a vibrant location to be working in.”

Liptak said she knows the interview selection for this position is important.

“The time that they are taking shows that St. Michael’s cares about who they are placing in this position,” Liptak said. “I can understand that and I love that they care so much.”

- Liptak photo by Michelle Bookless

- All other photos by Katie Colleran

Contact Katie Colleran at kcolleran@smcvt.edu